On Monday night in Los Angeles, more than 560 artists, patrons, and cultural mainstays gathered at the Geffen Contemporary to celebrate three figures who have helped shape the Museum of Contemporary Art‘s legacy: artist Kara Walker, who recently co-organized MOCA’s landmark “Monuments” show, rabble-rousing LA artist mainstay Paul McCarthy, and longtime MOCA trustee Eugenio López Alonso. Conceived by Italian-born, LA-based artist Piero Golia, the evening unfolded as a sequence of artistic interventions, from performances celebrating each honoree to immersive gallery activations highlighting the artists’ expansive practices. In support of MOCA’s exhibitions, operations, and educational programming, the gathered company helped raise more than $3 million for the museum in one evening.
“I really think a lot of artists in LA appreciate MOCA more than any other museum,” McCarthy shared. “As artists—especially if you’re living on the edge—you want the work that comes out to be appreciated, and I think MOCA has done that. Over the years, history has been made.”
The Entertainment: “The MOCA Gala Symphony Orchestra”—a special group of musicians convened for the evening and led by conductor Benjamin Schwartz—performed Thomas Kotcheff’s MOCA Brass Fanfare. The work was composed in three distinct movements, each written specifically for one of the honorees. The evening’s host, dancer and multidisciplinary creative Stephen Galloway, guided guests from their point of entry through the inventive activations and warm remarks.
The Crowd: Guests included artists Alex Israel, Lauren Halsey, Catherine Opie, Tala Madani, Sterling Ruby, Barbara Kruger, and Frances Stark; MOCA leadership Ann Goldstein, Carolyn Clark Powers, and Julie Wainwright; film director Ava DuVernay; actors Keanu Reeves, Supriya Ganesh, and Minka Kelly; musician Rufus Wainwright; dealer Jeffrey Deitch; and patrons Jarl Mohn and Heather Podesta.
Food and Drink: Chefs Laila Gohar and Chris Kronner collaborated on a festive dinner menu, which included stuffed cabbage with English pea vinaigrette, wild king salmon, and the showstopper, a towering seven-foot vanilla cake layered with chocolate ganache. The desset-cum-art-piece served as a suitably surreal finale for an evening dedicated to artistic spectacle.
Memorable Moment: As the affair drew to a close, servers distributed slices of the colossal cake beneath the soaring ceilings of the museum—a fittingly grand gesture for a night spent celebrating three larger-than-life figures.
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