The Art Fair Company Now Accepting Proposals for $5000 Annual Research Grant "New Voices: A Grant for Discourse on International Contemporary Art and Design"

CHICAGO — Mark Lyman, president of The Art Fair Company, producer of the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA) Fairs in Chicago, New York and Santa Fe, NM, today announces that The Art Fair Company is now accepting proposals for the second recipient of SOFA’s US$5000 annual arts research grant “New Voices: A Grant for Discourse on International Contemporary Arts and Design.” Application is by invitation only, and eligible groups will be contacted directly by The Art Fair Company. Invitations will be sent by May 16, 2011. Continues >

14th ANNUAL SCULPTURE OBJECTS & FUNCTIONAL ART FAIR
TO OPEN APRIL 14-17, 2011 AT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Opening Night: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

New York, January 12, 2011:  Internationally recognized for its outstanding cutting-edge contemporary decorative arts and design, the 14th International Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair (SOFA NEW YORK) will open to the public on Thursday, April 14, and continue through Sunday, April 17, 2011, at the Park Avenue Armory, it was announced by Mark Lyman, Founder/Director of SOFA and President, The Art Fair Company.

Traditions & Transgressions: Art Jewelry at SOFA NEW YORK 2011
Opening Night: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Art jewelry has always been a popular collecting category at SOFA NEW YORK, and this year certainly won’t disappoint. Visitors will be intrigued to see a variety of alternative materials, such as antlers, shells, plastics, and mixed-media alongside precious metals and gemstones. Here are some of the highlights, from galleries around the world: Continues >

Contemporary Decorative Design Goes High-Tech
Opening Night: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

From advanced 3-D prototyping to bullet-proof carbon fiber, one of the most interesting aspects of SOFA NEW YORK, the cutting-edge contemporary decorative design fair, is how many of the artists employ new concepts and technologies in their work. Below are several examples that illustrate how contemporary decorative design is going high-tech at this year’s fair: Continues >

Historical References in Contemporary Decorative Art and Design

When SOFA NEW YORK opens its doors on April 14 at the Park Avenue Armory for its four day run, visitors will be greeted with a multitude of contemporary decorative art and design on offer by 55 premier galleries and dealers in a variety of media. What isn’t necessarily apparent at first glance are references to historical traditions, both conceptual and process-based, in the works of art. Below are several examples that illustrate this point: Continues >

Art & Design in the 21st Century Converge at 14th SOFA NEW YORK
April 14-17 at the Park Avenue Armory

JACK LENOR LARSEN PRESENTS 1st ANNUAL
LONGHOUSE RESERVE SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS AT FAIR
To be announced at 4th Annual Designer Breakfast Preview, Thursday, April 14

New York: A growing hallmark of the artworks offered by 57 dealers from 12 countries at SOFA NEW YORK 2011 is their synthesis of art and design, the past and present, high concept and virtuosity of materials.

Design, technology and globalization bring people and environments of many cultures together. Personifying this trend are the 6 ft tall porcelain vessels by Sin-ying Ho, a Hong Kong-Chinese ceramist living in North America, which will greet SOFA NEW YORK visitors at the entrance to the fair. Represented by Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, Ho spent many months in the Chinese porcelain center of Jingdezhan learning how to create and decorate life-sized, single-fired vessels, which reference not only the age-old royal blue Qing Hua porcelain tradition but also contemporary culture. For example “In the Dream of Hope” features hundreds of painted flowers juxtaposed with digital transfer-printed images of stock market index charts, which Ho says was inspired by the onset of the global economic crisis. Continues >