Galerie and Ralph Pucci Celebrate Ruben Toledo During Miami Art Week
Hundreds of attendees gathered at Ralph Pucci’s Wynwood gallery to view stellar works of collectible design and support a forthcoming documentary about Toledo and his late wife, Isabel
On an unseasonably warm evening during Miami Art Week, hundreds of revelers gathered at the Wynwood gallery of Ralph Pucci to celebrate the unveiling of a dynamic exhibition by Ruben Toledo at a party co-hosted by Galerie. The acclaimed artist was showcasing an array of new works: a large-scale mural titled I See You—I Love You, inspired by his beloved late wife, the acclaimed fashion designer Isabel Toledo, that stretches across the full length of the gallery’s facade; six new watercolor paintings from his Natural Selections series; and Birds sculptures originally designed as miniatures for a project he completed in Japan in the 1980s.
“Ruben has been part of the Ralph Pucci family for nearly four decades,” Pucci says, noting how Toledo originally designed mannequins for the business and even painted patterns onto his furniture. “His work is imaginative, poetic, and deeply personal, and it’s an honor to showcase this exhibition that also pays tribute to Isabel’s enduring influence.” His work, deeply entwined with the spirit of his late wife, carries forward the story of a love that started in their teenage years and endured for over five decades. Married in 1984, they built a body of work inseparable from their devotion to one another. His artwork is informed and infused with Isabel’s presence and aura, and her sculptural garments were inspired by his gestural brushstrokes and vision.
On opening night, Ruben himself sketched painterly portraits of visitors, who paid what they wished for their portraits. All proceeds from the exhibition were donated to support an upcoming documentary about the Toledos and Cuba, where the couple met and emigrated from during their childhood. The documentary, titled Izzy, will be directed by noted filmmaker Chiara Clemente and highlights not only their love affair and the creative world it spawned, but also New York’s vibrant art and fashion scene from the 1970s and ‘80s in which they were fully immersed.
On opening night, the gallery also featured a small recreation of Ralph Pucci’s celebrated New York sculpture studio, which is documented in the new coffee table book, Process. There, works are hand-sculpted before being cast in a proprietary material called Plasterglass. During the evening, Ralph Pucci’s master sculptor recreated a live studio environment near Toledo, where he was sculpting a bust of local designer Tamara Feldman. He will continue working in the gallery throughout the rest of Miami Art Week.
“There’s such a palpable buzz of creativity at Ralph Pucci,” says Galerie editor in chief Jacqueline Terrebonne, who co-hosted the evening with the magazine’s founder and editorial director Lisa Cohen. “Ruben Toledo’s hypnotic mural on the building’s exterior set the mood for the entire evening. His live portrait sketching was an absolute highlight, with crowds gathering to both have their likeness immortalized as well as to see his lyrical brushstrokes take shape.”
When not entranced by Toledo’s sketching and the live sculpture studio, attendees perused the gallery while sipping Ruinart champagne to view the numerous works of collectible design from Ralph Pucci’s illustrious roster, all set to a soundtrack by live Latin salsa band led by musician Marlow Rosado. On display were seven new Plasterglass works including coffee tables by Paul Mathieu, a dining table by Lee F. Mindel, two new ceramic lamps, and pieces by Xavier Lust, John Koga, and Ilkka Suppanen. Antoine Bootz unveiled a dozen new photographs from his Sunrises series, which neighbored the Numino collection by Kevin Walz and injected jolts of color in the gallery.
“Ralph Pucci and his son Michael have such an infectious passion for design,” Terrebonne continued. “Being around them and the artists they represent makes you open your eyes wider to take in all the beauty and wonder there is to behold.” It was a sentiment shared by a lively group of prestigious attendees from the worlds of art and design, including Clive Lonstein, Sebastien Leon, Fawn Galli, Andrew Torrey, Gay Gassmann, Lee F. Mindel, Stephan Bishop, Deborah Wecselman, Liubasha Rose, Genevieve Lake, David and Christina Martin, Jay Britto, Damon Liss, Elysze Held, Chris Coleman, Alison Antrobus, Sam Robin, and many more.
Scroll below for more highlights from the evening.
