CLEVELAND – The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) will host a fundraiser titled Going Once, Going Twice on Saturday, April 25 at the Ritz Carlton Downtown Cleveland. This year the annual benefit auction will comprise works from the personal art collection of MOCA’s founding director, the late Marjorie Talalay, and her husband, the late Anselm Talalay. A cocktail preview will precede the sale.
Extending its reach to a global audience, the auction lots are online at LiveAuctioneers.com, so anyone with an interest may preview and bid absentee on the artworks. Additionally, bidders may bid exclusively via the Internet on lots 1-13, and bid online through LiveAuctioneers.com as the live auction is taking place on lots 14-40.
“MOCA is excited to present this unique opportunity to reach beyond Cleveland’s culture-loving audience,” said Toby Devan Lewis, honorary chair and MOCA board member. Going Once, Going Twice will both delight patrons who look forward to attending MOCA’s celebrated annual fundraiser and reach art collectors who can’t attend in person.”
The works in the auction are exclusively from the Talalay Collection, which was amassed by the owners – beloved members of Cleveland’s art community – over a period of more than 30 years. Among the contemporary works to be offered are paintings by Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenburg, and Red Grooms, among others.
“Marjorie was one of the contemporary art world’s most influential figures,” said MOCA Executive Director Jill Snyder. “Her eye for up-and-coming contemporary artists is reflected in her collection. We are thrilled to auction the artworks to benefit the institution she founded and loved so dearly.”
Snyder said a special thank goes out to Marjorie’s three daughters, Nina, Laurie, and Kathy, “who were so generous in making the auction possible.” As a tribute to Marjorie Talalay, many of the auctioned works will be featured at MOCA as part of the summer exhibition season. Titled Maos and Cows: Selections from the Marjorie and Anselm Talalay Collection, the exhibition will open Friday, June 5 and run through Sunday Aug. 16, 2009. It will be curated by Jill Snyder and Indra Lacis, Emily Hall Tremaine Curatorial Fellow.
MOCA hopes to attract younger art fans to the benefit, with reduced-price tickets available for $125 for those 35 and under. “We are hoping to attract new buyers-or window shoppers-by making the ticket price more accessible to younger audiences,” said Alex Manders, MOCA board member and Young Professionals advisor. “The goal is to cultivate a long-term love of contemporary art by opening the door with this exciting event. Today’s enthusiast is tomorrow’s buyer.”
For ticket information, log on to www.mocacleveland.org or call 216-581-5574. To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee, via the Internet on lots 1-13, or online as the sale is commencing (lots 14-40 only), click here.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
