of luminaries including Sharon Stone, Sigourney
Weaver, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Dita Von
Teese, and Patti LaBelle.
The roster of artists who have been honored
at the event is just as distinguished. Among other
heavyweights, they include Robert Rauschenberg, Ed
Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, April Gornik, Joel Shapiro,
Cecily Brown, Christopher Wool, and Peter Doig.
Wilson notes that Howard Rachofsky named Luc
Tuymans as the recipient of the 2013 amfAR Award
of Excellence for Artistic Contributions for the Fight
Against AIDS. The artist, based in Belgium, is one of
the most prominent contemporary painters. His work
is a staple in leading public and private collections
throughout the world and, since the ‘70s, Tuyman’s
signature muted canvases have been described as
“stripped down to minimal signifiers (that) often
involve a secondary, introspective narrative.” He draws
upon a confluence of Flemish Old Master paintings
and contemporary mass media and uses pre-existing
imagery that he subsequently morphs into his own
brand of deeply unsettling work. Tuyman will be
joined by a number of other artists including Nathan
Carter, Kathryn Andrews, and Alexander Kroll, as well
as others yet to be announced.
Wilson is clearly enthusiastic about the artwork
that’s going to be on hand for the event. She
unequivocally states, “My favorite part of TWO x
TWO is the art auction. It is world-class, and the work
that the artists give for the auction is solid. I have never
seen another charity art auction that compares to it!”
This is a statement that carries unusual heft, since she’s
witnessed plenty of other events at a broad array of
venues. In fact, Wilson takes her cues from the best of
the best when it comes to art advisors. Namely, Beatrix
Ruf, director and curator of the Kunsthalle Zürich and
Mark Godfrey, curator for the Tate Modern, are two
people for whom she “has great respect.”
They’ve exerted considerable influence over her
own formidable collection and continue to assist her
when it comes to adorning her walls with what can
only be described as a thoroughly delectable collection
of stellar art. She admires Godfrey’s dedication with
regard to “learning about an artist” and subsequently
notes that she likes to do the same. “We seem to like a
lot of the same artists and love to share information.
It makes it fun and engaging!” Meanwhile, she states
that she admires Ruf “as a curator and a woman. She’s
a genius at spotting talent and her ‘eye’ in the art world
intrigues me. Beatrix is unique and someone to learn
from, which I do by simply watching her and listening.
She’s thoroughly honest about what she likes — and
what she doesn’t.”
In fact, when it comes to choosing pieces for her
own collection, Wilson is likely to turn to a varied and
