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Tom Ford knew exactly the style maven to chair the hotly anticipated opening of his first Houston store in River Oaks District: long-time client and acquaintance Becca Cason Thrash. Thrash instinctively felt the evening's beneficiary should be The Menil Collection. Ford and the museum agreed it was a natural fit: Both the glamorous fashion brand and the renowned private museum are studies in extreme curation, artistic precision and the interrelation of art and design. Ford will be on set in London filming his next movie, so his longtime business partner (and fashion plate in his own right) Domenico De Sole will chair along with Thrash and Menil director Josef Helfenstein. On October 19, a fortunate and fashionable assemblage of 120 will be treated to cocktails at the new Tom Ford boutique, followed by a seated dinner crafted by Helen's Greek Food and Wine and Pax Americana at the celebrated Renzo Piano-designed Menil. This will surely go down as one the chicest evenings of the season. Tickets $1,000, by invitation only. Anne Lee Phillips D ual Must-Sees: At Inman Gallery, former Core Fellow Demetrius Oliver's quiet, ceremonial exhibition conjures ideas about wind and outer space; the show, elusively titled "Anemometer," is both open ended and hypnotic as it furthers the artist's quest to wrest the profound from the mundane (through October 24) … Mid-career expressionist Michael Collins solos at Holocaust Museum Houston, producing the powerful "Sojourn in the Shadowlands." The exhibition interweaves a sense of nature and place with emanations from the horrors of the Holocaust to point the way to hope (October 15 – March 13). Just in: Sally Reynolds curates Collins' upcoming career-defining retrospective, set for January 2016 at Brookfield Properties' Two Allen Center downtown. A Sacred Tree: Perfect for autumn, Susan Plum's solo at Deborah Colton Gallery includes a tree ringed by turmeric and illuminated by a single candle, that replicates Mayan cosmology (through October 31). Tower of (Drawing) Power: This year's most remarkable drawing show can be found at Williams Tower Gallery. Sally Sprout continues the tradition of curating for this iconic Philip Johnson skyscraper, filling its lobby with drawings uncovered from living rooms and back rooms, including some impressive 1970s-era H.J. Bott's, The Menil Collection Bookstore's Paul Forsythe's epic abstracts presented side-by-side with compact studies by his partner, David Aylsworth; intimate works by Lisa Ludwig that allude to vines; vaporous abstractions with an Asian touch by Salle Werner-Vaughn, and the Menil's Chris Akin, contributing deft Surreal pen sketches executed upon Starbucks napkins (through October 14). A Million-Dollar Homecoming: At last, Galveston Arts Center returns to its plum 12nd-and-Strand home next month. The historic turn-of-the-century cast-iron building will be fully restored and open as of mid-November, curator Clint Willour reveals. The island's Moody Foundation was big angel that came forward with the final million dollars to make this possible, seven years after Hurricane Ike struck. Up now at GAC's temporary location (25th and Market) is a show of exquisite plant-inspired art by centenarian/former Rice architecture professor Elinor Evans (October 10 – November 23). Ghostly Goings-On: The Menil Collection's "Apparitions: Frottages and Rubbings from 1860 to Now" rounds up artists from Lichtenstein to Breton who employed this technique; watch for the complete Max Ernst portfolio of his Surrealist manifesto, Histoire Naturelle. Co-presented by the Menil and L.A.'s Hammer Museum, this evocative jewel of an exhibition is organized by Menil Drawing Center curator at large Allegra Pesenti (through January 3). Resplendent Abstraction: We're also fans of these painters who channel the natural world onto canvas or paper: Anastasia Pelias at Octavia Art Gallery (October 9 – November 13) and Ted Cowart and Sunny McKinnon in a perfect painting at Arden's Gallery (October 3 – 31). Online Action: For more art topics, including our take on the Texas Contemporary Art Fair cinco edition (set for October 1 through October 4 at the George R. Brown Convention Center) and Rice Gallery's exquisite Anila Quayyum Agha installation (through December 6), visit papercitymag.com. Catherine D. Anspon Art Notes We love private home tours — especially when it means getting a peek inside the residences designed by some of the most accomplished Houston architects. Thus, we look forward to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Houston home tour every year. An AIA-appointed jury of industry experts selects nine of the finest examples of modern and contemporary residential architecture. This year, the self-guided tour takes place Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, noon to 6 pm, at locations ranging from Piney Point to MacGregor Terrace, including projects by Collaborative Designworks, Content, Curry Boudreaux, Environmental Associates Architects & Consultants, Kinneymorrow Architecture, M+A Architecture Studio, Murphy Mears Architects and