TEFAF Maastricht Opens On the Heels of Major Expansion Announcement
- Van de Weghe at TEFAF 2015. Photo: Harry Heuts.
TEFAF Maastricht is no stranger to buzz. The European Fine Art Fair, now in its twenty-ninth year, is widely considered the finest art, antiques and design show in the world, drawing top collectors, curators, and dealers from across the globe to Maastricht, a picturesque medieval city in the southernmost part of the Netherlands. But this year, the buzz has reached a fever pitch, thanks in part to the recent announcement that the fair will expand to New York later this year.
In February, news broke that the venerable fair would be launching two TEFAF editions stateside — one in the fall of 2016 and the other in the spring of 2017 — sending shockwaves through the industry. Both fairs, which will be held annually, will take place at the historic Park Avenue Armory, with the first focusing on art from antiquity to the twentieth century, and the latter presenting modern and contemporary art and design. According to Patrick van Maris van Dijk, CEO of TEFAF, “On numerous occasions our exhibitors in Maastricht have expressed the need and desire for a TEFAF platform in the US, as have many private and institutional collectors . . . As the world’s most buoyant art market, New York is a perfect match . . . It also provides a perfect window to TEFAF Maastricht for those in the United States who are not yet acquainted with TEFAF.”
- Hans Wegner (Tønder 1914-2007 Copenhagen) Pair of deck chairs. Oak, halyard, steel and canvas, 73-91 x 187 x 62 cm (adjustable in height). Made by cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, Denmark, 1958. Courtesy of Galerie Dansk Møbelkunst.
But before the fair heads to the Big Apple, TEFAF will hold court in Maastricht from March 11-20, where a magnificent selection of works from all periods will take center stage. This year’s fair will welcome 269 exhibitors offering everything from Old Master paintings and fine antiques to modern and contemporary art, jewelry, and twentieth-century design. Among the myriad highlights are a pair of deck chairs by the inimitable Danish mid century furniture maker, Hans Wegner, from Galerie Dansk Møbelkunst (Paris/Copenhagen); a set of six carved and giltwood Regency armchairs, which are upholstered with tapestries, most likely from the Beauvais factory, one of the most revered workshops in France, from Galerie Aveline (Paris); a nightscape by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner offered by Switzerland’s Galerie Henze & Ketterer; a selection of Impressionist paintings by Henri Matisse from Hammer Galleries (New York); an ornate folding x-frame stool from the early-18th century and a pair of Baroque still life paintings courtesy of Carlton Hobbs (New York); a 17th century engraved and gilt cuirass for use by the Papal Swiss guard from Peter Finer (London); and a selection of rare jewels, including the world’s largest cushion-cut diamond crossover ring and a one-of-a-kind 1958 Verdura emerald and diamond devant-de-corsage brooch, from Hancocks (London).
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In addition to the spectacular array of works available at the show, TEFAF will include a fascinating loan exhibition titled Collecting Collectors. Held in the fair’s Paper section, the show will offer visitors a small but choice selection of master drawings and prints from Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, including works by Old Masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas van Leyden and Rembrandt, as well as modern and contemporary artists like Paul Cézanne, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Yayoi Kusama. The exhibition exemplifies the fair’s keen ability to balance the classic and the cutting-edge.
For more information about TEFAF Maastricht, click here.
