LUCIO BUBACCO AT LITVAK GALLERY,
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
Denoting the rich sophistication of primo Venetian glass artist Lucio Bubacco, Litvak Gallery dealer is devoting a staggering $100,000 to staging that glass master’s work at SOFA CHICAGO.  “We’ve seen contemporary art dealers and 18th century French furniture specialists dedicate that kind of flair to their stands in Paris and Basel but Litvak personally raises the bar for the SOFA Fairs and at same time matches the extraordinary Surreal artistry of Bubacco,” says Mark Lyman, SOFA Fairs founder and director. At only age 15, Bubacco was awarded an artisan’s license and a scant few years later he was making history with his new interpretations of the “lume” glass technique by hand forming figures and incorporating them in blown and cast vessels. While mastering that historic “lume” glass technique, Bubacco draws imagery and forms from Greek, Roman and Byzantine art as well as medieval and renaissance theater and La Commedia dell’Arte in treating classic themes of love and destruction, birth and death, and heaven and hell. His work has been lauded by museum curators and collectors internationally. Lately, slews of interior designers have been ordering up unique chandeliers while collectors have been snatching up maquettes and drawings as well.

WENDELL CASTLE AT BARRY FRIEDMAN LTD.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Dynamo designer Wendell Castle’s newest work, which bridges sculpture, art and functionality, won a slew of rave reviews as well as chalked up a bevy of museum sales in just days. “The fact that major museums like the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City and the Brooklyn Museum already snapped up Castle’s newest masterpieces in fiberglass, stack laminated wood and metal, some of which are at SOFA CHICAGO, demonstrates the powerful allure of Wendell’s work as well as the entire field of design, which SOFA has played a pivotal role in pioneering,” says Mark Lyman, founder and director of the SOFA Fairs. “Going back over a decade, Wendell and his extraordinary creations have been a mainstay of our SOFA CHICAGO; but today collectors and enthusiasts for his work are part of a far larger, far finer art world,” he says.