NEW YORK—Five trees stand mysteriously in front of 548 West 22nd Street. They are a nice touch of nature in an area otherwise dominated largely by glass, brick, and concrete, but they are also artifacts, reminders that the address once housed the Dia Art Foundation, which planted the trees in 1988 in honor of Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Oaks (1982–87) project.

Dia sold the building in 2007 for a reported $38.55 million, a move that critic Jerry Saltz declared a “negligent, irresponsible action.” Almost two years later, the move looks smart. Manhattan real estate prices have dropped, and in fact the space sat empty until March of this year, when Elizabeth Dee moved in her X Initiative, a yearlong project offering exhibitions, performances, and other events.

On Wednesday night, at a benefit to help fund upcoming projects, X honored legendary dealer Paula Cooper and Picasso biographer John Richardson, aligning itself with an august artistic lineage. As New Museum curator Massimiliano Gioni mingled near Warhol star Ultraviolet, artist Ryan McNamara opened the event with a bit of whimsy, telling the admixture of expensive suits and damaged jeans that, to save time, he would forgo a flashy opening sequence. “I just want you guys to imagine some dancing girls right here,” he said, pointing to his right, “and some dancing boys right here. Just visualize their sequins sparkling in the light and shimmying around me.”

As it happened, there was plenty to enjoy without the use of visualization techniques. John Richardson took the stage after a hearty tribute from New Museum curator Laura Hoptman to accept his award and unleashed a devastating attack on art history professor Rosalind Krauss, a vocal Richardson critic, who — Richardson cheerily noted — once suggested that he would “set Picasso studies back 50 years” through his work. “I saw Krauss outside the Gagosian gallery,” he said. “We had a hundred thousand people! And I thought, ‘That’s my revenge against this academicism.’” Victoriously leaving the stage, he announced, “We’re going to do a lot more shows!”

The other aggressive statement in the room was a cast of a hand mounted atop a white pedestal. Though at first glance it looked like a Bruce Nauman, a closer inspection revealed that its middle finger was defiantly extended at viewers. Its remaining digits had been amputated. It was, of course, a gift from Maurizio Cattelan and available to generous donors. An X intern informed curious onlookers that Cattelan plans to cast 80 whole hands in latex, then slice the fingers off himself.

Even the art historians were brandishing bold words. “The history of art is usually taught as the history of artists, of movements, of styles,” Emory University art historian James Meyer told the crowd in his panegyric to Paula Cooper. “The dealer is the unsung hero of these narratives. The gallerist supports the artists morally and financially.” Though long reviled in some quarters, the dealers that survive this recession may emerge as brave, risk-taking heroes.

Celebrating Cooper, Meyer continued, “Paula is often credited as being the first dealer to open a gallery in SoHo, known at the time as Hell’s 100 Acres for its filth and its vast population of rats.” It recalled critic Charlie Finch’s pronouncement that Chelsea would never become an art destination because “Even the cops are scared to go there.” Though Dee wasn’t the first dealer to move to the neighborhood, she is among the group taking the biggest risks. She is a temporary resident at 548 West 22nd Street. There will be other tenants, though who they will be remains to be seen. “When X Initiative closes as a site,” Dee told the assembled crowd, “we hope that the community we’ve created here will continue.”