{"id":1610577,"date":"2026-01-14T16:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?post_type=listicle&p=1610577"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:56:22","slug":"observer-art-power-index-party-recap","status":"publish","type":"listicle","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/list\/observer-art-power-index-party-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer\u2019s Art Power Index Party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Power in the art world is often discreet\u2014etched into museum walls, discussed over gala dinners\u2014but this certainly wasn\u2019t the case on Tuesday night, where pioneers of the industry and New York\u2019s glitterati gathered in full force to celebrate Observer\u2019s Art Power Index<\/a> at Maison Nur in the Lower East Side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under black suit jackets and striking wall projections, gallerists, artists and award winners mingled, strategized and celebrated their achievements, interrupted only, of course, by the delicate canap\u00e9s and the commencement of speeches. \u201cIn 2009, Peter Kaplan told Charlie Rose that ‘Observer was meant to diagnose power,\u2019\u201d rang the voice of Observer\u2019s head of editorial, Merin Curotto, from behind the DJ booth. \u201cIt was meant to be tremendous fun,\u201d Curotto continued. \u201cTonight, we embody that spirit.\u201d Scanning the room, it seemed to be just the right diagnosis\u2014a stylish one, at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObserver has chronicled the art world for over four decades,\u201d Kristy Edmunds, director of MASS MoCA, said, perched on a velvety leopard-print sofa as the honoree portion of the evening got underway. The awards spotlighted the figures shaping how capital and vision move through today\u2019s art world, and Christie\u2019s<\/a> CEO Bonnie Brennan was up first. Brennan wove through the crowd to collect her award from Muys Snijders, head of art services at Private Client Select, the evening\u2019s presenting sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a room full of visionaries,\u201d Brennan said as she took the stage. \u201cYou are innovative and creative in a time when we face challenges, and we also face opportunities.\u201d She was followed by Artsy CEO Jeffrey Yin, who accepted his honor from Perrotin director and former Guggenheim curator Ylinka Barotto. \u201cArtists tell stories,\u201d Yin said to an enamored room. \u201cThey tell stories about ourselves that we didn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between speeches, chatter rose and cameras shuttered. \u201cThere\u2019s some beautiful jewelry in here tonight,\u201d one attendee, leaning on the marbled bar, whispered to her friend on a zebra stool. She may have been referencing Daniella Hull, De Beers\u2019 director of high jewelry, who sparkled in a corner booth. \u201cI love the location, it\u2019s super chic,\u201d said another, somewhere to my left. Pisco sours and espresso martinis floated through the crowd as guests claimed corners in the dimly lit basement. And, they weren\u2019t just any corners. The walls were adorned with art from the private collection of Nur Khan, New York nightlife\u2019s self-proclaimed \u201cpied piper\u201d and owner of Maison Nur. Two large, kaleidoscopic works by Damien Hirst, taken directly from Khan\u2019s home, were hard to miss as you walked in\u2014though, if you did, a third illuminated the lower-level bar. \u201cAll my friends are artists,\u201d Khan was overheard telling Curotto as he introduced her to famed fashion photographer Sante d’Orazio. \u201cSante\u2019s first job was working for Andy Warhol,\u201d Khan said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the evening, artist Derrick Adams presented Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent with an award in recognition of Sargent\u2019s tireless advocacy for artists. Adams\u2019 art resides in the permanent collections of The Met, the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum and other top institutions. (In April, “View-Master”\u2014a comprehensive survey of the artist\u2019s twenty years of multidisciplinary practice celebrating contemporary Black life and culture\u2014opens at the ICA in Boston.) Adams offered a gushing, heartfelt tribute as he welcomed Sargent to the stage. \u201cIndividuals like Antwaun are the people I speak about when I talk about discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe art world is really just about making artist projects come alive,\u201d a soft-spoken Sargent said, adding that he thinks it takes a village for this to happen. \u201cObserver\u2019s Art Index really does shine a light on all of us who are working together with artists to make their ideas come alive in the gallery spaces, museums, and other spaces that make up the institutionalized art world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final honoree of the evening was Dustin Yellin, artist and founder of Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn, who accepted the Social Sculpture Award in front of an increasingly packed room. \u201cUltimately, Dustin built Pioneer Works on the conviction that culture functions best as a commons\u2014an idea many give lip service to but few follow through on,\u201d Observer arts editor Christa Terry said by way of introduction. In his acceptance speech, Yellin implored the room to \u201cwork a little harder to love each other more,\u201d and \u201cto find ways to build bridges to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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