Where? That was the response many people had to the address on the invitation to the opening of The Martus Maw, an exhibition of 16 new paintings by the French artist Nicolas Pol. 80 Essex Street, it turned out, is an unassuming, low-slung warehouse on the Lower East Side—and, as the show's producer, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, explained, there's a reason why most people in New York have never been inside. "The building is owned by the city, and they hardly ever rent it out," said Restoin-Roitfeld, who worked with RVCA's Artist Network Program to stage the show. "This was actually the first meat market in New York City," he added. "Cool, no?"

Cool indeed, and so was the crowd that turned out for Restoin-Roitfeld's latest artistic endeavor. (If the curator thing doesn't pan out, he could always have a second career as a party planner.) Andres Serrano, André Balazs, and Jean Paul Gaultier all checked out Pol's massive mixed-media paintings; Lauren and Andres Santo Domingo, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Terence Koh joined the party later, at the post-show repast at Indochine. The first plates of spicy beef salad arrived on tables well after 10 p.m., which was basically still early for the Euro-inflected crowd.

— Maya Singer