» Bunch of art
Soho draws the art lovers in for a star-studded auction
It’s currently high season on the UK art scene, with more art fairs, gallery openings, and general creative ‘happenings’ than you can shake a canapé at. But by far the hottest ticket in London so far this year has been the Lazarides Soho Auction, which made its unforgettable debut in the capital last week.
Held at exclusive gay nightspot The Shadow Lounge on Brewer Street, the basic premise of the event was as follows. They took one Basquiat, three Warhols, some new pieces by Banksy and Damien Hirst, and threw in an incredible range of artworks by some of the UK’s most popular urban artists, and then put it all up for auction in front of a specially invited audience of 200 leading art buyers.
But this was an auction with a difference, because also on hand were some buxom burlesque beauties, complete with nipple tassles and showgirl plumes, who kept the audience glued to their seats for the duration.
As I was lucky enough to be promoting the auction itself, I lost no time in assembling a cadre of paparazzi photographers and staking out the celeb-studded event from neighbouring gay bar Village. Imagine the snappers’ delight, then, when I looked up and pointed out a young girl with a very distinctive beehive hairstyle walking down the street outside. That’s right; it was none other than ‘Rehab’ singer Amy Winehouse, looking as skinny as ever and clutching a packet of fags in one hand.
Quicker than you can say “Look at the birdie!”, the four photographers we were sitting with leapt to their feet and hightailed it outside and down the street in hot pursuit, leaving me and Will from my office sitting there alone at a table with six drinks on it!
But it seemed our spotting of the Winehouse was just an aperitif, as news of the auction had drawn half the celeb population of London to Soho, a bit like moths swarming round a bright light. Hollywood child actress and self-confessed Banksy mega-fan Mary-Kate Olsen was one of the first to arrive, grabbing a seat in the front row and having her leather ‘spanking paddle’ ready to hold up whenever she wanted to bid for a lot.
Not far behind was legendary US actor Dennis Hopper, who spent most of the auction taking snaps of the lots with his digital camera… or was he taking shots of the big-boobed burlesque dancers who were carrying the paintings in? No, no, it was probably the art!
There were famous faces everywhere: musician Paul Young, presenter Jamie Theakston, and Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who I must confess looked less than amused when we started humming the theme to The Phantom of The Opera within earshot. There goes my casting call to be his next Maria!
But the real stars of the show were the artworks themselves, which went from anywhere between £20,000 to an astonishing £600,000. Of course, I’m not allowed to say who bid for what, but I will say this: it’s a very lucrative time to be an artist!
Jo Brooks is director of Brighton-based PR company JBPR Ltd,
01273 622555, www.jb-pr.com
