TEFAF New York, Spring 2017

The exhibition at the Park Ave Armory marks the inauguration of the Spring edition of TEFAF New York 2017, the annual venerable fair well-known in the art industry throughout Europe held annually in Maastricht since 1988 (the non-profit also publishes one of the most important art market reports on an annual basis). The second Fall edition occurs October 27-31. Exhibitors were selected by a committee of four members of the TEFAF NY Board and four external art experts and the artwork must be vetted professionally for authenticity using modern technology to be displayed.

While the work is museum quality with price tags to match, the fair offers a uniquely intimate opportunity to closely view masterpieces and multimillion-dollar works in an elegant setting without the intellectual coherence imposed by curated exhibitions. TEFAF’s focus on modern and contemporary art and design also creates an interesting contrast between neighboring booths and within single booths containing more diverse displays than usual, some approximating art in situ from a Park Avenue living or dining room. This all made for a welcome experience quite different than either standard high-end art fairs or design expos.

Access to passionate and informed dealers from around the world also made the experience a much less stuffy affair than expected, and I quite enjoyed the fair despite everything being for sale yet unaffordable. But of special note is the international flavor of TEFAF: with 98 exhibitors, about one-third were not from the big three art cities, with Hong Kong and Brussels most prominent. Others were on display from Antwerp, Copenhagen, Milan, Munich, St. Moritz, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Turin, Tokyo, and Punta del Este, Uruguay. As a result, French and German seemed more common than English, and Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese were well-represented. The manageable size, quality of work, contrasting and diverse displays, and this international aspect made TEFAF one of my favorite fairs.

An excellent example of interesting contrasts and diversity was found with Offer Waterman’s juxtaposition of some extraordinary small Henry Moore maquettes next to colorful early works by David Hockney.

Henry Moore
Maquette for Openwork Head No. 2
1950
Bronze
5.75″ x 2.125″
Courtesy of Offer Waterman, London

David Hockney
Coloured Head with Straight Black Hair
1963
Coloured pencil on paper
12.5″ x 10″
Courtesy of Offer Waterman, London

On view at the booth is a historically important maquette for a work considered by Moore to be “more important to me than others…as keys to a particular period.”

Henry Moore
Small Maquette No. 1 for Reclining Figure
1950
bronze
Length 9.5 inches
Courtesy of Offer Waterman, London

Two other galleries stood out as international highlights of TEFAF. Galeria Sur from Uruguay had a particularly diverse booth. While Botero sculptures were less dominant than usual – perhaps an intention of the selection committee – there were few throughout the fair, but this gallery displayed one of the only Botero canvases I saw.

Fernando Botero
The Model
2011
Oil on canvas
71″ x 47.75″
Courtesy of Galeria Sur, Punta del Este

Pablo Atchugarry
Untitled
2017
Statuary Carrara marble
79″ x 14.5″ x 8.75″
Courtesy of Galeria Sur, Punta del Este

Joaquín Torres García
Grafisme en noir et rouge, Paris
1931
Oil on canvas
29.5″ x 22″
Courtesy of Galeria Sur, Punta del Este

The James Butterwick booth was strikingly colorful and vibrant with a theme of “Bitter Harvest” accompanied by a beautiful catalog for the exhibit of Russian and Ukranian Avant-Garde from 1890 to 1934. Being a fan of Kandinsky, I had been a bit disappointed not to see more at TEFAF, so this piece was a major standout for being on so unusual a medium as incised panel. But it was impossible to consider this work the lead piece despite its uniqueness when compared to the extraordinary Alexander Bogomazov work that developed “spectralism” to attain such ethereal depth, energy and motion.

Wassily Kandinsky
Promenade Gracieuse
1904
Gouache and pencil on incised panel
22.9 x 59 cm
Courtesy of James Butterwick, London

Alexander Bogomazov
Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter, Yaroslava
1928
Oil on board
59 x 59 cm
Courtesy of James Butterwick, London

Modern art fairs focused on the secondary market tend to be dominated by the masters, and while there were several works by Miró, Picasso, and Chagall in evidence, I appreciated that work by Basquiat seemed to outnumber Warhol and Rauschenberg, and in a few instances, they were the lead pieces of the booth. Following market fads is part of the nature of the beast of course, but it is a testament to the organizers of TEFAF that they appear to have intentionally reined in that tendency. As a result, this was one of the most balanced, diverse, and interesting art fairs I have seen in quite a few years.

Jean Michel Basquiat
Untitled (Head)
1983
Acrylic and oilstick on paper
76.2 x 55.88 cm
Untitled (Frame)
1987
Wooden slats with nails, paper on wood, graphite, colored pencil, and acrylic
120.7 x 101.4 cm
Courtesy of Wienerroither & Kohlbacher, Vienna

Konstantin Bessmertny was born in Russia and lives and works in Macau. His work addresses the many absurdities of contemporary living and our understanding of history through lush paintings, thick with coded references and allusions to high and low culture. Bessmertny is a creature of boundaries between times, cultures and places. The effect is not lost on his works, which gleefully portrays challenges of basic, almost universally accepted understandings of zeitgeist, history, and its heroes.

The construction of surreal blocks, towers and buildings in this series of aedificiums is my attempt to repeat classical Babylonian efforts. Each work is an elaborate labyrinth of visual references to different topics borrowed from high and low cultures, the classics and folklore.

Konstantin Bessmertny
Aedificium: Kali Liberates the Ego
2017
Oil on canvas
138 x 80 cm
Courtesy ROSSI & ROSSI

The second floor rooms allowed for more exhibition space. The work of Roberto Sebastian Matta at ROBILANT + VOENA and A Surrealist Banquet at Di Donna stood out. A Surrealist Banquet will also be exhibited at the gallery May 11 – June 2, 2017. http://DIDONNA.COM

Roberto Sebastian Matta
Fig Leaf
1945
Oil on canvas
97.2 x 130.2 cm / 38.3 x 51.3 in
Courtesy ROBILANT + VOENA

A Surrealist Banquet
(installation view)
Courtesy Di Donna

Marc Lambert is a freelance writer, independent curator, and private art dealer born and raised in NYC, reluctantly moving out of Harlem after 15 years. Former owner of Lambert Fine Arts in LES, he now works primarily in the secondary market and frequently travels to Brazil where he just had a beach wedding with the love of his life.