The conversation continued without Katherine Degn. The guest of honor was stuck on the tarmac at Chicago's O'Hare International on June 22.
The creative cocktails filled the void.
This was the doing of local party planning professional Todd Bagwell, along with Stephanie and Kenny Gunderman, who opened their Heights home to a couple of dozen young collectors.
Bagwell's "Artful Conversations Over Creative Cocktails" featured a wonderful grilled peach Old Fashioned with thyme, a Hibiscus mojito and a watermelon basil gimlet, as well as tea.
Degn owns the 130-year-old Kraushaar Gallery on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The gallery peddles a lot of sketches and drawings, which is kind of the Arkansas Arts Center's bailiwick, so there's a longstanding relationship between the two. Bagwell and others enticed Degn to fly in and meet folks, and the Gunderman reception was to be the first in her datebook.
A half-dozen or more pieces were on display, along with the Gundermans' collection. One of the pieces set up at the party was Lee Walton's L.A. Dodgers 8 Arizona Diamondbacks 7, May 22, 2012. It's a post-modern geometric rendering of ... the game? Hard to say, but Walton has a whole series of specific sports games rendered spatially and representationally, and Kraushaar represents him.
Bagwell owns a Walton.
Bagwell and the Gundermans have bought from Kraushaar.
"The purpose [of the evening was] to engage a younger group at this gallery level" but in a relaxed, home environment, with familiar faces, Bagwell said. "This is a good avenue for buying affordable art for your home."
High Profile on 07/12/2015