PARTIES

United Front

Art Production Fund unveils its latest project at The Standard.

by Kat Herriman

Joey Jalleo, Arturo Sandoval III, Casey Fremont, Yvonne Force Villareal, and Samuel Borkson

On Monday night, amidst the buzz of Fashion Week’s countless shows and parties, the Art Production Fund and The Standard High Line unveiled their latest project—a surrealist, inflatable structure dreamed up by the artist collective FriendsWithYou for the entrance of the hotel—at a cool affair in New York’s Meatpacking district. Glowing from within, the alien sculpture acted as a sublime backdrop for the evening’s guests, who joined hosts Yvonne Force Villareal and Casey Fremont in celebrating Arturo Sandoval III and Sam Borkson, the cheerful duo behind FriendsWithYou. A chic crowd, including Lorenzo Martone, Daniel Arsham, and curator Polina Berlin, snapped selfies under the amorphous canopy and sipped the season’s last glasses of rosé. Clad in one of her colorful furs, Villareal matched the Technicolor installation. “We think it is a prehistoric ghost inhabiting a huge inflatable that also suggests future hope for unity. It asks, Can’t we all just be friends?” Her assessment felt particularly potent when staring at the luminous sculpture in the context of the night sky, where one could spot illuminated columns of artist Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda’s 9/11 Tribute piercing through the darkness. Joined in light, the two installations looked like long lost friends.

Photos: United Front

Joey Jalleo, Arturo Sandoval III, Casey Fremont, Yvonne Force Villareal, and Samuel Borkson. Photograph by BFAnyc.com.

FriendsWithYou sculpture. Photograph by BFAnyc.com.

Daniel Sheehan and Lorenzo Martone. Photograph by BFAnyc.com

Inside FriendsWithYou sculpture. Photograph by BFAnyc.com.

Daniel and Stephanie Arsham. Photograph by BFAnyc.com.

1/5