On Monday night, Cipriani South Street was the place to spot iconic figures from the worlds of contemporary art and cultural philanthropy. It was, of course, the setting of the 2025 New Museum Spring Gala, which this year celebrated the institution’s highly anticipated expansion (designed by OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas) and honored the trailblazing gallerist Paula Cooper.
The evening, which kicked off with cocktails and DJ April Hunt setting the mood, offered an exhilarating mix of high art, high spirits and high-profile VIPs, with a veritable Who’s Who of art talent on show: Joan Jonas and Cindy Sherman, Tourmaline and Jamian Juliano-Villani, Sanford Biggers and many others. While the night wasn’t just about seeing and being seen, with figures like Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter, Philip Glass and Laurie Simmons in attendance, it was hard not to go a little bit starry eyed.
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Also spotted were curators and museum directors like Cecily Brown, Isolde Brielmaier, Legacy Russell, Thelma Golden, Jasmine Wahi and Adam Weinberg, alongside top-tier collectors such as J.K. Brown, Eric Diefenbach and Charlotte Feng Ford. Naturally, there were the patrons—a list that included Jamie Singer Soros, Robert Soros, Warren Eisenberg and Mitzi Eisenberg. The ever-ebullient Jerry Saltz mingled with arts entrepreneurs like Yvonne Force Villareal and even royalty in the form of Prince Sultan Bin Fahad bin-Nasser bin Abdulaziz and Princess Deena Ali Al-Juhani Abdulaziz.
As dessert was served, Jamie Singer Soros, gala chair Patricia Blanchet and New Museum director Lisa Phillips took the dais to toast the legendary Cooper and her illustrious 60-year career—tributes followed from New Museum artistic director Massimiliano Gioni and the aforementioned Brown. There was also a unique musical performance by Laurie Anderson (a good friend of Cooper’s) that concluded with an impromptu Tai Chi lesson that left the crowd thoroughly captivated.
This absolutely enthralling evening culminated in a lively auction led by Phyllis Kao of Sotheby’s, with standout pieces by Alex Katz, Christian Marclay and Judy Chicago and a chance to sit for a one-of-a-kind watercolor portrait by Francesco Clemente going on the block in support of the museum’s expansion and the programming that will give the new space life.
