It Just Keeps Getting Better And Better: Modernism Celebrates 20 Years

NEW YORK CITY

:Older, wiser and better looking than ever, Modernism: A Century of Style and Design, 1900--2000, opened its doors for a four-day run with a lavish star-studded preview party and awards ceremony on Wednesday evening, November 9. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the show was by far the best looking Modernism to date, the merchandise was stellar, and many of the dealers outdid themselves with sumptuous presentations.

Modernism has become the jewel in the Sanford Smith stable of shows and its importance as a premier Twentieth Century venue has become internationally recognized. Who, however, can forget the fun-filled days of the crazy lunch boxes, the Predicta TVs and the eye-popping colorful displays of Herman Miller's designer's furnishings seen in booths across the floor. In Modernism's humble beginnings, many of the dealers also participated in Smith's Fall Folk Art show and naturally they were among the first to sign on for the new venue. The show was cliquey, yet its serious side began to show through immediately.

There are a handful of serious Twentieth Century dealers that have remained with the show since its inception, many of them recognized as being the key elements in molding Modernism's current mannerisms. Mark McDonald, who has had the front booth ever since the show opened, Historical Design, Two Zero C Decorative Arts and the alpha dog Barry Friedman, among others, have all been extremely influential. Modernism has matured each year with better and better merchandise being offered, the dealers themselves raising the bar. Along the way, under Smith's appreciative and watchful eye, they have successfully established Modernism as the high water mark that all other Twentieth Century shows must try and reach.

"Modernism is the best Twentieth Century design show in the world," boasted Smith when we caught up with him in the days immediately following the show. "The last 20 years have been great, and the second 20 are going to be even better. This show just keeps improving," he said.

From Josef Hoffmann to Forrest "Frosty" Myers, Modernism spans the century with the cutting edge materials that were created decade after decade throughout the Twentieth Century. While the show once featured mainstream designers from Noguchi to Nelson, it is moving away from that arena and the dealers are shifting their focus toward unique commissions by lesser known architects and designers.

"This year there was more unique material on the floor of Modernism than there has ever been before," stated Smith, "And this is what is making the market. There is a tremendous amount of stuff popping out of Europe and South America - one-off items that were created for commissions by architects and designers. American dealers have never tapped into this market before and now there is a lot of stuff starting to surface. Modernism was packed with it this year and that is where the excitement came from," he said

The preview, a benefit for the Brooklyn Museum of Art, boasted one of the largest attendances in the show's history with more than 900 joining the celebration. The star-studded field included Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, musician David Byrne, Martha Stewart, Ulma Thurman, Michael Richards, David Hyde Pierce and Steve Martin, who reportedly did some buying at the show. There were also top European dealers, big-time American collectors and numerous representatives from museums across the country taking serious looks at items seen all around the floor.

Hudson, N.Y., dealer Mark McDonald always puts his best foot forward for the show, bringing not only an assortment of mainstream designs that continue to be at the forefront, but also many unique items. "It was a good show for me," commented McDonald. "I had a wide assortment of items, so I sold a little bit of everything - furniture, ceramics and glass." The dealer reported a pair of Sam Maloof end tables moving from the booth early on. A "wonderful" walnut veneered geometric Gilbert Rohde sofa table with attached lamp sold quickly to the Los Angeles County Museum. A couple other items from the booth were also on hold with serious institutional interest.

The dealer also reported the sale of a flatware service in copper, silver and stainless steel by Modernist silversmith Margaret DePatta, who is more commonly known for her jewelry, and also a collection of 18 pieces of Swedish stoneware by Wilhelm Kage.

From Vienna and Chicago, Rita Bucheit was once again on hand for the show with a stellar assortment of Secessionist furnishings and accessories. "It is almost sacred," said the dealer of a Josef Hoffmann hammered brass centerpiece, circa 1925, with a large fluted bowl, waisted center and flaring base. A similar example is in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Furniture in the booth included a mahogany and bent beech armchair by Thonet, circa 1907, and an attractive Vienna Secession extendable table in mahogany with brass trim, also by Thonet, circa 1911. Several pieces of Otto Wagner designed furniture were offered; however, a rare sitting group by Robert Oerley consisting of two armchairs, a bench and table were attracting quite the major attention. The barrel-form set, circa 1911, was constructed of painted beech and was exhibited at the 1914 Arts and Crafts Show in Cologne.

Janet Drucker, of Drucker Antiques, Mount Kisco, N.Y., exclaimed as she pointed to the case in the front of her booth that she was offering "the most extraordinary piece of Georg Jensen that I have ever had." She then paused and corrected herself, calling the extremely rare and delightful sterling soup tureen with amber and malachite mounts "the most outstanding item that I have ever owned."

