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PHOTOGRAPHY BY RACHAEL WISE, BRUNO, DANIEL DRIENSKY. I Want My MTV Re:Defined ART + ROCK 'N' ROLL = SUCCESS S tark white walls decked with art by Richard Phillips, Julian Schnabel, Mat Collishaw, Damien Hirst, Jim Lambie, Chris Levine, Angel Otero … breath … Sarah Lucas and Russell Young sent contemporary art-loving guests into a bidding frenzy. And the ease of placing a bid on one's iPhone via Paddle8's ingenious app certainly made bidding — and instant gratification — easy. The third annual MTV Re:Define gala, co-chaired by Kenny Goss and Joyce Goss of The Goss-Michael Foundation with advisory chairs Jessica Nowitzki and Anna-Sophia van Zweden, benefitted the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and the Dallas Contemporary, raising the successful sum of $2 million. As I arrived for the evening, Shelby Wagner and Niven Morgan surprised me with an introduction to Texas' fave beauty, guest of honor Jerry Hall, who attended with her son Gabriel Jagger. Ms. Hall, Chanel bag in hand, looked graceful and demure in a black dress and, in loving memory, a red sequined sweater by her friend, the late designer L'Wren Scott. With Kenny Goss — the proverbial anglophile (and the sweetest man in Texas) — at the helm, his battle cry was, just like Paul Revere's: "The British are coming!" And, indeed they did, including Georgia Arnold, executive director of MTV Staying Alive Foundation; the debonair auctioneer of the evening, Paddle8 co-founder Alexander Gilkes, with his wife, fashion designer Misha Nonoo; artist Adam Ball, who donated a large-scale custom DNA mural; and Ed Bartlett and Paul Missing from London-based The Future Tense, who cleverly curated the live and silent auction along with Peter Doroshenko, executive director of the Dallas Contemporary. The night was staged as a rock concert, albeit a luxurious and intimate one. Re:Define's curator, pop artist Richard Phillips, showcased his Art + Rock 'n' Roll concept with a performance by New York band Starred (member Liza Thorn is Phillips' love interest) and a DJ set by Black Bananas. Veuve Clicquot poured endlessly, and Experimental Table served delights all night: steak, potpie, risotto, cupcakes … delish! Bidding buddies: Muffin and John Lemak; Karla McKinley; Lisa and John Runyon; Tammy Cotton Hartnett; James Cope; Sue and Jimmy Gragg; Michelle Moussa; Nasiba and Thomas Hartland-Mackie; Mark Giambrone; Lael and Peter Brodsky; Piper and Mike Wyatt; Chris Byrne; Marlene and John Sughrue, who attended with Brit-by-way–of-Newcastle artist Paul Moss (visiting for the Dallas Art Fair); Filippo Tattoni-Marcozzi; and lovable jewelry designer Eddie Borgo. Max Trowbridge RICHARD PHILLIPS, ARTIST AND MUSIC CURATOR: "LISTENING TO HENRY LUYOMBYA SHARE THE MISSION OF MTV RE:DEFINE WAS A DEFINING MOMENT, AS WAS INTRODUCING STARRED AS THEY PERFORMED THE DEBUT SONG "DOG" FROM THE NEW ALBUM FALL INTO LIGHT. ART, ROCK 'N' ROLL AND PHILANTHROPY — A POWERFUL COMBINATION." KENNY GOSS: "SO THANKFUL FOR THE SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS: JERRY HALL, OUR GUEST OF HONOR; SIR ELTON JOHN AND SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY, WHO GENEROUSLY DONATED TOUR TICKETS; AND, OF COURSE, RICHARD PHILLIPS." JOYCE GOSS OF THE GOSS MICHAEL FOUNDATION: "FABULOUS ART, GLAMOROUS CROWD … THE EVENING WAS ELECTRIC. GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT FROM THE DALLAS COMMUNITY, FRIENDS AND FAMILY." ALEXANDER GILKES, PADDLE8 CO-FOUNDER: "IT WAS AN HONOR TO SERVE AS AUCTIONEER FOR THE RE:DEFINE GALA. THE ONLY THING THAT COMPARED TO THE THRILL OF SOLICITING BIDS WITH THE LEGENDARY JERRY HALL BY MY SIDE WAS HAMMERING DOWN THE DAMIEN HIRST PIECE FOR $150,000 AFTER A FERVENT BIDDING WAR." Alexander Gilkes Loc Truong Nini Nguyen Renee Rouleau Oger Florian Oger Matt Taylor Laramy Elick Rafpor Scott Kehn Chuck Steelman Marisa Howard Frank Howard Don Wallette Will Kornegay Eduardo Brittingham Kimberly Schlegel Whitman Christen Wilson Eddie Borgo Justin Whitman Kari Brittingham Jeny Bania Michael Sills Shelle Sills Peter Doroshenko Claire Emanuelson Richard Phillips Misha Nonoo John Gustafson Nasiba Hartland- Mackie Anna-Sophia van Zweden Joanne Teichman Muffin Lemak Henry Luyombya, MTV Staying Alive Foundation's first grantee Chandra North Blaylock Georgia Arnold Joyce Goss Rebecca Finley Jessica Nowitzki Adam Ball Daniel Blaylock Kenny Goss Gabriel Jagger Alexander Gilkes Richard Phillips, Liza Thorn Jerry Hall Niven Morgan Shelby Wagner Brian Bolke Faisal Halum Anais Assoun Jenica Williamson Kira Plastinina MAY | PAGE 15 | 2014