Stylish Soiree Provides a Peek at Preview

Nothing like a stylish little party to preview a preview party.

Confusing? Not to founding members of the Center for the Study of Decorative Arts in San Juan Capistrano.

The soiree they tossed Saturday night at the new center--formerly antiquarian Gep Durenberger’s business property--provided members and guests with their premiere peek at “California Style: Collectors and Collections.”

The complete show (to be previewed at the exhibit’s kickoff bash Feb. 4) will be the first in a series of exhibits presented by the center, a museum and research site for lovers of the decorative arts.

Seems Durenberger, described in the February, 1988, issue of Town & Country magazine as “the catalyst in (San Juan Capistrano’s) general cultural awakening,” has donated his property to the city. And along with the city and its library, Gep hopes to turn the center into a fountain of decorative experience for all, especially “style people” as Town & Country calls them: “inhabitants of the intersecting worlds of fashion, society and the arts whose influence looms so large in an age of images.”

Said an ebullient Gep, after sweeping into one of the center’s rooms, a cozy spot set with 18th-Century Irish furniture: “We will not only have exhibits, we will have lectures, concerts, seminars and food--all related to the exhibit of the moment!”

“California Style: Collectors and Collections” has already attracted the attention of some of the world’s most notable style people. Among collectors who have promised support by lending pieces for display are Alice O’Neill Avery, a member of the Forbes 400; author Judith Krantz; San Juan Capistrano’s Gaye and Art Birtcher, owners of Chateau Tranquille, and Ann James of Montecito.

Without a doubt, Gep, via his own style and lectures he has given on behalf of Libros y Artes--a cultural group affiliated with the San Juan Capistrano library--is the eye of the cultural storm that has raged in south county for the past several years. Clothing designer Bill Blass has come from New York to hear him. So has Lady (Slim) Keith, the New York socialite whom Truman Capote only thinly veiled in his infamous short story, “Le Cote Basque.” And so have curators from the upper reaches of the art world such as Gillian Wilson of the Getty Museum and William Rieder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Art Birtcher said he is anxious to help establish a financial viability for the study center. “Without it, the center won’t live. It’s so important. Many people throughout the land are trying to contribute to its success. And, while we give Gep the freedom to do what he does best, the rest of us are putting together the financial strength to help it survive.”

Jon Brown, at the helm of the fund-raising effort, said he hopes to help “raise $1 million for the center in one year.”