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.
Tag: modern 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
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."
Art Basel Miami 2021
After a skipped year due to the pandemic, Art Basel Miami is back. It's December in Florida, in the high 70s☀️, and it's Miami Art Week here. There are several smaller shows happening simultaneously, including Art Miami and Context Art Miami, art events and installations at Faena Art Forum. It's impossible to be everywhere (I'm a one-woman band after all), but here is my (limited) take on it. Like in Basel earlier this year, masks and wristbands are required (I got a nice pink one). Despite the pandemic, the show attracted about 60,000 visitors, lots of first-timers - both among the visitors and exhibitors. I heard that the entry requirements are more lenient this year, and some art is quite perplexing (I left it out 🤷🏻♀️ but I am no expert), and the rumor goes that some old-timers are not happy...The poster child of the art world, NFTs are ubiquitous (I covered NFTs last year in one of my posts). After three years of schlepping around art fairs, I finally can recognize same artists and galleries, and the experience is not a complete vertigo, but still overwhelming especially carrying all my equipment like a sherpa. But I wouldn't do it any other way, and the best thing about shows, is meeting new interesting people. I just wish I could do more and better... Whoever is watching, if only one person, enjoy and thank you! Plain Jane 😘
Art Show | Park Avenue Armory
The Art Show, organized by the Art Dealers Association of America, is back at the Park Avenue Amory in New York. It comprises 72 member galleries. It’s mainly modern and contemporary art. Here some highlights from the show. David Klein Gallery from Detroit, MI, presents Mario Moore; Berggruen Gallery from San Francisco has brought Cy Twombly’s lithographs; artist Isabella Kirkland talks about marine fauna research behind her paintings; Hirschl & Adler has several humorous paintings by American surrealist Honoré Sharrer; Coreen Simpson’s photographs at the Jessica Silverman booth; P.P.O.W. - queer art by Katharine Kuharic. A few galleries I visited the day before during the Upper East Side Gallery Walk — David Nollan presenting Dorothea Rockburne, Richard Gray with McArthur Binion, who uses his address book and his birth certificate in his works. Then, there are some unexpected treats – rare prints by old masters —Rembrandt, and Albrecht Dürer at David Tunick gallery. Part of the proceeds from the show goes to non-profit organization Henry Street Settlement that supports low-income New Yorkers.
Greaves Productions 