Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1529938
By Candice Cowin. Additional reporting Catherine D. Anspon. Photography Heather Robards. MASTER American (Continued) A rt and design lovers hopped over to The Halles to celebrate museum-collected artist Hunt Slonem at the venue's biannual Designer Dinner, where the painter and preservationist was guest of honor. Based in Manhattan, Slonem also owns a portfolio of 19th- and early-20th-century estates throughout America which he has refurbished and preserved. A Fare Extraordinaire created a fall culinary fantasy of seasonal flavors and colors in The Halles' main pavilion for this fun and fabled evening. Following the cocktail hour, the crowd found their seats at tables artfully designed by Houston's Maxit Floral Design. Throughout the evening, DJ Damon Pampolina kept the groove going by spinning perfect Round Top tracks. Business leader/Slonem collector Jayne Edison of Houston's Office Furniture Innovations and her husband, Bobby Davenport, presented the guest of honor with a Stetson cowboy hat, which Slonem gracefully donned and transformed into a cattle baron worthy of Yellowstone. Fittingly, art was the grand finale: Gallerist Laura Rathe popped up her eponymous gallery at The Halles, with a collection of Slonem's latest works, including a warren of his signature bunnies on canvases in vintage frames, a giant neon bunny, and other neo-impressionist paintings of tulips, daisies, birds, and butterflies. Fall Feast with an Artist Hunt Slonem Fêted at Designer Dinner at The Halles Laura Rathe, Dana Vidal DJ Damon Pampolina Tonya Hawkes Shanna Schanen Hunt Slonem Ester Gamez 38