Luxe Life Blog
Steve Wynn, James Rosenquist to unveil artwork at Lou Ruvo Center
Phil Grucci and Steve Wynn watch Grucci's fireworks display during the grand opening of Encore Macau on April 21, 2010.
Photo: Wynn Macau
Contemporary artist James Rosenquist is one of the most celebrated painters of the 20th century. Casino mogul Steve Wynn, who knows a little about art and its investment values, commissioned the world-renowned artist to create a masterpiece for our Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
James will unveil his massive oil-on-canvas painting tomorrow evening to a select group of 100 of the top VIP Las Vegas dignitaries at the downtown facility, where it will hang in the Keep Memory Alive Event Center. The event is designed as a thank you for the organization’s largest donors and supporters.
The original artwork is titled Cervelo Spazio Cosmico, which translates from the Italian as “brain space,” reflecting the mission of the prestigious medical center. It’s a significant addition to the already extensive art collection of more than 4,000 pieces that decorate the walls there -- and assists patients there for treatment, recovery and caregiver doctor conferences.
James is a highly honored artist with solo exhibitions and retrospectives worldwide in such museum collections as the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His works also are on display at the Hara Museum in Tokyo, the Ludwig Museum in Germany and the Tate Museum in London.
To give you an idea of this extraordinary gift, James’ F-111 canvas that sold for more than $2 million in 1986 is now worth at least double that amount. Limited-edition prints have recently sold at auction for nearly $100,000. Steve himself just sold a Roy Lichtenstein modern art piece for a record $42.7 million at Christie’s in New York.
Chef of the Century Joel Robuchon has flown in from his Paris headquarters to team up with award-winning Wynn chefs Alex Stratta and Paul Bartolotta to prepare the private VIP gourmet dinner party. They, along with several other Las Vegas star chefs including Wolfgang Puck, who have lost family members to Alzheimer’s, are now producing “brain healthy” menus for the Cleveland Clinic doctors to add to treatments at the Keep Memory Alive facility.
We’ll have a full photo report right here at VegasDeLuxe.com on Monday.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
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