Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1521218
Felicitations & Friends A FASHIONABLE AL FRESCO DINNER FOR THE CONSERVATORY By Billy Fong. Photography Rebecca Patton for Beckley. C all him a retail guru or a fashion whisperer: Brian Bolke has fashion in his DNA. His long and storied career in the luxury realm has included learning the ropes at Neiman Marcus, co-founding Forty Five Ten and, five years ago, launching The Conservatory in Dallas and NYC. To celebrate that fifth anniversary, he fashioned an oh-so cultured guest list to dine at the home of art collector Marguerite Hoffman. For those unfamiliar with Hoffman (or the annual ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list), she amassed a museum-worthy art collection alongside her late husband, Robert Hoffman. The focus is American and European masters of 20th-century art through the present with pieces from Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Ellsworth Kelly, Gerhard Richter, Maria Lassnig, and Joseph Beuys. We began our evening in the modernist structure that houses the ever-changing and evolving exhibitions of the collection. Some might refer to it as a gallery, but its Anniversary Art, architect, the late Bill Booziotis, called it a garden pavilion. It was created along with a few smaller structures tucked discreetly into the landscape designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh (Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Harvard University, The Menil Collection, Obama Presidential Center), with an undulating perimeter wall created in collaboration with artist Sol LeWitt. Cocktails were clinking and guests quickly caught up as they silently applauded maestro Bolke for bringing together såuch a fabulous group for the evening. The parade of chic ensembles (most had been purchased at some point over the years at one of Brian's retail meccas) made their way up the stone path leading from the glass-cube art sanctuary to the main house — a 1960s Georgian that's the street-facing main building on the four-acre estate with interiors by French designer Andrée Putman. The early-spring weather cooperated for the picture-perfect long table set for 40 guests that filled the back loggia of Hoffman's home. Marguerite Hoffman's art-filled annex Marguerite Hoffman Danielle Hunter Lori Mikles Moll Anderson Juliette Aston Bradley Agather Means Todd Fiscus Zoe Bonnette Sabrina Dee Marguerite Hoffman, Brian Bolke Art 2 Catering caviar bites 26