Terry Wu and Jason Smith Birthday Bash

Posted by Natalie Thomas on February 3, 2015 in Australian Art, Melbourne Art | Leave a comment

Please, Please don’t believe the malicious rumour that for some time now I have been stalking Morry Schwartz. There is but an ounce of truth to it; it’s a fiction, scripted to deny my steep ascent to the stature of Melbourne’s newest socialite blogger: finger on pulse, free champagne everywhere I go. Besides, it would be career suicide to cut my lovely friend Anna Schwartz’s hunky lunch. I may be loose but I’m not naïve (?) and I’m recently HAPPILY betrothed to another.

Can I though, take this opportunity of sharing with you a very handsome portrait of Morry Schwartz by Carol Jerems.

Morry’s with friends, under a hills hoist, modelling a very fashion-forward denim on denim ensemble. Shirt unbuttoned to a suggestive extent, though not as suggestive as Mark Gillespie’s cut off denim shorts. Carol was a master at capturing the magic of the 70’s and the female gaze is still an under explored artistic trope. It’s funny what you think of after a great night out…

The art world turned out in force on Saturday night to celebrate the birthdays of Terry Wu and Jason Smith.

Hosted in the home of Terry and Melinda Wu, Birthday Boys Terry and Jason threw a joint celebration, which is considered the hit of the season so far. Everyone was in fine spirits, well rested, relaxed, tanned and ready to begin another creative year. Looking fantastic. Conviviality filled the rooms. The dress code: Dress to Impress, meant everyone had an excuse to get dolled up in their swanky best. There was great news of Australia’s Socceroos winning the Asian Cup and the decisive ousting of Far Right/Far Out Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, in the Pineapple State elections.

Queensland has recently stolen our Jason Smith and we want him repatriated back home. The man is a pilfered Elgin marble and it’s weird him standing in another art museum. We’ll get him back eventually! Jason spoke to us of the Queensland crows squawking him awake from peaceful slumber each morning at 5am. FARKK FARRRK as Grahame Kennedy used to say.

Terry Wu has been sent to art makers from the Gods. The collection he and wife Melinda have assembled over the past seven years rivals those put together by many an institution. Their home is a treasure trove of paintings and sculptures by some of Australia’s best-known practitioners. This is a couple who love living in art.  

Like everything valuable, there’s more luck involved in hosting an excellent party than people care to acknowledge. Party conjuring is one of the more esoteric of the dark arts. No matter how much planning and preparation you enter into, the success of a party is beyond the control of the hosts or individual guests for that matter. It’s all about the vibe and vibes are pretty hard things to pin down.

I will share a secret ingredient of an excellent party from years of extensive field research. It’s making people brush up against each other as they move through the crowd. En route to the bar, the toilet, the garden or their favourite Aunt. It’s a terrific icebreaker and a great mood enhancer. It’s also a very cheeky way of forcing people who wouldn’t usually touch, to touch. Sparks can fly from here and if there’s enough of a crowd crunch, the embers will ignite and BOOM! There’s your party. An orgy of chaotic and ecstatic celebration sent down from the heavens.

A thrilling night out will feed your week, and as you settle into the mundane necessities of life, you can divert your inner boredom with daydreams of all the new friends you’ve made and the laughing conversations you shared with them. Punctuate life with occasions to remember. Terry and Jason had the Spirits of Party Perfect on their side for their celebrations on Saturday night.

 People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly. 
  Andy Warhol

Whose party’s next? Let everyone know! Let me know!