Nasher Sculpture Center director Jeremy Strick partnered with guest curator Brooke Hodge, deputy director at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, to host more than 160 Dallas arts patrons for a dinner and first look at “Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio.”

Guests — including Veletta and John Lill, Kelly and Allen Questrom, Rick Lowe, Patsy Donosky, and Lizzie and Dan Routman — first dined on poached baby artichokes with confit tomato and Dijon-crusted lamb chops at Nasher Cafe by Wolfgang Puck, but then it was onto a conversation about the art. Hodge and British designer Thomas Heatherwick joined Strick for remarks about this exciting body of work that landed them in Dallas.

“Provocations” is the first time a North American museum has featured works by Heatherwick, who has been called the “Leonardo da Vinci of our times” by esteemed designer Sir Terence Conran. Heatherwick Studio is recognized for its highly inventive approach to design, often combining novel engineering with new materials and innovative technology to create unusual, often sculptural, building forms. The project that first garnered Heatherwick international recognition was the Rolling Bridge near London’s Paddington Station.

The Nasher exhibit explores concepts behind early projects like handbag designs by Longchamp and the rotation-molded “Spun” chairs, as well as architectural projects from around the world. It includes prototypes, large-scale models, objects, photographs, and film and video footage for a selection of projects.

“Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio,” one of our picks for fall’s must-see museum exhibitions, is on display at the Nasher Sculpture Center through January 4, 2015.