Drinking at the Guggenheim
It's Always Been the Thing to Do, Apparently
Recent auction results may suggest that the art bubble has burst, but at least the bubbly's still flowing. The Guggenheim laid on plenty of Champagne for the downtown art types who slogged their way up to 89th Street on a wet Thursday night to discover who won the $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize. "After a few of these, you forget the hem of your dress is wet and that your hair's a mess," said gallerist Melissa Bent. The free-flowing booze kept most of the party guests on the museum's main floor. That, and the lack of art on display. Although the work of the finalists, including that of the winner, Palestinian-American artist Emily Jacir, was projected on a screen in the middle of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, the institution's famous spiral walkways were bare. Also hidden from the masses was Julianne Moore, who spent her brief visit sequestered behind a shimmery VIP curtain and three big guards. Smuggling a glass of Champagne out into the rain, legendary supermodel Pat Cleveland was much more chatty. "I love being here at night and being able to drink out of something that's not in a brown bag," she said. "That's how it used to be back when everyone lived up here. We used to drink at the Guggenheim all the time, right out of paper bags."


