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The usual gaggle of film and television stars was largely absent from Wednesday night’s gala opening of the Los Angeles Antiques, Art + Design Show, but no one seemed to miss them. Top-notch designers and serious collectors came out in force to survey the dizzying array of treasures and oddities assembled in the Barker Hangar of the Santa Monica Air Center, and there was lots of love in the air.

The crowd included designers Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Molly Isaksen, Richard Hallberg, Elizabeth Dinkel, Lorraine Letendre, Kim Alexandriuk, Oliver M. Furth, and Thomas M. Beeton. Steven Gambrel, a New York import, was spotted in the Downtown booth inspecting a stunning Paolo Buffa desk, while Kelly Wearstler circled an Arturo Pani glass-and-brass cocktail table nearby.

Reform Gallery’s Gerard O’Brien noted the presence of prominent collectors such as Hollywood potentate Joel Silver and philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, whose names grace the new pavilion by Italian architect Renzo Piano at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). “Not only is there a lot of business getting done, it’s the right business,” O’Brien reported.

The uncommonly jubilant atmosphere at the show was due in part to Joel Chen, L.A.’s beloved sultan of vintage furniture and decorative arts, who was honored with the 2012 Design Leadership Award from LACMA’s Decorative Arts and Design Council, the evening’s beneficiary.

Designer Madeline Stuart, looking ravishing in a vintage James Galanos metallic-brocade cocktail dress and teal fox stole, echoed the feelings of Chen’s many devotees: “Joel is my hero, my mentor, my inspiration. He taught me not just how to look, but how to see.” And judging by the flock of admirers at Chen’s booth, which featured a kaleidoscopic mix of objets de vertu from around the world, there was much to see indeed.

Click here to see the stars celebrating the Los Angeles Antiques, Art + Design Show’s opening night.