Two x Two hosts Cindy and Howard Rachofsky just announced Dallas art patron Christen Wilson will serve as the event chair for the 2013 charity gala and auction. Artist Luc Tuymans and Kiehl’s Since 1851 president Chris Salgardo will be presented with the amfAR Award for Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS and the amfAR Leadership Award, respectively, at the 15th annual fundraising affair set for October 26 at the Rachofsky House.
A longtime Two x Two supporter, Wilson is chairman for the Nasher Sculpture Center Advisory Committee and chairs museum fundraising events in Dallas, New York and London. She currently serves on the International Council for the Tate Modern in London and the North American Acquisitions Committee for the Tate. Earlier this year, she was the co-chair for the Tate Artists Dinner in New York.
Tuymans, a Belgian artist, is widely credited with contributing to the revival of painting in the 1990s. His sparsely colored abstracts are typically painted from pre-existing imagery such as photographs and video stills, which makes his canvases appear as though they were created from a failing memory. Tuymans has explored diverse and sensitive topics including the Holocaust, the effects of images from 9/11 and the ambiguous utopia of the Disney empire.
Salgardo has been with Kiehl’s for 13 years — the past seven as president — and the New York-based skincare company has been a staunch supporter of amfAR for more than a decade. Kiehl’s has created several limited-edition products to benefit the foundation, and, in 2010, Salgardo launched “Kiehl’s LifeRide for amfAR,” a week-long celebrity motorcycle ride through major U.S. cities. Under Salgardo’s leadership, Kiehl’s Since 1851 has donated more than $800,000 to amfAR.
Two x Two draws prominent artists, art collectors and philanthropists from around the world to Dallas for the annual sellout black-tie gala, which is part of a week-long series of events. Sharon Stone, Sigourney Weaver, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Barry Manilow, Natasha Richardson, John Benjamin Hickey, Taylor Dayne, Dita Von Teese, Stanley Tucci, Gavin Rossdale, Alan Cumming, Cheyenne Jackson and Patti LaBelle are among the VIPs who have attended in years past.
This year also marks the 15th year for the fundraising affair that has to date raised more than $40 million in support of essential AIDS research at amfAR and for the Contemporary Art Acquisitions Fund at the Dallas Museum of Art. It is the largest U.S. fundraiser for both amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art, and funds raised at Two x Two have enabled the DMA to acquire more than 150 works.
Christen Wilson is the chairman of the 2013 Two x Two for AIDS and Art auction and gala.
