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CATHERINE D. ANSPON COVERS AN INSPIRED EVENING. PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY ANTILL CLIFTON. BLACK AND WHITE BROAD STROKES OF CAMH's Otherworldly Gala + Auction AUCTION-A-RAMA, BIDDING DRAMA The art auction, organized by CAMH director Bill Arning and curators Valerie Cassel Oliver and Dean Daderko, is always a big part of the party. This year, Christie's clever and persuasive Sara Friedlander, in from NYC, kept the banter and the bidding going. Top live auction lots included Bruce High Quality Foundation's edgy classical bust gone awry, which went to Heidi and David Gerger; Julia Dault's smart abstract canvas, won by Leigh and Reggie Smith; and Joan Jonas (representing the U.S. at the 56th Venice Biennale opening this month), whose moody sculpture creation went home with Candace Baggett. MISE EN SCÈNE + THE PLAYERS Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's annual gala is spring's most coveted art ticket. Chairmen Lisa and Michael Holthouse and Lucinda and Javier Loya composed a night that was sleek, modern and intriguing. God was very much in the details, as you'll see on this page, beginning with the dress code: The 260 guests were enjoined to wear "contemporary black-and-white tie." And so they obliged. The chairs also improvised a long, long head table, tapping pals to pony up $10,000 per couple — and they did — to add to the benefit's bottom line, which by night's end was one of the top three fund-raising evenings ever in the CAMH's 66-year history. PERFORMANCE ART, INDEED + MOVING PICTURES Party designer Rebekah Johnson devised her best set for this gala night, orchestrating a minimalist stage where big screens projected avant-garde outtakes from each of the four seasons (Johnson has a career as a video artist too, we predict). Jackson and Company crafted the perfect seated dinner, from the witty picnic-food first course of fried chicken and potato salad to the dessert finale: cake pops arrayed as floral sculptures blooming from the tabletops' grassy centerpieces. The soirée crescendoed with the museum debut of Amanda Gregory, a classically trained opera singer. Attired like an alien creature, she wowed the crowd with her otherworldly vocals. Late night, DJ Kalkutta created Disco CAMH, spinning eminently danceable turntable stylings. MAY | PAGE 10 | 2015 Co-chair Michael Holthouse Co-chair Lisa Holthouse Co-chair Javier Loya Bill Arning Connie McAllister Rainey Knudson Michael Galbreth Max Fields Delise Ward Craig Lidji Mickey Rosmarin J.B. Fairbanks Amanda Gregory Keith Coffee McKay Otto Carey Shuart Ken Christie Marcus Sloan Shannon Hall Stephanie Cockrell Dean Daderko Patricia Restrepo Barbara Davis Kevin Black Tony Bradfield Bill Arning Mark McCray Andrew Schirrmeister Bill Goldberg Patrick Wade Bridget Wade Kerry Inman Stephanie Cockrell Ernie Cockrell Trey Griggs Blakely Griggs Sissy Kempner Jessica Phifer Sara Friedlander Denny Kempner Bevin Bering Dubrowski Dan Dubrowski Leigh Smith Reggie Smith Marita Fairbanks Renee Lewis Cary J.B. Fairbanks Elisabeth McCabe Rebekah Johnson Melissa Grobmyer Bob Cavnar Evan Rottet Pamela Bryan Greg Fourticq, Jr. Sara Dodd Mack Fowler Jonathan Zadok Michelle Zadok Amanda Gregory Co-chairs Lisa Holthouse, Lucinda Loya Gracie Cavnar Diane Lokey Farb Catherine Masterson Co-chair Lucinda Loya Susie Criner Valerie Cassel Oliver