With heavy hearts, Spike and Jordan Richman announce the death of the art world's dearly beloved After Party.
After Party, the never-ending, seemingly frivolous event that taught generations about the power of hedonism, fraternity, and transacting, died Sunday of complications from Covid-19. The death was confirmed by his publicist, Andrea Schwan, on Monday morning. No other details were provided.
Mr. Party had been suffering from coronavirus for the last twelve months, according to a statement posted on GHE20G0TH1K’s social-media accounts. Party died anxiously, not ready to depart, with curator Anna Frost present to post Instagram Stories of his anguished screams as he entered into the black abyss.
The last hurrah was a February Frieze rager, the likes of which Chateau Marmont had never seen before or will see again. André and Jay centre stage, Ruinart spraying, Academy Award-winning actors holding court in a coke den hidden behind heavy curtains, broken toilets, men pissing in kitchen sinks, Maja and Simone boogying on the dance floor and a lurking predator shoving their wet finger into unexpecting guests’ assholes.
Raf Simons and friends, photo © Quentin Belt
Janiva Ellis, photo © Quentin Belt
Tributes started pouring in by Monday night. Wolfgang Tillmans commemorated Mr. Party by uploading scandalous photographs to OnlyFans, a younger Mr. Party, joyous and wet. Linda Yablonsky shared about their meet cute in the 80s, where she sold them smack in the East Village and the friendship blossomed.
Unanimously loved and admired, After Party also faced occasional controversy. DIS recalled the opening of the 9th Berlin Biennale. Thousands arrived at the Pearly Gates of the tiny space on Chausseestraße selected by Flash Art. Already at capacity, invited guests were turned away by Dan DeNorch in his best St. Peter’s drag. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, out of fear of retribution, a well-known partygoer remembers the traumatics of the evening: “I had to climb over Yngve Holen’s lithe frame to storm the door. Once all inside, Yngve refused to make eye contact with me the rest of the night.”
Telfar Clemens and Shayne Oliver, photo © Quentin Belt
Little is known of After Party’s true origins. Rumours abound, but even his oldest-known friends going back to the late 60s, like Gerhard Richter, aren’t even certain. Was Mr. Party the child of a nineteenth-century German Duke and promiscuous Italian Soprano diva, incestuous Tennessee hicks, a Chicago adman and his high-school sweetheart? Several of those who knew Mr. Party best contributed these different tales, but none could be verified in time for print.
Compared to his groomed and procedural ex-boyfriend, Gallery Dinner, After Party was unencumbered, there to embrace your foibles and encourage the most debauched behaviours. Party allowed the sexiest but dumbest of the social periphery to crash, understanding that they brought the night’s entertainment. The decadent fun would start once most of the big collectors and museum chairpersons called for their cars to be up early in the morning for Pilates or board meetings.
Not only was the artworld dependent on Mr. Party socially, but many stalled artists, writers, designers, etc. had become financially dependent as well. Zane Smith, founder of LA-based queer rave Balls, lamented the passing:
“I don’t know how I’ll go on, most of my income, clout, and identity came from my associations with After Party. With them gone now, who am I?”
In June it had appeared that After Party was making a recovery as temperatures rose, cities moved out of lockdown, galleries/institutions opened, and outdoor dining commenced. People unable to leave New York for the summer commented how Euro it felt to embrace this al fresco lifestyle. But unfortunately, it wouldn’t last. Mr. Party supposedly contracted Covid a second time, according to group texts they sent obtained by Spike : “Hey guys I got a fever Tuesday night and a Covid test yesterday which just came back positive. You should get tested just to be safe. Can you let anyone else know from Friday too?”
Olivier Zahm, photo © Quentin Belt
Andre Walker, Ryan McGinley and Mykki Blanco, photo © Quentin Belt
Jay-Z famously rapped about After Party in his 2000 song, “Fiesta”: “After the show it's the After Party then, after the party it's the hotel lobby and after the Belve' then it's probably Cris’ and after the original it’s probably this”. When reached for comment, Jay-Z released a statement “that he couldn’t imagine the future of nightlife after After Party.” Similarly, Valérie Knoll, who had been in the early stages of preparing an After Party exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern, said via email, “I think After Party was incredibly important to the art world in his gaiety but also in creating space and opportunity for courageous communication, forging new bonds, and cross-pollination. His absence is greatly felt, and I'm concerned about the effects this loss will have curatorially, spiritually, financially, and culturally.”
Mr. Party never wed, but is survived by several heirs: Bad Choices, Promiscuous Sex, Drug Abuse, and Blackout Drinking. A memorial in New York has been organised for this Saturday night in the parking lot next to the Whitney Museum of American Art on the West Side Highway. Hosted by Akeem Smith, Alex Hunter, Avery Singer, Dese Escobar, Hilton Als, Hunter Schafer, Ian Schrager, Kim Gordon, Naomi Campbell, Peter Currie, Reena Spaulings, Timothée Chalamet and Vanja Sevigny Mačković. DJ sets by Marie Karlberg, Juliana Huxtable, and Physical Therapy. Entrance half off before 10:30.
Courtney Malick, photo © Quentin Belt
Thor Shannon and friend, photo © Quentin Belt
Haley Wollens, Analisa Teachworth and friend, photo © Quentin Belt
Raúl de Nieves, photo © Quentin Belt
JORDAN RICHMAN is an art director and writer based between Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin who focuses on collaborations with contemporary artists in fashion, media, and tech. He is also a contributor to Dazed, Pin-Up, Buffalo Zine, and 032c, among others.