Throwback: Trustees Dinner @ The Whitney Museum of American Art

In 2005, Geoff was given to design and create the decor for the annual Whitney Museum of American Art's Board of Trustees. Having majored in art at Pratt, Geoff was thrilled to have the opportunity to create his own installation inside a major art museum, even if only for a night!  Using chartreuse Dupioni silk swagging back and forth over the table and "through" the windows and out into the courtyard, taking advantage of the very high ceiling and surrounding spaces.The table was dressed with a bright orange runner with a continuous water-filled tray containing floating candles and orchids blossoms in chartreuse and orange. Geoff worked his magic in creating sculptural scrolls at the end of each fabric swag. The result is strong yet whimsical.

Throwback: 1997 - DIFFA - Devil in a Red Dress

For the very first DIFFA: Dining by Design, the theme was simply RED. Anne Klein sponsored a table and working with their design team, who came up with the idea of a 'devil in a red dress'. The mannequin stands on a smoldering rock rising from the middle of the table. Surrounding the table were ten chairs with 6 and 8 foot high red plexi flame shaped backs.  Geoff designed and produced the table cloth and her dress, ombred from deepest coal black at the bottom transitioning to bright red at her neck. The swaroski crystals also ombred up in ruby red and diamond. The feathered headdress with spiraling horns, the pitch fork and her tail, casually draped over her right arm, were all custom made by Geoff.

Shown above and below are photo taken for publication by ELLE DECOR Magazine.

In addition to the flaming chairs, the table was set with dozens of candles to reinforce the element of hell-fire.

Geoff's design was also published in New York Times!

The cover of Elle Decor featuring Geoff's fiery design.

Smells like Success!

Set in the famed hills of West Hollywood, The London Hotel played host to this year's Aramis Designer Fragrances Sales Conference. Once again Geoff Howell Studio was given the honor of working with the wonderful team at Aramis in designing, producing and installing all the decor for the various product launches and all the fancy food fests!

A view of downtown Los Angeles from the roof of the London Hotel

A swanky welcome dinner on the roof of The London features one long long table with a reflecting pool of water running the length filled with floating candles and orchid blossoms

The after party was decorated in a rich silver and white palette,  added to the pool side cabanas, offering amazing rooftop view as well

If you look closely you can spot Geoff waving to the camera in the middle of another rooftop luncheon

Dinner at  the chic Italian eatery Cecconi's on another evening, was decked out with luscious bouquets of hundreds of  red roses on every table, as well as accents of white pillows, candles and silver garden stools.

For a special last night blast, dinner was held at the STK steakhouse. Fuchsia was the tone of the evening implemented in the up lighting of the walls and the vivid color of the orchid display dominating the center of the room. To add a touch of high elegance, Geoff added his own custom candelabras into the mix. The orchids were placed in tall glass cylinders in water to create a magical refractive optic effect while passing by.

Brian of Geoff Howell Studio and Kristin of Aramis behind the scenes.

Hundreds of orchids lying in wait for their moment!

A much needed moment of rest in between product launch/decor changes.  Geoff snaps a photo while the crew catches a breath on a sumptuous gold leather sofa in the London Hotel lobby.

Thomas Cole Historic Site Benefit 2011

The third in a series of Thomas Cole fundraisers, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Thomas Cole Museum. This year's photo-op backdrop consisted of two 8-foot numbers surrounded by mylar stars, modeled here by two local 10's (Brett and Justin) who generously helped for 3 days with the event.

The design focused on the birthday theme, hinted at by the invitation which included a single balloon tied to Thomas Cole's easel.

On the back on all 330 chairs was tied a single red or fuchsia balloon on a red string in various lengths conforming to the height of the tent. The coolest effect of this design is that not until you physically enter the tent do you see the 300+ balloons, making for a great (birthday) surprise! The color scheme continued with red and fuchsia tablecloth and contrasting napkins. Locally grown and donated centerpieces ( by Story's Farm in Palenville) with geraniums and other flowers in a 4th of July color scheme finished off the design.

