This past weekend, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, with Lisa and John Runyon, hosted the 24th annual TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art gala at the beautiful Rachofsky House in Dallas. The black-tie event, which was presented by Saks and designed by “sultan of the soirée” Todd Fiscus, drew a crowd of more than 500 art collectors, philanthropists and society notables, including NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki, restaurateur Kyle Noonan, collectors Claire and Brian Gogel, designer Silvia Tcherassi, Saks CEO Marc Metrick, art advisor Sarah Calodney and artist María Berrío, who was the recipient of the amfAR Award of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS.
Singer-songwriter Jason Derulo gave an epic performance—and kicked off the evening’s live art auction (presided over by Contemporary Art London’s Michael Macaulay) with a $100,000 donation. An Anish Kapoor canvas was arguably the auction’s standout lot, but in a preview video posted to Instagram, Howard Rachofsky was excited to present works by newer contemporary artists, like Lucy Bull, Michelle Blade and Francesca Mollett. Other artists with work in the auction included Tom Anholt, Tavares Strachan, Madeline Peckenpaugh, Calida Rawles, Maja Ruznic, Grace Carney and Alicia Adamerovich. Together, the silent, live and online auctions featured 122 lots encompassing paintings, sculpture, photographic prints and textile works.
SEE ALSO: Inside the New York City Ballet’s Star-Studded Fall Gala
By the evening’s end, TWO x TWO raised an impressive $7.6 million for amfAR, which will put donated funds toward AIDS research initiatives, and the Dallas Museum of Art’s Contemporary Art Acquisition fund and exhibitions, bringing the total raised by the philanthropic organization and its supporters over the years to more than $120 million.
