Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/61759
photography courtesy of regis galerie art full still a star N A NEW BRONZE STATUE OF DEAN MARTIN AT VENETIAN'S REGIS GALERIE PAYS HOMAGE TO THE RAT PACK. by lisa arcella ext time you're at the Venetian, ride the escalator up to the Canal Shops, stop for a moment in front of Tao, and try to hear the ghosts of Vegas's past. This is the exact location of the late, great Copa Room. In its heyday, the leg- endary nightclub at the Sands was the epicenter of all things glamorous and exciting about Las Vegas, including the famed Rat Pack—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. Samuel Dweck is trying to keep that era alive in his expansive Regis Galerie, also at Venetian. The gallery's newest effort? A 23-inch bronze statue of a tuxedo-clad Martin, microphone in hand, travers- ing a staircase while in song. The Martin statue joins two sculptures of different sizes depicting Sinatra from his Pal Joey period and another statue immortalizing Sinatra, Martin, and Davis together. The commissioned works retail for between $4,500 and $9,500. "It's really been a labor of love," says Ike Dweck, Samuel's son and business partner. After culling through thousands of pictures of Martin, the Dwecks approached noted figure and portrait artist Lance Richlin and explained the image they wanted to capture. "It's set somewhere between 1965 and 1974 when he had the [weekly NBC] variety show. He was slim and handsome and always sporting the red pocket square." For the elder Dweck, keeping alive memories of the Rat Pack has become a personal mission. "When you walk into the gallery, the first thing you see is the Rat Pack sculpture," Samuel says, "and right behind that is the big sculpture of Sinatra." Serious collectors know Regis Galerie for its impressive inventory of Asian art in the VIP showroom upstairs. But Ike Dweck says many visit the gallery because they remember the scene from the 2003 Martin Bashir documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, which showed Jackson buying out half the store in about five minutes. The Dwecks say they have been surprised by the number of young visi- tors who come in and are awed by the Rat Pack mystique, from the art to their songs that play in the background. "You hear a lot of Sinatra, Dean, and Sammy," Ike says. "This is a tribute to them and as long as I'm around, these statues will always be there." 702-414- 3637; regisgalerie.com V 72 vegasmagazine.com