Event Chair Susan Reynolds, Santa Anita Racetrack Bugler Jay Cohen, Pasadena Art Alliance President Annaly Bennett, and Event Chair Stephanie Fox at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Mary Urquhart, Gale Kohl, Rene Chiarra, Lynne Sullivan, and Greg King at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Pasadena Art Alliance President Annaly Bennett and Stephen Miller at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Event Chairs Gwen Robertson, Stephanie Fox, and Susan Reynolds at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Armory Center for the Arts Executive Director Leslie Ito and Phung Huynh at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Jennifer DeVoll, Kim Burbank, Former Pasadena Councilmember Andy Wilson, and Melissa Lee at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Adrianna Galloway and Lacole Abraham-Soto at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Carolyn Siegal, Alma Banuelos, Scott Siegal, and Maki Shenfelt at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Tamara Tolkin and David Bell at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Angela Fujita, Gajin Fugita, Julie Joyce, and JR Sealis at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
David Fortner and Samantha Thompson at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Irina Ianculescu, Tal Kapoor, Barbara Duker, and Angela Rooney at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Jamie Scholnick and Lisa Diane Wedgeworth at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Susanna Dadd, Cynthia Thiel, and Vicki Ledig at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Patty Zuber, Leland Jones, Amy Jones, Tom Round, Michelle Round, and Bob Zuber at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Jose Soto and Stephen Galloway at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
David Lamb, Amy Lamb, Carla McCarthy, David McCarthy, and Juliann Rooke at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Deedie McCarthy and Laura O’Connor at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Anne Otter, Rudi Otter, Scott Brady, and Denise Brady at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Michael C. McMillen and Stephen Nowlin at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Rita Flynn, Laura O’Connor, and Carolyn Morton at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Judy Whiting and Pasadena Art Alliance President Annaly Bennett at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Melissa Froehlich, Alison Soden, and Laurie Sowd at Pasadena Art Alliance's Biennial Art Auction held at Santa Anita Park [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
The Pasadena Art Alliance, with a fusion of friends, contemporary art, and electronic music, hosted its 22nd Biennial Art Auction at Santa Anita Park on Saturday, April 13th. With more than 350 art aficionados in attendance, guests had the opportunity to bid on more than 60 donated artworks. The art pieces were both one and two-dimensional and separated into two sections. The infamous race track bugler Jay Cohen signaled the close of bidding for each section.
The artworks were curated by the PAA Artist Committee, which for two decades has kept its pulse on established and up-and-coming artists throughout Southern California, cultivating long-held and newer relationships with the artists, The Artist Committee works hard to entice them to donate to the PAA Auction. Some of these artists were former PAA Grantee recipients and were pleased to give back to the PAA. All artists were invited to attend the evening as guests.
The three co-chairs, Susan Reynolds, Gwen Robertson, and Stephanie Fox, worked together for the last year to make sure every detail was in place.
Culinary expert and PAA neophyte Alexandra Poer created the signature cocktail, “The Lucky Baldwin.” The Santa Anita chefs prepared the Huntington Buffet for guests. Marta Z, a non-classical electric violinist, provided unique musical talent. She strolled and flowed her way beautifully through the crowd and the 16 art panels displaying the art up for auction, adding a magical element to the evening.
“We couldn’t have done this without the superior installation skills provided by the Pasadena Arts Center Exhibition’s Crew,” said Reynolds, grateful for their expertise.
“The choice to have our event at Santa Anita Park was validated. The event staff there is amazing, the attention to detail is stunning, and the views day and night were all superb. It created the warmest atmosphere despite the rain,” said Fox.
The Pasadena Art Alliance President, Annaly Bennett, recounts, “The women of the Pasadena Art Alliance are passionate about supporting contemporary visual art, and tonight’s art auction was a tremendous success! We are incredibly grateful to our donating artists and generous patrons and friends who made this event possible and are so honored to be a part of Southern California’s extraordinary contemporary art community.”
The dedication by the entire event committee was all in the interest of the PAA Mission Statement, which is “to foster an appreciation for contemporary visual arts in Southern California by supporting artists, exhibitions, educational programs, and art-oriented, non-profit institutions.” This is fostered by an ever-inventive and dynamic organization of over 175 women who share a deep belief in the increasingly diverse and essential art of our time.
PAA awards grants on an annual basis to projects that meet their rigorous process and standards. Funds are granted to established as well as unconventional institutions, and PAA takes pride in championing difficult and nontraditional art. Since 1976, PAA has awarded nearly $8 million to support contemporary art in Southern California.
The Pasadena Art Alliance hosts this Art Auction every two years, but it also hosts a variety of other events in support of their Grantee goals.
