Following his showcase in the Dutch city of Maastricht in March, the European Fine Arts Foundation (TEFAF) is currently hosting its new york version (May 12-16) at the sprawling Park Avenue Armory. The annual fair, a must for New York collectors, brings together modern and contemporary art, jewelry, antiques, furniture and design.
The 2023 lineup features 78 returning dealers representing 13 countries, as well as 13 new exhibitors. Newcomers include Karma in New York, Galerie Chastel-Maréchal in Paris, Geoffrey Diner in Washington DC and PKM Gallery in South Korea. The list brings together an exceptional selection of works in New York, offering collectors, design professionals, curators and enthusiasts the opportunity to view and own a wide range of museum-quality pieces approved by a committee of experts.
Here are some of the highlights.
Isamu Noguchi, linga
white cube
Isamu Noguchi, linga (1987–88). Muntz metal. Courtesy of White Cube.
Isamu Noguchi created his polished metal sculpture linga in 1987. In Indian and Hindu traditions, the linga is a phallic symbol, a stylized abstraction representing the cosmic generative force of Shiva – and is often used as a non-representative cult image in temples. Noguchi’s modern take on the linga alludes to the tradition of combining the masculine and the feminine, but he presents the two planes not as a sculpture and a base, but as an upright couple – a single sacred vessel for the divine. Noguchi was inspired not only by oriental heritage, but also by his early years, in the 1920s, as an assistant in Constantin Brancusi’s studio in Paris, where “he was mainly in charge of polishing”, according to White Cube Senior Manager Matthieu. Paris. Hence the burnished and shiny Noguchi linga.
Pierre Paulin, desk and chair
R & Company
Pierre Paulin, Happiness of the day office and curule chair (1983). Mahogany and leather. Courtesy of R & Company.
This desk and accompanying Grecian-style chair – stained in dark hues associated with men’s furniture, though made in a smaller form intended for female use – were part of a suite designed by Pierre Paulin in 1983. The style celebrated the traditions of the Court of France and the 18th century mercers who provided his furniture. When opened, the shutters of the small central box of the desk harmonize perfectly with the grid structure of the backsplash, creating an elegant and symmetrical composition while protecting the privacy of the person who writes. The pair once belonged to Denis Freeman.
NC Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth
Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts
In the lead: NC Wyeth, The coming of the Mayflower in 1620 (1941). Bottom: Andrew Wyeth and NC Wyeth, Puritan Cod Fishermen (1947). Courtesy of Bernard Goldberg Beaux-Arts.
In 1940, NC Wyeth was commissioned by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to paint a group of murals for its New York City headquarters at One Madison Avenue known as “The New England Series”. Nineteen murals were designed to bring the world of the Pilgrims to life, providing MetLife employees with moving marine imagery. THE Arrival of the Mayflower in 1620 is one of the last works that Wyeth himself created before his death in 1945. Guided by his sketches, five further panels, including Puritan Cod Fishermen—were completed by his son, Andrew, and his son-in-law, John McCoy, both of whom were his pupils. The price asked by the gallery for Mayflower is $4.25 million and, for cod fishermen$3.75 million.
Khmer head of a deity
Axel Vervoordt
Head of a deity, late 12th-early 13th century, Cambodia. Courtesy of Axel Vervoordt.
Axel Vervoordt brought an exceptional Khmer sculpture, a fragment of a male head showing the facial features of King Jayavarman VII, who reigned from 1181 to 1218, and who was arguably the most important of the Khmer monarchs in present-day Cambodia. He was the first Khmer ruler to devote himself to Buddhism, so the head also bears the qualities of Buddha. Crafted in very fine sandstone in the sculptural Bayon type, the fragment captures an emotion that other Khmer artworks from earlier eras lack. The naturalistic face shows signs of maturity, notably in the high forehead and thick eyebrows. The serene expression is amplified by the eye, closed in meditation to convey introspection and tranquility.
Francois-Xavier Lalanne, Grasshopper Bar
Mennour
Francois-Xavier Lalanne, Grasshopper Bar (circa 1974). Courtesy of Mennour.
Francois Xavier Lalanne Grasshopper Bar is part of a series of functional animal sculptures he initiated in 1964, which would eventually include versions of a bull, donkey, ostrich, and cat. This polished steel and brass grasshopper is as much a decorative statue as an oversized wet bar, a highly inventive work straight from the private collection for which it was created, here revealed to the public for the first time since its completion. Only two more Grasshoppers are known in the collection of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Center Pompidou. A patinated bronze hippo bar sold for $7.8 million at Christie’s New York on May 11.
Pair of Haida lions
Donald Ellis Gallery
Anonymous Haida Artist, Pair of Lions (circa 1840). Courtesy of Donald Ellis Gallery.
TEFAF is a redoubt of unique items, and these wooden lions are no exception. Carvers belonging to the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest sometimes made objects that were not native to North America, as in the case of a matching pair of African lions carved from red spruce or cedar with nails of iron, dating from about 1840. I don’t know for sure why these lions were carved,” said gallerist Donald Ellis. “If I had to speculate, I would say they were commissioned by the chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company for use in his home, as carved stone lions were popular in the gardens of his native England. ” The lions were most likely made from a very old photograph or book illustration, in a way that combined 19th century European naturalism with traditional northwest coast features. The nose, whiskers, mane, and bushy tail tips are naturalistic, while the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth indicate a Northwest Coast origin. Additionally, the faces appear to be masks, revealed in a curved line from forehead to nose to chin, further suggesting a northern coastal origin. The asking price for these unusual lions is $650,000.
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