I am in the Netherlands, for one of the most prestigious fine art and antique fairs – TEFAF Maastricht. There is one in New York, but this is the original, flagship TEFAF fair. After two years, skipped due to the pandemic, the fair returns to MECC to celebrate its 35th anniversary with over 240 exhibitors. The show is impressive -- museum-quality art pieces spanning 7,000 years of art history: paintings, sculpture, tapestries, antique furniture, clocks, fine jewelry... The fair is known for its rigorous vetting process. Sometimes it results in last-minute changes in presentation. And that’s exactly what happened to one of the exhibitors. Here's Marius van Dam of Kollenburg Antiquairs, a Dutch art dealer, with a story of a mislabeled antique cabinet. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Museum Restoration Fund. Each year, TEFAF provides funding for a restoration of significant artworks. This edition’s award goes to a Dutch museum to restore painting “Poplars near Nuenen” by Van Gogh. It’s one of the most beautiful art fairs. It’s worth a visit! I highly recommend it. Postscript: The show was not without a drama. The day after I left, on Tuesday, there was a jewelry heist. A gang of robbers used sledgehammers to smash open a display case and stole some jewelry. Evidently, the loot is a €29 million yellow diamond necklace stolen from London gallery Symbolic and Chase. Robbers remain at large. TEFAF issued a statement, calling it “an incident.” The fair runs June 25 - June 30.
Category: art
Art Basel | Basel Edition 2022
Here is my overview of the Swiss edition of Art Basel 2022. The attendance and participation are close to pre-pandemic. A record-breaking sale is set on the opening date of Louise Bourgeois "Spider" for $40 million. As always, I get a closer look at a few galleries. This time there're three - Galerie Lelong from Paris, Buchmann Galerie (Berlin branch) and the Mayor Gallery from London. I also share several highlights of the Unlimited sector. Finally, there is a tribute to Lawrence Weiner, the late New York conceptual artist. Basel, Switzerland June 18, 2022
Frieze New York 2022
Frieze New York 2022 art fair is back in the Shed at Hudson Yards in lower Manhattan on the west side. The fair relocated here last year from Randall’s Island. With only 65 galleries, the new director, Christine Messineo says, “The scale of the fair is now more intimate and very manageable.” And it is. The booths mostly present a single artist. More than half are galleries from New York. Here are my highlights. Frame section designated for young galleries less than 10 years old. The section is curated by Sophie Mörner. Her own gallery, The Company, presents an orgy installation by Cajsa von Zeipel, who coincidentally is Mörner's wife. And perhaps, the most buzz-worthy booth is the Gagosian, which has a vending machine that sells (gives away) Kafftee, a caffeinated drink designed by German artist Albert Oehlen. Special project “Zero Nukes” by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes serves as a warning, especially in the current unstable political situation, about the danger of nuclear war. Finally, I can't not mention a presentation at the Breguet stand in the upstairs lounge. It's part of the two-year Swiss watchmaker Breguet collaboration with Frieze.
TEFAF New York 2022 | Part II
On the closing day of the TEFAF New York fair, I returned to the Park Avenue Armory to view some galleries upstairs in the period rooms. Michael Beck and Ute Eggeling, the founders of the eponymous gallery from Düsseldorf, talked about the gallery's origin in East Germany and their cooperation with John McEnroe in New York. Michael Beck explained why they are not Basel people, but TEFAF people, and gave me some background on their current presentation "Cómo pretexto Picasso" by Manolo Valdés. Next, I spoke with art historian from Axel Vervoordt, a Belgian gallery. I also was pleasantly surprised by my new discovery - a beautiful gallery from Munich, Galerie Thomas. Silke Thomas, the founder's daughter and art historian, gave me a glimpse into the art scene of the last century, the German Expressionism, Wassily Kandinsky and The Blue Rider, et al. All three galleries weathered the pandemic pretty well, and have had a successful show in New York. And my final note is on Creative Spaces, the initiative at TEFAF designed for displaying select artworks in the areas throughout the show to "increase the visual excitement of the fair environment."
TEFAF New York 2022 | Part I
TEFAF is finally back for an in-person event in New York this May. The international art fair opens May 6 in the Park Avenue Armory. 91 galleries from 14 countries are presented in this edition. The invitation-only preview opening night is a benefit for the Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Greaves Productions 