The rare piece, according to the dealer, was made in the first five years of Jensen's production and each of the five separate pieces was marked. "I believe it was made by Jensen himself due to the 1908 date and the execution of the piece. It has those wonderful large acorn feet and is merely marked 'Copenhagen' without a production mark." According to the dealer, the form was offered in later years of production either with or without a cover as a wine cooler and was missing the notched in the lid for the ladle.

Along with an assortment of classic Henning Kopel designs and other important Jensen wares, the dealer also offered a rare seven-arm candelabra from 1920 designed by Harald Nielsen and one of two known.

Manhattan Twentieth Century dealer Barry Friedman is a wildly popular fixture at Modernism and he reported a "very good show. We did quite well and in fact we just sold another piece five minutes ago that was a callback from the show," said Friedman in the days following Modernism. A whimsical piece in the forefront of his booth, a Nina Farkache "Come A Little Bit Closer" bench, was attracting quite a bit of attention, drawing smiles as well as checkbooks. The stainless steel table with a shallow well as a top was filled with clear marbles that supported six seats that easily rolled around when occupied.

"People love these; once you get them on it, it is hard to get them off," he said as well-heeled clients uncharacteristically scooted their seats back and forth on top of the mobilizing marbles during the elegant preview. The dealer sold the ten-foot example right off the bat, and then sold four others that he had in stock at the gallery, including one to promoter Sandy Smith.

Other highlights from Friedman's stand included a Ettore Sottsass "Cabinet No. 8" in yellow lacquered maple with water stained grain and natural burled elm, number five of an edition of six, and also a Sottsass prototype sculpture designed for Cleto Munari. A Gijs Bakker for Rein van der Heide maple table with drilled holes was also attracting attention as was a small Tamara de Lempicka portrait titled "Figure de Femme," circa 1924, that sold right off the bat. "I could have sold it two more times," stated Friedman of the de Lempicka

Another item that sold during preview from the booth was Tejo Remy's "Rag Chair #62" that had been executed for Droog Design. The textile, wood and steel chair resembled stacked rag rugs and other textile fragments banded together in the form of a side chair. A selection of Damian Garrido sterling made between 1999 and 2005 was also attracting attention, including a coffee set "Modelo LaFonte" and a tureen "Centro Ovalado." The dealer reported two of the Garrido items selling.

George Nakashima is the hottest of the Twentieth Century designers at the moment. The proof in the pudding was a reported 14 pieces of Nakashima furniture from a variety of stands selling over the course of the show. One of the first to move from the floor was a English walnut slab/coffee table with butterfly tenons that sold during preview from Robert Aibel's Moderne Gallery booth. The Philadelphia dealer had divided his 30-foot-long booth in half, offering Deco on one side while the other side was devoted primarily to Nakashima.

"It was our best show ever," stated Aibel, "the high end was strong, we sold most of our most expensive things and we did OK with the other stuff, but, we had a really great show," he said. Two of the top lots that moved quickly from the booth were a Wharton Esherick cottonwood blond table from 1952, and a 1966 Nakashima Minguren II coffee table with four butterflies that measured 77 inches long and 34 inches deep.

Six pieces of Nakashima alone were sold from the booth that ranged in price from $2,000 to $60,000 and included a Minguren II coffee table and an end table. One of the standouts from the selection had yet to find a buyer, although the dealer commented that a couple clients went home to measure the large black walnut room divider, circa 1959.

"The Nakashima market is strong and broad, with lots of lasting power," stated the dealer. "It has become an international market now, so the buyers are in many different areas of America and Europe. Not only geographically, but also within collecting categories - people who collect Asian, people who collect Modern, people who collect country, people who collect craft - Nakashima appeals to many, many different segments of the collecting and decorating world."

John Alexander, Philadelphia, had substantial interest in the English Arts and Crafts materials that he presented. Highlights of the stand included a mahogany inlaid secretary by Shapland and Petter of Barnstaple, England, circa 1900, along with a matching cube chair. The dealer also offered a large cabinet with leaded upper doors that was believed to have been made by Home Arts and Industries Association, circa 1900, that carried a reasonable $19,500 sticker.

Los Angles dealer Peter Loughery offered unique furnishings designed by Gio Ponte, including a desk and wall unit with lighted shelves, cabinet and drawers that had been custom made for a home in Milan, circa 1953. Other offerings included an early Florence Knoll cabinet in walnut and cane with a birch interior and tubular steel legs that the dealer commented was reminiscent of "Mie's early work." A Sam Maloof rocker was in the front of the booth along side an unusual Minimalist desk by Inonka Karasz that she designed, along with a couch that was also offered, for her home in Java, circa 1929.

