President Obama by Zito - Image courtesy of the artist

NYC ‘IT’ girls and cool boys were out in full force this past Friday night, to help those fabulous rockstars of footwear celebrate the launch of the Shane & Shawn ‘Artist Series’. Framed by the breathtaking views of the Penthouse at the trendy Hotel on Rivington, the party was presented by Bombay Sapphire and co-hosted by Micah Jesse. The event centered around an ‘Art & Shoes Silent Charity Auction’ benefitting New York Cares Art Program.

While celebrity benefits are plentiful in a party city like the Big Apple, this soiree stood out in my social calendar because of the fantastic art and the great cause. Downtown artist Zito unveiled his striking, dazzling portraits of the President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama, while Alessandra DeLaCruz’s artwork — consisting of several large panels executed in varying textures of oil paint — added new meaning to the terms multi-dimensional and thought-provoking. To quote DeLaCruz herself “Paint is the King, and everything else pays tribute to the paint”. To that I’ll add “Hail to the Princess of oil paint!”

For those who could not commit to the large artwork for their lifestyle, there were plenty of hand-painted, one-of-a-kind pairs of shoes being auctioned off during the evening. Shane & Shawn’s glamorous heels and hip sneakers looked particularly spectacular repainted, re-thought and redesigned. And when the cause is helping artists make the world a more beautiful place for all of us to live in, bidding on a pair, or two, made good solid sense. It was a no brainer to a woman whose motto is “Once a shoe model, always a shoe lover”.

I was intrigued by Zito’s larger-than-life paintings of the Obamas. It is no secret that the last US election has influenced our daily life and culture, but it was interesting to discover the artist’s POV. When I asked him for his thoughts, he confessed “Regardless of where Obama takes us politically, his being elected was a defining moment in the evolution of human consciousness. It’s a good sign for the equality of all people when a member of a formerly enslaved group of people becomes the highest ranking official of the ruling class.”

While celebrity blogger and ‘Micahisms’ creator Micah Jesse was definitely the life of the party — spending most of the evening on the other side of the cameras and microphones, getting interviewed himself for a change — the stars of the evening were the generous hosts, handsome brothers Shane and Shawn. Consistently trendsetters, forever finding new ways to help today’s youth become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs — as with their newly launched Boardroom Rockstars program and website — and themselves great inspirations to all who have a dream, the gentlemen threw a party that will be remembered for some time… Particularly by the lucky few whose bids successfully earned them those priceless shoes and artwork!