SOFA CHICAGO: "A Sweet Spot in the Art Market", Featured in CBS MarketWatch. Perimeter Gallery.

NBC Chicago Street Team Shlomi Rabi and Amanda Hunt at SOFA CHICAGO 2008

“It was my best SOFA ever,” says Chelsea dealer Barry Friedman of his sales by only day two of the fair. His sales included a William Morris hand blown deer head for a six figure amount, five Toots Zynsky fused and slumped glass vessels priced from $19,500 - $37,000 as well as a number of commissions. He also sold new work by Yoichi Ohira, David Regan, Takahiro Kando’s porcelain tower with silver mist spray as well as vintage examples by Rudy Autio, Anne Wolff and Michael Glancy. Some of those sales were promised gifts to fine art museums.

	Lucio Bubacco Represented by Litvak Gallery, Tel Aviv

Even the Dow plunging over 400 points immediately following the packed vernissage, held November 6, did not dull the appetite of collectors, however some dealers reported clients taking more time to finalize sales. Even so, Litvak Gallery, which spared no expense in their high design booth devoted solely to Venetian glass artist Lucio Bubacco, who attended the fair, witnessed steep sales. Sold was the artist’s Rococo style compote, The Boat for $25,000 and three goblets each in the $30,000 range.

Opening Night at SOFA CHICAGO 2008

Mark Lyman, founder and director of the SOFA Fairs as well as Vice President dmg world media Art and Antiques division, says, “Because contemporary decorative arts and design has yet to be marked by a heavy preponderance of speculative buying and flipping, the sales at SOFA reflect the continuing stability of this market.” Swelling the sales totals were 43 national and museum collecting groups and eight financial institutions meeting at the fair. In addition, curators from the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Metropolitan Museum of Art flying in for the Fair affirm the growing stature of the field. Collectors of note in attendance included George and Dorothy Saxe of San Francisco as well as Dudley and Lisa Anderson of Wilson, North Carolina, and Doug and Dale Anderson of Palm Beach and New York.

	Lino Tagliapietra (second from left) with his Masai Holsten Galleries, Stockbridge, MA

In some cases, higher priced material was snapped up early on. For example, the Massachusetts based Holsten Galleries sold a Lino Tagliapietra wall installation for $180,000 on the first day. It was thrill for fairgoers to see Dale Chihuly and Lino Tagliapietra embrace on the show floor, with Holsten reporting steady sales for both artists. Then the Tribeca Heller Gallery completed glass sales in the six figures including Beth Lipman’s basket assemblage for $27,000.

Richard Notkin, Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA

Richard Notkin's It's no use Shouting (after Goya), the third in a series of ceramic tile murals (the first two are in the Portland Art Museum and San Francisco's Crocker Art Museum) also sold quickly for $95,000 to a private collector who will soon open his own museum, according to Leslie Ferrin. Ferrin said her Pittsfield, MA gallery had its "best show in several years," owing to higher price points and clients seeking "very strong works with strong content." Ferrin's sales reflected another new collecting trend towards commentary-based work, with artists feeling "compelled to contribute to political discourse," says Notkin, whose lecture was marked by the second largest attendance with 140 persons taking it in. On November 10th, Notkin was one of 50 artists awarded a prestigious United States Artists Fellowship Award, an unrestricted grant of $50,000 in recognition of his unique and vital contributions to the field. 

	Thomas Hucker Represented by William Zimmer Gallery, Mendocino, CA

Another new trend is increased sales of studio furniture. For example, William Zimmer quickly sold three chairs by Thomas Hucker with prices in the $15,000 each range. Other designers whose work found buyers included David Ebner. Then Lewis Wexler of Philadelphia wrote up sales receipts for two Matthias Pliessnig steamed bent oak seating arrangements with prices in the $7,000 range. He also saw pronounced sales of secondary market material including a small 1989 Tom Patti fused, stacked, blown and polished glass example for $73,000. Buyers hailed from Philadelphia, Washington, DC and elsewhere. “With major glass artists William Morris and Tom Patti retiring, more collectors are anxious to secure their work and bookend their collections with historically important examples.” He reports that a number of such sales were to totally new clients.

Akio Takamori, Donna Schneier Fine Arts, Palm Beach

Secondary market material was especially sought and Florida private dealer Donna Schneier completing five sales within the first hour of the vernissage. Many of her sales including important pieces by Viola Frey, Akio Takamori, Dale Chihuly and Rudy Autio were to out-of-towners from Greenwich, Connecticut to Charlotte, North Carolina. “With contemporary paintings shooting up in price exponentially, this market appears secure in contrast,” says Schneier. Further evidence of the strength of the secondary market was the sale of a significant vessel form by Modernist master Hans Coper at Galerie Besson, London.

	RakovaBRECKERgallery Dania Beach, FL

Wood especially was prized by collectors with five works by William Hunter selling, from his intricately turned vessels costing $22,000-$28,000 to his evocative new sculpture at $45,000-$55,000 immediately sold at the del Mano Gallery of California. Hunter was recently honored with a nationwide traveling museum retrospective starting at the Long Beach Museum. Then first time participant the Florida based RacovaBRECKERgallery sold a large Howard Werner vessel earmarked for the Wornick collection gifted to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The SOFA CHICAGO 2008 Lecture Series had 2,385 attendees.

Driving sales in part was the enormous number of lectures, panels and artist conversations making up SALON SOFA, the educational component of the fair. SOFA has long been a leader in developing cultural programming with speakers drawn from the world-renowned museums in the world, the highest ranks of art market journalism and top levels of collectors and this year was no exception. “There’s a spill-over effect to sales when one of my artists speak,” says Charon Kransen, who saw a bounce from Simon Cottrell’s lecture enjoyed by 115 attendees. “My loyal clientele keeps returning,” Kransen added. Other jewelry lectures topping the charts included Euro-jeweler Michael Zobel’s of Manhattan’s Aaron Faber Gallery, with 150 attendees; and Hudson, NY Ornamentum’s Lisa Gralnick’s with 120. Over 2,385 persons attended this year's lecture series.

	Gugger Petter, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

Fiber was also more prized than at any prior fair. Jane Sauer Gallery of Santa Fe sold out her tapestry creations of plaited newsprint and hemp by Gugger Petter priced up to $12,000. Nearby the browngrotta gallery of Connecticut achieved a reserve on Aleksandra Stoyanov's Judges priced at over $40,000.

Dan Dailey Represented by Leo Kaplan Modern Gallery, New Yr

Also plucked up by collectors were recent Toshio Izuemi glass sculptures with some priced at $48,000 at the Chappell Gallery in Chelsea. Uptown New York’s Leo Kaplan Modern sold Lissus for six figures by Dan Dailey, who spoke at the second annual Designer Breakfast on Friday morning along with Susan Victoria, Metropolitan Home Magazine Senior Editor of Architecture and Design. Over 75 designers attended the breakfast and fair preview.

	Susan Victoria at the Designer Breakfast.

Director Mark Lyman concludes, “In spite of the continuing financial uncertainty, there is a hearty appetite and appreciation for contemporary decorative arts and design. Our field is strong and well supported.”

Plans are well underway for SOFA NEW YORK 2009 at the Park Avenue Armory, with its new dates April 16-19, Opening Night April 15. And Save the Date for the NEW! SOFA WEST: SANTA FE at the Santa Fe Convention Center, June 11 - 14, Opening Night, June 10.  I want to go!