SOFA

June 2009 Fair Reviews

AIPAD

Joburg Art Fair

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NEW YORK—The 54 exhibitors at the 12th edition of the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art fair (SOFA) had something for every collector, from jewelry and furniture to ceramics, textiles, metalwork and glass, although quality varied. The event opened to a huge, palpably enthusiastic crowd of 2,400 visitors, whose number had swelled to 17,000 by the end. Dealers, by and large, spoke of healthy sales, perhaps attributable to the reasonable prices attached to many of the wares on offer.

+ New York dealer Joan Mirviss devoted half her booth to the work of the well-known Japanese ceramist Miyashita Zenji, whose layered creations evoke sunsets and landscapes. On opening night alone, Mirviss sold 5 of the 19 pieces by Zenji that she brought to the fair; only three were left at the end. Transcendent Morning, 2007, pictured, was among the works snapped up.

+ Alastair Crawford, also of New York, showed silver and gold pieces that he designed himself. Crawford sold several, among them an 18-carat-gold and diamond bracelet, for $12,800.

+ Chicago’s Habatat Galleries had a number of sales. A wall sculpture by Shayna Leib made of blown glass, glass cane and steel went for $46,000, and several bronze and glass sculptures by Oben Abright brought in $28,000 each.

+ London dealer Claire Beck of Adrian Sassoon parted with the sculpture Propagation Project: Spiny Husk, hand-forged from mild steel and coated with wax by Japanese artist Junko Mori, for $11,500. A similar work, Multiple Pinecone, which was illustrated in the SOFA catalogue, sold just before the fair.

"SOFA" originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2009 Table of Contents.