BY JUDY CARMACK BROSS
The anticipation of the opening of EXPO Chicago translated into triumph for the Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art, hosts of the opening night Vernissage, which raised $300,000 for the MCA.
MCA Women’s Board with Board of Trustees Chair, Anne Kaplan (seated, second from left).
Glamorous guests joined with glorious art, also celebrating the Women’s Board’s 50th anniversary. Over 8,500 guests converged on Navy Pier for the opening of the sixth annual exhibition of 135 galleries from 25 countries. The MCA and EXPO have been Vernissage partners since its beginning.
Christine Poggianti, Ellen Wallace, Anne Kaplan, and Tonya Geesman.
MCA Chairs, Tonya Geesman, Christine Poggianti, and Ellen Wallace, welcomed guests to the VIP room stocked with delights from the MCA’s new restaurant, Marisol, alongside bites from BellyQ and Nude Dude Food.
Guests with Marisol chef, Jason Hammel.
Fresh and vibrant fare.
Nude Dude Food.
EXPO President, Tony Karman, and the MCA’s Director, Madeleine Grynsztejn, thanked Northern Trust’s Mac MacLellan for the bank’s sponsorship. Other speakers included Navy Pier’s Michelle Boone; Chicago’s Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Mark Kelly; and Jack Guthman, Chicago Architectural Biennial Chair.
Tony Karman, Madeleine Grynsztejn, Michelle Boone, Mac MacLellan, Jack Guthman, and Mark Kelly.
Dealers from 58 cities welcomed Vernissage guests with a glass of champagne as they strolled seemingly endless aisles filled with vibrant global art. These guests included Lena Baume, Neil Bluhm, Helen Goldenberg and Michael Alper, Ken Griffin, Linda Gotskind, Gary Metzker, Lyn Segal, Helen Zell, Larry and Marilyn Fields, Barbara Bluhm-Kaul and Don Kaul, Susan Manilow, MK Pritzker, Carl and Marilyn Thoma, Pierre Boulais, and Allison Berg.
Mamadou Sarr and Naomi Beckwith.
Colorful attire perfect for the day.
Marisol buttons.
Maria Pinto with her models.
Lois and Steve Eisen.
Tony Karman.
Steve “Mac” MacLellan and guest.
Marcia Fraerman, Nicole Steel, Susie Karkomi, and Rachel Grund.
Mark Kelly.
Anne Kaplan, Christine Poggianti, Madeleine Grynsztejn, Tony Karman, Ellen Wallace, and Tonya Geesman.
Sandra and Jack Guthman.
Tony and Sondra Karman.
Vernissage Co-Chair, Tonya Geesman.
To learn more about the MCA, one of the nation’s largest multidisciplinary museums devoted to art of our time, visit mca.org.
