The Salon Art+Design

The Salon: Art + Design, The Salon: Art + Design14.11.2014 - 17.11.2014

One of the most fascinating exhibitors at the Salon Art & Design is Yves Macaux, whose gallery in Brussels specializes in early Viennese design and turn-of-the-century Belgium design. This time, he has a strong representation of furniture and objects by Adolf Loos, the Viennese architect who is mostly known for his essay "Ornament and Crime," and who was inspired by English design culture, when promoting his campaign against what he perceived as "trendy" Viennese design.

Walking a group of members of the SoHo House at the Salon Art & Design this afternoon, proved that this fair is endlessly surprising. Galerie Jean-David Botella from presents a set of furniture that the Italian-born, Paris-based turn-or-the-century designer Carlo Bgatti was commissioned by a family in Egypt. Inspired by Moorish architecture, Bugatti created an ultra successful for himself, becoming well know worldwide with sculptural and magical furniture crafted of unique combination of materials, such as parchment, copper, textiles, and ebonized wood.

The Salon: Art + Design, which premiered in 2012, is taking place at the famed Park Avenue Armory in New York City through November 18. The show opened with a gfestive cocktail party hosted by Margareth Russell...

Stephen Sondheim at the first performance of “A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair,” a revue of his songs at City Center by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He seemed to love Bernadette Peters’ performances, laughing and applauding enthusiastically . . . John Legend, John Lithgow and Isaac Mizrahi separately visiting the Salon: Art + Design, at Park Avenue Armory through Monday . . . David Beckham at Max Brenner buying a chocolate syringe, sparkles and a nine-piece bonbon set.

The greatest triumph last night at the opening night of the Salon Art & Design. The Fair is open to the public starting today until Monday evening, and I am going to share some of my thoughts as I plan on attending the show everyday, as there is so much of the greatest design to see and experience. Adrian Sassoon is always a must stop at the Salon. I particularly loved the pieces by Japanese artist Junko Mori who crafts metal the way no other artist does. She forges steel, iron, and silver into poetic and somewhat mystical forms, which are sensual and clearly come from her personal observation of nature. 

by Rachel Small
Looking over the drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory is an antique Tiffany clock, its face marked with Roman numerals and its hands like pokers. When it struck 5pm last night, well dressed ladies and gentlemen began streaming into the space, which was lavishly adorned for the third annual Salon Art + Design Fair. An elegant piece of decoration itself, the Tiffany clock was the perfect timepiece to count the moments as dealers snapped into action while visitors dispersed into the three aisles of booths. The fair's emphasis is on contemporary objects, although select merchants specialize in pieces from the 20th, 19th, and 18th centuries. Wandering about we overheard a few telling snippets: "But it is authentic?" "A lot of these things, prices are negotiable," "It's created as a miracle of nature in China...a lost art," and "It's lovely, but would it go with the chairs?"

A sister fair to the Paris Biennale, Salon distinguishes itself by offering a simple visual splendor that is undermined in many other art fairs by flashy, attention-seeking curatorial practices. And that's on purpose: The 55 booths at Salon are decorated so one might be able to picture their own dream living room, not an ideal art collection. While the fair is the only one to include fine art and design objects, various displays seamlessly integrate both elements into mock interiors. The most animated piece by far was Moderne Gallery's nearly seven-foot-tall sculpture that resembled a molecular structure, titled Diamond, which balanced on one pivot and rocked back and forth when pushed, startling passerby who thought it was toppling over.

Fair organizers Jill Bokor and Jen Roberts were busy attending to last minute arrangements opening night, so we caught them on the phone a few weeks in advance. With Bokor coming from a background as the publisher of Art+Auction and Roberts having co-founded Modern, they collectively have an understanding of every aspect driving the design market. "A big part of the buying is done by designers for their clients for projects they're working on. This is a can't-miss in the architecture and design community" says Bokor. "Also, the fashion world is becoming interconnected with this sort of design, and we're getting a lot of traction for fashion figures who see this as a very chic and important show."

"So many fashion designers are tastemakers creating unique designs and unique interiors and they want to live uniquely," adds Roberts. "This is a place where you go to find things that you're not going to see everywhere.


SALON ART + DESIGN FAIR IS ON VIEW AT THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY IN NEW YORK THROUGH NOVEMBER 14, 2014.

Le 16 novembre, l'art français à la conquête des USA a été le thème abordé par François Laffanour, directeur de la galerie Downtown à Paris, dans le Grand Journal de New York...

Galerie Alain Marcelpoil  is unique at the Salon Art and Design, as it presents a solo show of André Sornay, the Art Deco furniture designer who was based in Lyon, the hometown of the gallery...

At Salon Art & Design this afternoon, I loved this ceremonial chair, created of ox bones by fashion designer Rick Owens, who has produced intriguing pieces of furniture over the past few years. While his fashion is characterized by mobile, fluid, and asymmetrical forms, his furniture pieces are rooted in ancient and tribal cultures.

by Richard Rabel, interior designer and art advisor
I’ve been on the lookout for interesting chairs for a new project in New York and my timing could not be better with the last of the year’s major art fairs in New York opening last night.  The Salon Art + Design which principally showcases work from the 20th and 21st century (totally my thing!), is one of the most interesting fairs on this side of the pond since many of the exhibiting dealers are from Continental Europe and rarely exhibit in the USA outside of this Fair.

So between the ooh lalala’s and the “c’est magnifiques” and plenty of air kisses, these are some of the chairs that caught my eye:

Galerie L’Arc en Seine had this par of splendid Pierre Chareau fauteuils from 1938  (image above).  Can’t get enough of their nod to Cubism with their angular geometric form. (...)