Chris Salgardo, President, Kiehl’s USA; Casey Fremont, Executive Director, Art Production Fund, Marc Metrick, President, Saks Fifth Avenue; Maura Harty, President & CEO of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children; and Jeff Koons welcomed guests to the opening reception for Seated Ballerina, the artist’s latest public art installation at Rockefeller Center, on view to the public from May 12 - June 2, 2017. Notable attendees in addition to the hosts included Art Production Fund Co-Founders Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen, Art Production Fund Director of Operations Kathleen Lynch, Marlies Verhoeven, Alexandra Chemla, Fort Gansevoort’s Carolyn Angel and Adam Shopkorn, Warby Parker CEO Neil Blumenthal, Field Kallop, Dalia Oberlander, musician Betty Who, Whitney Biennial artist Raul de Nieves, Bettina Prentice, Ashlee Harrison, Nazy Nazhand, and LGBTQ rights activist Jacob Tobia.
The evening celebrated the unveiling of Seated Ballerina, Jeff Koons’ first large-scale stationary inflatable in New York. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served as guests eagerly made their way outside to the Saks Fifth Avenue terrace, which afforded a bird’s eye view of the towering sculpture at Rockefeller Plaza. Standing 45-feet high, the nylon sculpture, co-presented by Art Production Fund and Kiehl’s, depicts a metallic seated ballerina from Koons’ iconic Antiquity series. The whimsical public art installation seeks to raise awareness for National Missing Children’s Month this May (a cause close to Jeff’s heart), as well as the important mission of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, which works tirelessly to create a safer world for children.
