With a robust roster of new and returning exhibitors, the inaugural Metro Show leaps onto the art fair circuit with a group of highly acclaimed fine and decorative arts specialists. The show opens on Wednesday, January 18 and runs through Sunday, January 22, 2012 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, in New York’s Chelsea arts district.
Among the fair’s newcomers in the field of 20th-century fine art and/ or design are the New York galleries Barry Friedman Ltd., Cavin-Morris, Galerie St. Etienne, and Schillay Fine Art; Santa Fe’s ethnographic specialist William Siegal Gallery; Chicago-based Worthington Gallery, which features European naïves, Der Blaue Reiter, and Bauhaus paintings, drawings and sculpture; Joel Cooner Gallery, from Dallas, specialists in oceanic, tribal, pre- Columbian, Asian and ancient artworks; Jacaranda Tribal from New York specializing in the traditional arts of Africa and Oceania; from Japan,Yukiko Koide Presents, with turn of the century Japanese woodblock prints; Philadelphia-based Dolan/Maxwell with modern and contemporary paintings and prints; and from New York, Maxwell Projects featuring paintings and drawings by contemporary, outsider and folk artists.
“We are delighted to welcome these outstanding dealers to the Metro Show,” said Show Director Caroline Kerrigan Lerch. “Their diversity expands upon the core group of original dealers from the former American Antiques Show.”
According to Lerch, among those returning to the fold are: American Primitive Gallery, Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques, Marcy Burns American Indian Arts, M. Finkel & Daughter, Allan Katz Americana, Garthoeffner Gallery Antiques, Gemini Antiques Ltd., Carl Hammer Gallery, Samuel Herrup Antiques, Hill Gallery, Stephen Score, Just Folk, Lillian Nassau, John Molloy Gallery, Steven S. Powers Inc., Ricco/ Maresca Gallery, Stella Rubin, Gary R. Sullivan Antiques Inc., Clifford A. Wallach Tramp Art, Folk Art & Americana, Jeff and Holly Noordsy Art and Antiques, Dalton’s American Decorative Arts and HL Chalfant: American Fine Art & Antiques.
“The Metro Show reflects the new attitude toward collecting in which a work is valued for its intrinsic qualities and the beauty of its design — not solely for its place in the historical continuum,” said Lerch. “When visitors walk through the entrance, they will see the connections linking historic and contemporary arts and design in all its forms — whether it’s pre-Columbian textiles, visionary paintings, Asian art, mid-20th-century studio design, Native American material, anonymous folk art or formal furniture.”
With this in mind, The Art Fair Company invited interior designer Anthony Baratta, who is known for his signature look of bold and colorful patterns, to collaborate with video installation artist Sean Capone to create the mise-en-scène for the Metro Show. “Tony and Sean have been given the edict to create something provocative and unexpected,” added Lerch.
In addition, a committee of prominent interior designers and collectors has been formed. Mario Buatta, Anthony Baratta, Ellie Cullman, Jamie Drake, Maureen Footer, Mariette Himes Gomez, Thomas Jayne, Miles Redd and Bunny Williams will co-chair the Metro Show Collectors Circle.
OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW The Opening Night is Wednesday, January 18 and will begin with a by invitation only VIP Preview from 6 – 7 pm. The Public Preview will begin at 7 pm. Tickets for the Public Preview are $75 and will be available online or at the door. Both previews continue until 9 pm.
GENERAL ADMISSION The show opens to the public on Thursday, January 19. Hours are Thursday, January 19: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Friday, January 20: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Saturday, January 21: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Sunday, January 22: 12 noon – 5:30 pm. General admission is $15 per person; a multi-day pass is $30 per person.
ABOUT THE ART FAIR COMPANY The Art Fair Company, founded by Michael Franks, the former COO of dmg world media, and Mark Lyman, Founding Director of the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fairs (SOFA), now produces SOFA fairs in Chicago, New York and Santa Fe, the leading contemporary decorative art and design fairs in the world. They also produce The Intuit Outsider and Folk Art Fair, in Chicago and Santa Fe. The company also provides professional promotional and operational support to other art and antique fair producers.
GENERAL INFORMATION www.metroshownyc.com 800.563.7632 or 312.587.7632
