TERANCE KOH

Art Dealer Mary Boone with Terence Koh

Vito Schnabel curates Terence Koh’s Flowers for Baudelaire, Wednesday, November 13, 2008, New York City.

In 2005, Olivier Sarkosy, half-brother of the French President bought a building on New York’s upper eastside that was formerly the studio of Richard Avedon for $6.5 million. Last night he and his wife Charlotte graciously opened the doors to unveil Terence Koh’s Flowers for Baudelaire. Curated by Vito Schnabel, the exhibition, an installation of paintings that Koh constructed from corn syrup and powdered sugar are hung in salon groupings on sloping gessoed walls creating a ghostly atmosphere.

In an anteroom to the Avedon studio, guests were asked to remove their shoes before pulling back the floor-to-ceiling white vinyl curtain to enter the exhibition. To celebrate the event, a crowd of artists, curators, dealers, fashion designers and muses headed upstairs to the living quarters of the Sarkozys where the walls are lined with books and an art collection including works by, Basquiat, Haring and Banksy. Champagne and canapés were served and as the crowd mounted, people spilled out onto the double-barrel terrace and partied way beyond dark.

Flowers for Baudelaire Open Tuesday-Thursday, 11-6pm Through January 2009 407 East 75th Street New York, NY 10021