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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, June 08, 2009
SOFA Sees City As Perfect Move West
By Kathaleen Roberts
Journal Staff Writer
When SOFA founder Mark Lyman began looking west to expand his prestigious show bridging fine art, decorative art and design, he found Santa Fe.
Midwife to the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair in both Chicago and New York, Lyman checked out Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. But none possessed the access and feeling of community he sought. Then an art gallery owner and collector steered him to New Mexico.
"These are public shows and they need to have a site that has some sense of location," Lyman said.
Lyman visited the site of the Santa Fe Community Convention Center near the Plaza last July and decided it could showcase the more intimate, boutique-sized contemporary show he envisioned. The hall's 22,000 square feet will hold 35 exhibitors at SOFA's Santa Fe debut.
"We'll see what happens, but if we can have 8,000-10,000 people, it will be very high-traffic," Lyman said.
SOFA opens its first annual Santa Fe show in the center at 201 W. Marcy St. with a gala Wednesday and the show runs Thursday-Sunday. Opening night proceeds will benefit the New Mexico Museum of Art design collection.
Festivities will include a lecture series and a tour of northern New Mexico highlights: a day trip to the Feast of San Antonio dances at Santa Clara Pueblo, a visit to the Santuario de Chimayo, a trip to Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu home and a detour to Centinela Traditional Arts, also in Chimayo, to see the traditional weaving of Irving and Lisa Trujillo.
Singers from the Santa Fe Opera will kick off the opening night with excerpts from "La Traviata" and "The Elixir of Love." Local art galleries exhibiting at the show include Jane Sauer, Blue Rain, C Gallery, Belles Artes and TAI Gallery of Santa Fe.
Internationally known Native glass artist Preston Singletary will display his latest abstract sculptural work. Singletary's sculptures incorporate contemporary forms with traditional Tlingit designs.
"One of the pieces is a tooth form like a bear's tooth," he said in a telephone interview from his Seattle studio. "It has this very graceful form and it's called 'Sleeping Shaman.'
"Another is a double-headed eagle/raven piece. It stands up on one edge on a beak," he continued. "The top side is an eagle beak. That's the duality of the eagle and the raven. The tribe is split into the eagle and raven clans."
Singletary's pieces sell for between $8,000 and $45,000.
The artist will give a lecture on "Echoes, Fire and Shadows," expounding on his efforts to straddle two cultures as he melds his Tlingit ancestry with the Studio Art Glass Movement of the 1960s.
Singletary will share the stage with Tacoma, Wash., Museum of Glass curator Melissa G. Post.
Award-winning Santa Fe potter Christine McHorse will show her larger sculptural vessels of micaceous clay. McHorse started out making small turtles and owls before graduating to market-driven, more traditional pots that made her a Santa Fe Indian Market star. Her prices average $20,000.
"I used to do the Indian Market for 23 years," she said. "About 3 1/2 years ago, I just gave it up. I decided it was more true for me to move on.
"They're shapes that have challenged my own skills," she explained. "They will be all black. For me, that's a classic color –– it does so much for the shape. I've never used stains or color; they're basically all form."
McHorse, a Navajo, learned about pottery from her husband's grandmother, who showed her how to use the sparkling micaceous clay found near Taos Pueblo.
"Micaceous clay appeals to me because it doesn't require much paint," she said. "It's already embellished with its own glitter."
With the country still mired in recession, both Lyman and Singletary acknowledged concerns about the shaky economy's impact on what amounts to a very high-end art show. But Lyman said recent Chicago and New York SOFA exhibits did well; Singletary said April's New York event was his best showing at SOFA in "five or six" years.
"We had concerns about Chicago in November when the hammer dropped," Lyman said. "But we had some of our largest attendance. People are buying very strong pieces of artwork and sales are strong. "
When pressed, he acknowledged a dip in sales from the cash-flush previous year.
It was "not (as good) as that exuberant abundance of cash," he said. "The last two years have been hyper-inflated."
Lyman launched SOFA in 1993 in part out of personal bias. Trained as a sculptor, he realized decorative and applied art sometimes disappeared within the stampede to the fine art market. He wanted to find a place to showcase contemporary glass, fiber and ceramics created by the virtuosos of their time. Past shows have featured the work of such masters as glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work will also be shown in Santa Fe.
"The real treat is you get to see a variety of artwork from around the country and around the world," Singletary said.
Lyman says SOFA West will be an annual Santa Fe event.
SOFA LECTURE SCHEDULE
(Free with admission; all take place at the Santa Fe Convention Center)
Preview: Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire and Shadows 11 a.m. Thursday.
Singletary straddles two cultures, melding his Tlingit ancestry with the Studio Glass movement. Join glass curator Melissa G. Post and the artist for a preview of his nationally touring mid-career survey.
Alquima: The Magical Art of Olga de Amaral 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
For more than four decades, Colombian artist Olga de Amaral has been exploring the chimerical potential of fiber. Discover her sources of inspiration, techniques and major works with Dr. Alice Zrebiec, curatorial consultant.
William Morris: The Early Artifact Installations 4 p.m. Thursday.
An illustrated discussion of Morris' early installations including "Artifact Series #3 (Hunter)," which involve complex assemblages of glass skeletons. Linda Tesner, director and curator, The Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Ore.
Free Spirit, 11 a.m. Friday.
An exploration of three New Mexican native artists, including Christine McHorse, Virgil Ortiz and Diego Romero, whose works are crossing over into mainstream art. Presented by gallerist and scholar Garth Clark.
Hot Trends in Native Southwestern Weaving, 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Tradition and innovation are firmly interlaced by contemporary Navajo and pueblo weavers in the Southwest. With Ann Lane Hedlund, director of the Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Center in Tucson.
My Work, Through the Eyes of Different Cultures 4 p.m. Friday.
Italian maestro LIno Tagliapietra discusses his ideas, inspiration and the influences from cultures such as the native of both America and Africa, the Aborigines in Australia and the Maori in New Zealand.
Design West 11 a.m. Saturday.
Santa Fe's location at the crossroads of history and culture forged a unique design aesthetic. This lecture is illustrated with examples from the collection of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the Museum of International Folk Art by Museum of New Mexico licensing director Pamela Kelly.
A Remarkable Flowering — Tapestry in Australia 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tapestry was virtually unknown in Australia until 1976 when the Victorian Tapestry Workshop opened. Vibrant tapestries from over 300 artists, including Aboriginals, illustrate its success. Sue Walker, founding director emerita, Victoria Tapestry Workshop of Melbourne will speak.
Toots Zynsky: Open Doors, 4 p.m. Saturday.
Artist Toots Zynsky discusses her work and the major influences and opportunities contributing to her development.
If you go
WHAT: SOFA West: Santa Fe, Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair with 33 galleries from seven countries.
WHEN: Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Opening night 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. A benefit for the New Mexico Museum of Art Design Collection. Tickets are $150-$500. Call 988-1234.
WHERE: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St.
COST: General admission $15; four-day pass $25. Seniors, students and groups $12. Available at the door or online.
CONTACT: 988-1234 or www.ticketssantafe.com, sofaexpo.com
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