SOFA NEW YORK 2003

The 7th annual SOFA NEW YORK 2004, June 3-6 at the prestigious Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue, will assemble fifty of the world’s finest galleries and dealers presenting works of art bridging the decorative and fine arts. The Opening Night Preview Gala, June 2 at the Armory, will again benefit the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York, with its like-minded mission to celebrate expressive objects that transcend the boundaries of craft, art and design. Holly Hotchner, Director of MAD calls SOFA expositions in New York and Chicago “the gold standard.”

Showcasing the rich visual heritage of the decorative arts alongside new, innovative expressions, this year’s exposition will again feature prominent galleries whose offerings bridge historical periods, art movements and cultures, including Barry Friedman, Ltd., Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd., and Garth Clark Gallery of New York, and Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia.

Joan Mirviss at SOFA NY 2003

Michael Gruber (left) and Robert Aibel (right) of Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia in the SOFA NEW YORK 2003 Special Exhibit of works by Wharton Esherick.

Barry Friedman, Ltd., New York has exhibited in SOFA NEW YORK since its inception, and is also a long-time exhibitor in the esteemed Winter Antiques Show in New York. Friedman says, “SOFA NEW YORK offers the connoisseur of art and antiques a whole new realm of collecting.” Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd., New York, specializing in Asian decorative and fine arts, exhibits annually at the prestigious Winter Antiques Show and New York’s International Asian Art Fair (IAAF). Garth Clark Gallery, New York, renowned dealer of 20th and 21st century ceramics, exhibits in New York’s venerable Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) show. Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia exhibits in the trend setting Modernism show, and has led the way at SOFA expositions for the exhibition of vintage works by important 20th century designers and furniture artists such as George Nakashima (1905-1990) and Wharton Esherick (1887-1970).

More than a dynamic marketplace, SOFA NEW YORK is a forum for the exploration of modern and contemporary artworks and aesthetics. This year’s educational Special Exhibit is presented in conjunction with Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza, Italy, and the Garth Clark Gallery, New York, and will showcase the art of Carlo Zauli (1926-2002), considered one of the greater ceramics sculptors of the twentieth century, alongside works by other major contemporary European ceramists.

The acclaimed annual SOFA NEW YORK 2004 Lecture Series takes place in the Tiffany Room at the Seventh Regiment Armory, June 3-5, and is free to SOFA attendees. Speakers include:

Mason, John Vertical Intersection, Blue 1997 Ceramic 62.5 x 13.5 x 13.5 Represented by Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York

Nakashima, George Untitled Coffee Table 1973 Curly maple 65 x 21 x 14 Represented by Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Glancy, Michael Biomorphic Ganglia 2003 Deeply engraved, Pompeii cut blown glass, industiral plate glass and copper 12 x 24 x 10 Represented by Barry Friedman, Ltd., New York

• John Mason who along with Peter Voulkos, led the “California clay revolution” in the mid-1950s that transformed ceramics from a craft to a fine art medium. Represented at SOFA NEW YORK by Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York;

• Furniture designer Mira Nakashima, daughter of George Nakashima (1905-1990), who will speak on her renowned father’s life and art. Both represented by Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia;

• Michael Glancy, whose resplendent surfaces of glass and metal are influenced by Maurice Marinot (1882-1960), one of the earliest pioneers of the Studio Glass Movement. Represented by Barry Friedman, Ltd. New York;

• Scholar and writer Mark Del Vecchio, Garth Clark Gallery, New York, on the subject of postmodern ceramics of the last twenty years.

• Jane Adlin, Assistant Curator, Department of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Contemporary British Craft, followed by a tour of SOFA NEW YORK 2004, highlighting artworks referencing Britain’s rich craft tradition. Presented in conjunction with The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York.

View SOFA NEW YORK 2004 Lecture Series schedule.

Key collector, museum and professional groups will attend SOFA NEW YORK 2004, many holding private receptions and annual award ceremonies. Book signings by authors are also planned at the exposition including Shards: Garth Clark on Ceramic Art by Garth Clark; and Nature, Form & Spirit: The Life and Legacy of George Nakashima by Mira Nakashima.

SOFA NEW YORK 2003

SOFA NEW YORK 2004 will again organize the Third Annual Contemporary Decorative Arts Week (CDAW) in New York City: Bringing Art to Life, a week-long, city-wide celebration of the New York’s vibrant contemporary decorative arts scene. Schedule of events to be posted on www.sofaexpo.com.

SOFA NEW YORK 2004 galleries will present a broad range of artworks celebrating both traditional and new materials, and the processes that transform them into expressive objects. As Roberta Smith, Art Critic for The New York Times wrote in a review of SOFA NEW YORK: “…what counts is presence, and it can be found in almost every booth.”

SOFA NEW YORK 2003