The New York Ceramics and Glass Fair wrapped up this week at Bohemian National Hall in the city. A part of New York’s Winter Antiques Week, the fair included an international selection of works from 36 different galleries offering everything from porcelain, pottery, glass and enamels.
Above image: Vipoo Srivilasa, from The Patience Flower Series, 2014, porcelain, 10 x 6.5 inches, from the Ferrin Gallery
The Observer ran a writeup of the show, which we suggest you read for its insight into the marketplace. Evidence of its influence can be seen as writer Brook Mason charts the fair’s growth over the past few years:
“Few slices of the art market have changed as radically, or, surprisingly, have been taken more seriously, in the past few years as the ever-so-sleepy ceramics and glass sector. Maybe it’s because of the art market’s roaring boom: Wealthy art collectors traditionally buy paintings and sculptures first, and then, once every wall and corner is full, objects. Or perhaps the international success of glass artist Dale Chihuly is partly to blame. But add in the buyers who were already collecting this material, traditionally a passionate and cultish bunch, and you have a new market.
“Contemporary artists have met the demand by moving into the medium. At the well-attended New York Ceramics and Glass Fair on the Upper East Side, nearly a third of the exhibitors are offering late 20th-century or 21st century work instead of Staffordshire or Wedgewood, up from only one dealer when the fair began 16 years ago. (The event is taking place at the Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, on Saturday through 7 p.m., on Sunday until 4 p.m.) The mix appears to be working: At the fair opening on Tuesday, more than 2,000 attended,” said Elizabeth Lees, fair co-producer.”
John Pagliaro, As Red as Black Is, 2014, manganese pinch pots with red glaze, lumber, 57 x 27 inches
Julie Bartholomew, Rarely Seen Drummond Cronostylis, 2013, porcelain, silver decals, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, Ferrin Contemporary.
Robert Hunter, Butterfly Skulls: You & I Are. From the Michelle Erickson gallery.
Fernard Leger at Sylvia Powell.
A large creamware mug with a fan pattern slip decoration exhibited by Martyn Edgell Antiques. Probably one of the more “modern” looking pieces at the show, despite the fact that it dates to about 1820.
This comes as great news about contemporary ceramics’ place in the art world.
Nice work
With NCECA as the fair’s new lecture sponsor for modern lectures on Friday and the city filled with decorative arts and American curators, art professionals and artists attending the various fairs that surround Winter Antiques – the New York Ceramics (and now) Glass Fair, has become a hub for anyone interested in how contemporary and historic marketplaces are overlapping. A great place to see, learn, discuss and acquire, thank you for spreading the word.