Jason Jacques pulled out all of the stops for his booth with large Deco-inspired cutout and painted wooden trees sweeping upward from floor to ceiling at each end of his double-sided walk-through booth. The dealer completed the exotic look with a breathtaking marquetry floor that he had custom made in the pattern of a Kolman Moser textile design. While the booth itself was a work of art, the sparse offering of less than 20 pieces of Art Nouveau pottery and a couple wall hangings, with description and prices handwritten on the wall in chalk, was equally impressive. A rare Zsolnay tulip vase was positioned front and center in the booth, while a rear shelf held the remaining assortment of wares by Zsolnay, including a triple head pot that the dealer whimsically referred to as a "ménage et trios."

Other pottery included a vase by Italian maker Gelileo Chini that was sold to a new collector, and a large vase by Frenchman Clement Mossier. The dealer also reported the sale of an important Nouveau poster by Josef Rudolph Witzel, circa 1896, advertising Jugend Magazine.

"Collectors are starting to revisit Art Nouveau," commented Jacques. "They are once again seeing it as an exciting and moving style to be collecting." The dealer, who has recently opened a new midtown Manhattan gallery, commented that Modernism was "amazing. It was an exciting and fantastic experience. I really did quite well," he commented, "not only at the show, but also with the large number of people that visited my new gallery. We made several sales there as well from people that came as a result of the show, and we are very excited because many of them were new customers to us."

A wonderful bar/sideboard by San Palo, Brazil, architect Seguso Scapinelli, circa 1955-1959, featured a single leg supporting one end while the other was attached to the wall. The unusual wavy-form piece was capturing attention from the booth of Whitford Fine Art, London. A round table of caviuna wood and glass by Scapinelli was also offered from the stand, as was an "organic form" table. A colorful Verner Panton hanging triple spiral lamp in reds, yellows and purples hung in one corner of the booth and along side of it was an acrylic and plaster overboard by John Cecil Stephenson titled "Mural for Solar House."

Maison Gerard filled its booth exclusively with the furniture of Jules Leleu, including a wonderful mahogany parquetry desk with the original tobacco-colored leather top that was raised on four gilt bronze and cannon de fusil patinated bronze legs, circa 1948, that was marked discretely with a small red sticker within moments of the show opening for preview. "It is sold," confirmed the dealer, who also offered a bar/cabinet, several chairs, a large folding screen, tables and lamps by Leleu.

Historical Design was another of the dealers that stepped forward with a stunning display. With three large circular openings trimmed with chrome lining the front wall of their booth, the exquisite materials offered inside had the appearance of a high-end Madison Avenue retail window display. Capturing the most interest was a colorful Surrealist screen and maquette, circa 1950, by architect Dan Johnson. Fascinated by the Surrealist movement and artists such as Kadinsky, Miro and Dali, Johnson created the screen for his own residence and it remained in his collection until his death.

Positioned in front of the screen and framed in the center of the circular opening of the booth was a "spine" chair designed by Andre Dubreuil, circa 1988, with its graceful sweeping lines. Other chairs of interest in the booth ranged from Harush Shlomo's woven metal chair to Forest "Frosty" Myers' "Pandora's Sister" chair constructed of jumbled and twisted mass of anodized blue aluminum tubing and wire.

Galerie Downtown, Paris, featured a powerhouse booth with a Charlotte Perriand sofa designed in 1962, a Jean Prouve desk from 1952 and a "Polar Bear" half round sofa designed for the Russian Embassy in France in 1937 by Jean Royer, circa 1950, and some huge aluminum louvers designed by Prouve that were used in the French provinces of Africa either in windows or in front of buildings.

Tiffany lamps were featured in a couple different booths with Ophir Gallery offering a prime selection including a rare yellow Mandarin table lamp, circa 1900, among the extensive assortment. Dealer Jack Ophir was quick to point out one of the highlights of his display, a rare Tiffany vase that L.C. Tiffany made for silversmith Edward C. Moore. Much of the Tiffany silver of the period was made in Moore's shop. The dealer also offered a colorful and unusual Italian art glass fountain, circa 1940, by Barovier and Toso.

Macklowe Gallery was another destination on the show floor with a prime assortment of lamps with one of the many highlights being an exceptional Tiffany "Blue Dragonfly" lamp, circa 1900. The dealers also offered an assortment of Art Nouveau furniture and the booth is a popular stop for the ladies with an exceptional offering of estate jewelry.

Awards are traditionally handed out at Modernism during preview by The Brooklyn Museum and this year's recipients were Herman Miller with the Modernism Lifetime Achievement Award, Ross Menuez with the Modernism Young Designer Award and the Brooklyn's Design and Commerce Award went to Design Within Reach.

Expect Modernism to continue to evolve over the coming decades, setting new trends all along the way. Sanford Smith Associates has announced that an important South American dealer and a couple important European dealers are being considered for inclusion in the show for 2006.