Tim Rollins Dinner

On the night of October 22, I attended the dinner for Tim Rollins and K.O.S. at Lehmann Maupin gallery. Sit down for 100 in the gallery, very lovely with the nearly abstract paintings all around. I feared that it was going to be boring but I was sitting near Bill Ehrlich, collector-developer, who had a fascinating story to tell. Seems he was with Rauschenberg when the artist brought his ROCI show to China in 1985. That was the first time western art was shown in China and I can't tell you how many Chinese artists that I've interviewed have mentioned the show as a key influence. I asked Ehrlich where he stayed when he was in Beijing. Oh god, was his first reaction. Seems he was kept up all night by cockaroaches crawling over the walls of his room He went down to the lobby of the hotel to sleep. He also said that Rauschenberg was kind of bitter about the experience, not due to the Chinese, but because he couldn't find a single American sponsor at the time.

Here's Tim Rollins who was incredibly gracious in his remarks. Lots of the Kids of Survival were on hand, now all grown. At my table were a couple of young men who had worked with Tim since they were 12 years old. As you know, Rollins taught high school in the South Bronx and involved his students in his art making projects. They recalled flying to Europe for openings while they were still in high school thinking that this is what their life would be from then on. Well, K.O.S. didn't stay a hot item but now they were back to enjoy Tim's renewed success.