As you can see, the event was held at an estate with a breath-taking view of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and Hudson River ( and two of Geoff's helpers, Will and Brian)

Special holographic laser lighting by Hudson Talbot.

A spectacular fireworks display, set off down the hill from the main tent, capped off the evening's festivities with  BANG and some OOOHS and AAAHHS

 Thomas Cole National Historic Site (where American art was born)

LYONEL FEININGER DINNER AT THE WHITNEY

To celebrate the opening of the late German expressionist artist Lyonel Feininger's exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, we were asked to design the members only dinner party. Inspired by Feininger's frequent use of architectural imagery (in particular, arches), Geoff designed zig-zag folding screens made of homosote to create a whimsical architectural folly. The chartreuse tablecloths and soft pink palette of the floral centerpieces are reminiscent of his color palette. The next evening, the same decor was re-used for the public opening, an event for several thousand people.

 

Here's a look at a few of Feininger's paintings which inspired Geoff's design:

Lyonel Feininger: At the Edge of The World
June 30 - October 16 @ The Whitney

Bailey House charity event

Celebrating their 23rd year of existence as a NY institution dedicated to providing housing to people and families with HIV/AIDS,  Bailey House felt that it was the perfect time to emphasize their roots and theme the party around NYC itself. With only a shoestring budget, Geoff came up with a clever and soaring design that takes advantage of the 130 foot ceiling of the Lexington Ave Armory at 26th street using long sheets of black spray painted white paper featuring NYC skyscrapers and other iconic imagery, held aloft by 225 36-inch black helium-filled weather balloons that disappeared into the dark recesses of the ceiling...

(And a note from Geoff Howell:  I would like to thank all the wonderful people that worked so hard and gave so much of themselves to make this event a great success for Bailey House.
the GHS team expended tremendous effort and dedication to the cause, the lighting was greatly discounted (New City Video & Staging, Inc.),  and the whole A/V and lighting team did an extraordinary job making the most of a small budget! )

Geoff's original sketch of the design

The Lexington Ave armory just before the installation began.

The Silent auction items were showed in 40 by 40 feet square pavilions that you can see going up in this photo. Anchoring the center of the space was the large bar.

Meanwhile, a few days before Geoff and his team rented an industrial space in Ridgewood big and long enough to paint line drawings of the skyscapers, the tallest (the Empire State Building of course!) being 75 feet long/high. In keeping with the street-tested medium of graffiti, Geoff chose to sketch out the buildings in spray paint.

Here you can see the 'elevations' in progress where some of the paper panels have already been lifted up by the balloons while others are patiently waiting their turn to fly.

The design of this building was loosely based on Edward Hopper's painting "Early Sunday Morning" now on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

The first panel of a skyscraper goes up!

A nod to the fact that the greatest amount of silent auction items are works of art, one of the pavilions was inspired by the art district in Chelsea featuring a High-Line Park facade, a giant billboard simply stating ART and an interpretation of the Chelsea Hotel sign.

Looking up at the tallest group of skyscrapers you can see the balloons above.

In this shot you can see the reflection of  light from the 100 monofilament lines between the balloons and the buildings

One of the pavilions highlight the fashion items up for auction. Rootstein generously donated the use of their sexiest mannequins for the central display of the pavilion. In this photo during installation, the 'models' nakedly await their chic ensembles.

During the installation of the Step and Repeat, one of the GHS crew members makes sure to keep the backdrop clean and wrinkle free, also becoming his own celebrity moment.

TV personality Sherri Shepherd photographed in the traditional manner in front of the Step and Repeat. She was one of the many stars that came out to help the event to sparkle.

One of two artists seen here making impromptu portraits of the event's guests.

The event is full swing!

Geoff's soaring design catches the attention of the press!

BIZBASH

Edge Boston

MR NY