When Sanford Smith announced last year that he would combine Modernism, the granddaddy of the Park Avenue Armory shows, with ART20, its younger sibling, no one could have predicted the strength of the fusion. Tagged “Art Meets Design,” Modernism + ART20 surfaced a virtual retrospective of the cross currents in art, studio art and production designs of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries.
At the opening night preview on Thursday, November 12, the Brooklyn Museum recognized Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore with the Distinguished Collector Award for their commitment to excellence in collecting and their support of cultural institutions. The Young Designer Award presented in tandem by Smith’s Modernism and the Brooklyn Museum went to Yves Béhar, whose fuseproject has created groundbreaking designs for clients as varied as Swarovski and Birkenstock.
Even as the assembled applauded the awards, there was activity on the exhibition floor. Dealers greeted old clients and new collectors, many of whom remarked on their delight at being able to shop the best of the decorative and fine arts, jewelry and vintage clothing in one venue. In fact, the armory seemed to resonate with an energy that was later reflected in important sales.
With more than 60 international dealers represented, the diversity of offerings began at Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, New York City. Known for his collection of works by American artists, Goldberg mixed in decorative pieces that drew showgoers into the booth for a closer look. The first thing most people entering the show saw was a monumental walnut and tin airplane model of Marcel Bloch’s MB175 suspended from the rafters. Dominating the left wall was a remarkable composite lithograph detailing the interior of San Francisco’s fabulous three-acre, glass-enclosed Sutro Baths. The majority found it impossible to leave the booth without venturing all the way to the back to inspect George W. Maher’s “Poppy Leaded Glass Window” from the Charles and Helen Winton House in Wausau, Wis.
Across the aisle, Babcock Galleries, New York City, let Marsden Hartley’s catalog do the talking. Spanning the artist’s evolution, there were early works in the style of Cezanne and bold departures into the color palette, such as “Still Life with Lemons,” circa 1928. The strongest piece, however, was Hartley’s mature period “Finnish-Yankee Wrestler.” Essentially a nude, the lightly camouflaged form is one of the few pre-Midcentury Modernist paintings to explore the male form.
At Vincent Vallarino Fine Art, New York City, and McCormick Gallery, Chicago, the postwar American Abstract Expressionists held sway. Front and center was an untitled Michael Goldberg work from 1957. The large oil on canvas was one of at least four Goldbergs and the most expensive of the lot. Nearby, Mary Abbott’s fiery abstract “Red Peppers,” oil on paper mounted to canvas, balanced Alexander Liberman’s “Iota,” a black circle on red ground.
A very recent John Grillo acquisition at Acme Fine Art, Boston, absolutely demanded viewer attention. The large amorphous abstract by the still-working California artist was painted in 1947, before Grillo came under the influence of Hans Hofmann. Smaller, but equally as commanding, was the collection of Indian Space paintings, including one by Will Barnet.
Exploring Latin America’s magical realism, Tomás Sánchez’s recent meticulous canvases were the standouts at Cernuda Arte of Coral Gables, Fla. “Meditacion a las Seis” was serenity exemplified, while “Basura con Fuegos en la Noche,” a detailed and fiery garbage dump, made one of the most political comments in the show.
Island Weiss, who always comes up with an exciting display of sculpture and paintings, featured the mixed media works of Christopher Simmons. He also brought innovation to the show in the form of a Friday night event for students at the New York Academy of Art.
For every painting and sculpture shown, there was an equally impressive offering by studio artists. “Organic” seemed to be the word of the week, as ceramics artists and cabinetmakers mined nature’s fluid forms.
At J. Lohmann Gallery, New York City, ceramics by German artist Frank Schillo followed Earth’s curve and mocked the double helix with forms that belie the complexity of process. Sandra Davolio’s biscuit porcelain lichenlike forms also appeared exceedingly simple when, in fact, they are rather contemplative. Roy Lichtenstein’s “Forms in Space,” 1985, a nod to the American flag, served as the backdrop.
At Madison Avenue’s Good Design, curvilinear case pieces by ébeniste Antoine Schapira married vintage veneers with gold leaf. Peter Loughrey, Los Angeles, the auctioneer and gallerist, gave depth to a collection of stark Modern furniture with an oversized and sinewy walnut cabinet by Phillip Lloyd Powell. Moderne Gallery, whose Philadelphia-based exhibition “Early Furniture by George Nakashima, 1936‱956” runs through December 24, showcased “rough luxe” pieces by the internationally known designer.
One of the preeminent displays of mass-produced and custom furniture by the midcentury architects and designers was at Mark McDonald’s booth. From his gallery in Hudson, N.Y., came a pair of Rudolph Schindler sling chairs based on the 1920s Kings Road rockers. Their austerity was countered by Henry Glass’s 1962 child’s storage chest with colorful pullout drawers. And an Italian rosewood veneer wall valet with keyhole cutouts for moveable pegs had people guessing the name of its designer. The answer, at evening’s end, remained “Anonymous.”
More fun stuff was seen at Galere, West Palm Beach, Fla., where Pedro Friedeberg’s Silla Mariposa chair was earthbound by human form legs.
Jim Elkind of Lost City Arts, New York City, dazzled even architecturally overloaded New Yorkers with a 1929 maquette of the eagle that decorates the Empire State Building’s front door. Purchased from the archives of Shreve Lamb and Harmon, the Art Deco eagle’s plaster form made one person comment that the draw of the new all-glass buildings is, ironically, that they look out on the beauty of the “lost city.” Elkind also displayed the original, typewritten line-by-line budget for the building.
The Modernists clearly were popular with showgoers as booths’ outstanding pieces saw plenty of traffic. The calling card at Caira Mandaglio, the London-based gallery, was Osvaldo Borsani’s fruitwood cabinet with a center carving by master sculptor Voltran. Gio Ponti’s mahogany dining table with inlaid design proved the proper place around which to gather eight polished fruitwood chairs with inverted backrest stretchers and gold sabots. A modular sofa by Pierre Paulin, which could be arranged in a serpent shape or arched, was pure design, never mass produced.
Modernity of Stockholm, a longtime exhibitor, offered a rare Gerrit Rietveld chair. Designed in 1949, the Danish Chair, of plywood with a wraparound back, was one of only five prototypes. Another rarity in the booth was Fritz Henningsen’s rocker in Cuban mahogany. The 1930s armchair, which displayed the curves and flourishes the designer so loved, was vaguely reminiscent of the period that predated Modernism.
To that end, the Arts and Crafts movement was amply represented by Boston’s JMW Gallery. While the quartersawn oak center table that held a hammered copper vessel pretty much summed up the back-to-nature aesthetic, a pair of brown linen drapes with stitched poppies at their midpoint conveyed the intimacy of a rural cottage. Attributed to Gustav Stickley, the well-preserved drapes could be hung today.
The last, or perhaps the first, word on the subject of early Twentieth Century designed belonged to Janet Drucker and Lillian Nassau. New York City’s Nassau lit up her booth with a display of Tiffany Studio leaded glass lamps. And Drucker offered the monumental King’s Bowl, designed by Johan Rohde for Georg Jensen in 1917. According to the dealer, it is the biggest piece of Jensen she has seen in 30 years.
Overall, the newly fused show was so successful that Modernism + Art20 2010 is scheduled for November 12‱5. For further information, contact Sanford Smith & Associates at 212-777-5218 or www.sanfordsmith.com .
