Art for All, Meat Pies for Some

It’s lovely to share art with the public—but what, really, is an opening bash sans velvet rope? Especially when Yvonne Force Villareal is involved. At last week’s debut of Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s “Electric Fountain,” a giant light sculpture at Rock Center, her Art Production Fund team made sure barriers separated the fur-bedecked A-listers from the hoi polloi.

Yvonne Force Villareal

The list-worthy few clutched their plastic cups of hot cider as they admired the British artist team’s neon blue and white apparition. Villareal beamed at her handiwork like a proud mama, remarking on the beauty of the light reflecting off the faces of her friends, many of whom were slow to arrive to the event, presumably due to the freezing temperatures. Most of the VIPs showed up closer to 7:30, right before a private reception at the nearby 620 Loft and Garden. There, the entrance was marked by a Union Jack created out of 1,500 candles designed by Michelle Rago, and waiters served warm meat pies and fish n’chips.