SOFA NEW YORK 2005 OPENING NIGHT
AN ARTFUL EVENING

Over 800 dealers, artists, curators, journalists and art lovers enjoyed an exceptional aesthetic and culinary experience at the SOFA NEW YORK 2005 Opening Night Preview Gala, a benefit for the Museum of Arts and Design, and the kick-off event for Contemporary Decorative Arts Week, June 1 – June 8, in New York City.

This year’s Preview Gala again featured A Taste of New York —mouth-watering savories by New York’s finest chefs and restaurants, including smoked ham & chicken croquettes w/ plantain chips & mashed sweet plantains from Cuba; bean chaat tossed w/ onion, tomatoes & mint w/ tamarind chutney, served on crispy pappadum from Devi; and ensalada de nopalitos (cactus salad) by Zarela.

Marc Leuthold The Sun and the Moon, 2005 Loveed Fine Arts, New York, NY

Collectors and dealers agreed that Opening Night ceramic sales were strong. Linda Schlenger, President of the national collector group, Friends of Contemporary Ceramics (FCC), said, “I have never seen so many red dots (on sold artwork) so early at any SOFA ever. All the really wonderful work has sold.” At a private dinner on Friday night, the FCC will present its annual Ceramic Lifetime Achievement of the Year Award to Japanese art expert Louise Cort, Curator for Ceramics, The Freer Gallery and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.

Akio Takamori Tall Envelope Vessel, 1990 Garth Clark Gallery, New York, NY

Olga de Amaral ESTELAS, Special Exhibit Bellas Artes/Thea Burger, Santa Fe, NM and New York, NY

Garth Clark Gallery, New York, enjoyed major sales including Akio Takamori’s Tall Envelope Vessel and North Wind by Rudy Autio. Also selling well were vessel forms by Rick Dillingham, Robert Turner and Richard De Vore.

Thea Burger of Bellas Artes/Thea Burger, Santa Fe, NM and New York, said Opening Night sales of new work by Columbian textile master, Olga de Amaral and sculptor Ruth Duckworth were, “Fabulous! We did wonderfully well, selling many our major pieces.” In cooperation with the Museum of Arts and Design, Bellas Artes/Thea Burger is also presenting Estelas, a Special Exhibit at SOFA NEW YORK of suspended gold and silver leafed wall panels by de Amaral, never before seen in New York.

Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd. gallery at SOFA New York 2005.

Joan Mirviss of Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd., New York, specialist in Asian decorative and fine arts, reported excellent Opening Night sales of ceramic vessel forms by contemporary Japanese sculpture artist Sakiyama Takayuki. Mirviss said, “All the major pieces are sold, and we also secured commissions for 8 large pieces, including 2 to prestigious museums.” Sakiyama’s work was recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for its permanent collection, and he was recently awarded the prestigious Emperor's Cup (top award) at the 2005 Nihon Togei Ten (2005 Japan Ceramics Exhibition). VIEW SAKIYAMA TAKAYUKI SPEAKING ABOUT HIS WORK.

Michael Lucero Pre Columbus, 1990-91 Donna Schneier Fine Arts, New York

Click here to view Michael Lucero speaking about his work.

Of the many artists attending Opening Night, there was perhaps no one more welcome after a five-year sojourn in Faenza, Italy, than Michael Lucero and his wife, painter Cheryl Laennel, both represented by Donna Schneier Fine Arts, New York. Two major works from Lucero’s 1990’s Pre Columbus series sold Opening Night, as well as two of his whimsical new ceramic and embroidered yarn sculptures. VIEW MICHAEL LUCERO SPEAKING ABOUT HIS WORK.

Marvin Lipofsky Australian Landscape Series Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA

Kenn Holsten of Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA reported brisk sales of sculptures by Marvin Lipofsky: “By the end of the evening we had sold half of Marvin’s exciting new Australian Series, created at the hot glass facilities of The Denizen Studio in North Manly, Sydney, and the Jam Factory in Adelaide.”

Mari Meszaros Frozen in Time II, 2002 R. Duane Reed, New York and St. Louis

Duane Reed of R. Duane Reed, New York and St. Louis said, “It was the best Opening Night for sales we have ever had.” Major sales included Mari Meszaros, Frozen in Time II, 2002, fused and cast glass.

Other key Opening Night sales included:

	Colata di Lava, Yoichi Ohira, hand-blown glass canes with murrine, avventurina, granular and powder inserts; partial inciso and polished surface, 2005. Barry Friedman, Ltd., New York.
	Butterfly Dress (Absence), Karen LaMonte, cast glass, 2004, Heller Gallery, New York.
	Enteanatomia, Cristina Cordova, ceramic, and mixed media, 2005. Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago.
	Flower Child, Tanya Lyons, solid worked glass & copper, 2005. Galerie Elena Lee, Montreal.
	Small Complex #6, Eva Hild, stoneware. 2003. Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York.
	A pair of Crescent rocking chairs, Wendell Castle, curly maple, 1983. Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia.
	Vesica Monday, William Daley, stoneware, cone 6, hand-built, 2005. Helen Drutt: Philadelphia /Hurong Lou Gallery.

VIEW A SELECTION OF ARTWORKS SOLD OPENING NIGHT