StudioMET. The houses vary dramatically in both size (from 751 to 8,708 square feet) and style (restored row houses to contemporary new-builds). Tickets $25 ($20 for cyclists), at AIA Houston, 315 Capitol St., or online at aiahouston.org; $10 ticket for a single home at door; list of locations at aiahouston.org. Anne Lee Phillips HOT TICKETS COURTESY THE ARTIST AND INMAN GALLERY Michael Collins' The Volcano, 2008 - 2009, at HMH Demetrius Oliver's Atmospheric I, 2015, at Inman Gallery COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON; PRIVATE COLLECTION, AUSTIN ARCHITECTURAL EXPEDITION A cademy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey knows how to play to a crowd. He'll do just that at the Best Buddies black-tie dinner party held at a private home Saturday, November 7, 7 pm. The celeb is famous for transforming himself for a role, most recently as the ruthless president of the United States on House of Cards. A few devoted fans of the series, with deep pockets to match, will get the distinct pleasure of sitting at Frank Underwood's — aka Spacey's — table. They'll just have to shell out double the starting ticket price. The founder of the nonprofit, Anthony Kennedy Shriver, is flying in to co-chair the evening with the inimitable Becca Cason Thrash, who has raised millions for this charity, whose mission is to provide friendships and opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lock in your seat now to "sip, sup and schmooze," as the Save the Date card specifies, with the star, as this event is sure to sell out. Tickets from $1,500, through Juliana Bruno, jbruno591@aol.com. Anne Lee Phillips A-List Evening for BEST BUDDIES HIGH STYLE: TOM FORD AND THE MENIL COLLECTION TICK-TOCK, Watch Hunger Stop A ctress Kate Hudson teams up with Michael Kors to shine a spotlight on an important philanthropic message. Since 2013, Kors' Watch Hunger Stop campaign has helped deliver more than 10 million meals to children in hunger-stricken areas. Starting this month, sales from the new limited-edition Bradshaw 100 watch will be matched with a donation from Kors for the World Food Programme. The watch comes in two versions (black with a silver-tone dial and gold tone with matching dial) with a detailed map of the world etched onto the face and Kors' signature inscribed on the back with the message "1 watch = 100 meals." $295, at the Michael Kors boutique, michaelkors.com. Francine Ballard 2219 Kane by Kinneymorrow Becca Cason Thrash Michael Kors Bradshaw 100 watch COURTESY MICHAEL KORS Domenico De Sole Josef Helfenstein Kevin Spacey CRAIG BARRITT BENJAMIN HILL Here's our report from VIP Land at the Texas Contemporary Art Fair, which opens Thursday, October 1 (through October 4) at George R. Brown Convention Center. Insider perks, wow … Stoking year five are rare experiences at The Menil Collection usually reserved for the likes of Tilda Swinton or Beyoncé; a Rothko exhibition tour at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, led by curator Alison Greene, paired with a Rothko Chapel brunch; plus trips to some of Houston's very famous private collections, including the just- completed Texas Art House, the cool casa of Bridget and Patrick Wade, and the fabled Fayez Sarofim Collection, which ranks among the Top 200 in the world, according to ArtNews. The Opening Night co-chairs — international queen of Houston philanthropy Becca Cason Thrash and husband John Thrash — ensure that the national and international art world will pay attention. (A few lucky VIPS will also get to party with the Thrashes at a private gathering Saturday, October 3.) Our picks for the most intriguing exhibitors include the Damien Hirst co-founded gallery Other Criteria (a terrific place for shopping for multiples that are democratically priced; ask to see a Hirst butterfly silkscreen) and The Hole, quite possibly the hottest gallery in Manhattan (according to The New York Times). Morgan Lehman showcases Katia Santibañez's dance between the city and country. Other cool contenders feature fine photo fare, such as London artist Julia Fullerton- Batten's cinematic moments at Randall Scott Projects. Meanwhile, Aussie Sarah Bahbah serves up images of models consuming junk food at ZK Gallery. Just announced and recommended: Houston notables Inman Gallery, Gallery Sonja Roesch and Devin Borden Gallery; L.A. dealers Rosamund Felsen Gallery and Charlie James Gallery; and, from across the pond, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London. All of the above join international design darlings The Haas Brothers in conversation and a curated presentation of Mexico City's leading edge avant-garde spaces organized by Leslie Moody Castro, alongside performances, panels and some unexpected interventions within the Fair itself. Meet you by the Rodrigo Valenzuela installation. Canvas: Insider Preview — TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR, YEAR FIVE October 1 – 4, 2015 H O U S T O N txcontemporary.com The Hole's Kathy Grayson COURTESY CYNTHIA CORBETT GALLERY, LONDON COURTESY OF THE HOLE, NYC Andy Burgess' Modernist Brazilian House, 2013, at Cynthia Corbett Gallery