Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

SOFA Chicago 2009, the International Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Fair

Celebrating its 16th year, SOFA CHICAGO 2009, the critically acclaimed Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair, returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall (600 E. Grand Avenue) Nov. 6 – 8 to present masterworks from top international galleries and dealers.

The Chicago fair will also feature special exhibits by renowned museums, universities and arts organizations, as well an extensive lecture series, all included in the admission price.

Debuting this year is SOLO at SOFA, dedicated spaces on the show floor featuring cutting-edge installations by individual artists outside of the more formal structure of the representing gallery’s exhibit booth.

Mark Lyman, founding director of SOFA says, “In this difficult economy, we’re delighted by the quality galleries participating again this year, including New York’s venerable
Barry Friedman Ltd. and London’s Galerie Besson, as well as dealers from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Israel and Italy. We’re
also planning a major presentation on Studio Furniture and will honor of the lifework and influence of the late Sam Maloof.”

Lyman and partner Michael Franks, Chief Operating Officer, dmg world media, recently reacquired the SOFA Fairs in Chicago, New York and Santa Fe, N.M. from dmg. Headquarters for
the new company, The Art Fair Company, Inc. remain in Chicago.

Lyman adds, “Attesting to SOFA’s strong collector base, we’re delighted that Chubb Personal Insurance, one of the world’s preeminent insurers of fine homes, art and antiques, has again signed on to be a major sponsor of the Chicago fair.”

SOFA CHICAGO 2009 exhibitors to-date include:

Perimeter Gallery, Ann Nathan Gallery and Marx-Saunders Gallery of Chicago; Galerie Besson of London,Litvak Gallery of Israel; Galleri Udengaard and Galleri Grønlund of Denmark; Galleri Norsu of Finland; Kirra Gallery of Australia; Galerie Porkona of Czechoslovakia; Barry Friedman Ltd., Heller Gallery, Scott Jacobson Gallery (formerly Leo Kaplan Modern), Chappell Gallery, Alastair Crawford Contemporary and Charon Kransen Arts of New York City; Holsten Galleries of Stockbridge, Mass; del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles; William Zimmer Gallery, Mendocino, Calif; Bullseye Gallery, Portland, Ore; Blue Rain Gallery and Jane Sauer Gallery of Santa Fe, N.M.

16th SOFA CHICAGO 2009: Nov. 6 – 8, 2009
at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall
Opening Night Preview, Thursday, Nov. 5

THE INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE OBJECTS & FUNCTIONAL ART FAIR

* 4401 NORTH RAVENSWOOD, #301, CHICAGO, IL 60640-5871
* phone 773.506.8860
* fax 773.345.0774
* SOFAEXPO.com

SOFA CHICAGO 2009 VIP Program and Special Exhibits

SOFA CHICAGO 2009 will again produce an exclusive VIP Program for upperlevel gallery clients and collector groups which includes visits to private collectors’ homes, as well as behind-the-scenes curator-led tours of museums and corporate collections.

Special Exhibits to be mounted by international arts organizations confirmed to-date include the Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts (AIDA), which two years ago presented the hugely popular Offering Reconciliation exhibit featured in the international press; the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts; American Association of Woodturners; and BIGG: Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass, presented by Ohio State University and Hawk Galleries.

Returning by popular demand is the Corning Museum of Glass’ Hot Glass Roadshow, a mobile glassblowing studio that will make on-going Fair presentations.

SOFA Lecture Series

The SOFA Lecture Series will again feature top museum curators, professional art advisors, artists, collectors, interior designers, critics and art market journalists who will share their
professional and personal experiences in the field.

Speakers to date include Janet Koplos, former senior editor, “Art in America,” and currently editor of “American Craft”; Italian artists Laura de Santillana, Barry Friedman, Ltd, and Andrea Salvador, Berengo Collection; ceramic artist Kurt Weiser, Ferrin Gallery; glass artists Giles Bettison, Jane Sauer Gallery and Vaclav Cigler, Litvak Gallery; and Chicago architect George Larsen discussing his recent trip to Iran with Persian carpet dealers Geoffrey Orley and Bahram Shabahang and more.

For a full list of lectures and lecture topics, visit sofaexpo.com.

SOFA National Design Committee

SOFA’s National Design Committee, co-chaired by prominent interior designers and architects John Barman, Holly Hunt, Amy Lau, Suzanne Lovell and Alison Spear, will again present an annual Designers Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 6, where designers and clients may preview the Fair before it opens to the public.

SOFA CHICAGO 2009 Opening Night Preview Gala

The SOFA CHICAGO 2009 Opening Night Preview Gala, much anticipated by collectors, museum curators, art advisors, interior designers and architects, artists and cognoscenti is scheduled for Thursday evening, Nov. 5.

More than 2,600 persons attended last year’s opening, which offered first viewing and the best selection of outstanding master works, as well as the opportunity to meet and mingle with leading members of the art and design communities.

The public is invited to enjoy, study and acquire top quality art examples at this Preview Gala from 7 to 9pm.

Tickets are $50 and may be purchased in advance at sofaexpo.com, or at the door.

About SOFA CHICAGO

SOFA CHICAGO is the longest continuously running art fair in Chicago, debuting at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in 1994, with 58 exhibitors and 14,000 people attending.

In 1995, SOFA CHICAGO moved to Festival Hall at Chicago’s historic Navy Pier.

Since then, this pioneering fair has grown steadily in the number of exhibitors, averaging approximately 100 galleries and dealers in recent years, and attendance has increased more than 100 percent.

A record 35,000 people attended SOFA CHICAGO in 2008 and the fair was marked by brisk sales to museums, art advisors, interior designers and architects as well as both seasoned and new collectors.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Matt Miller, 773-327-3830 Ext. 104
[email protected]