SOFA New York, April 20-23, 2012

SOFA New York will be back at The Park Avenue Armory (at 67th Street) in the Spring of 2012. Get ready for some wonderful surprises, cutting edge design schemes and an exciting roster of fifty-five international dealers.

The 15th anniversary will kick off on Friday, April 20th through Monday, April 23rd. The invitation-only Opening Night VIP Preview is Thursday, April 19 from 5-7 pm, followed by a Public Preview from 7-9 pm by ticket purchase.

Donna Davies, Director of SOFA fairs in New York, Chicago and Santa Fe adds, “In celebration of SOFA NEW YORK’s milestone 15th anniversary, plans are underway to reinvigorate the design and aesthetics of the exhibition hall. We look forward to presenting an exciting group of new dealers this fair who are strong in international ceramics.” This year’s new comers are: Cultural Connections CC (Missenden, England), specialists in Danish ceramics. Erskine, Hall & Coe located in London’s Mayfair, specialists in 20th century and contemporary ceramics. Former director of the prestigious Galerie Besson, Matthew Hall established the new gallery with his partners in the same Bond Street location when seminal ceramics dealer Anita Besson retired in June. Flow Gallery, also from London: Yvonna Demczynska of Flow said, “Our international selection of artists will include Dutch artist Henk Wolvers, master of porcelain who creates colorful, subtle forms alive with movement and translucency. Wolvers’s work, Lines, was recently purchased for The Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The Museum of Arts and Design in New York also purchased a Wolvers piece for its permanent collection. Megumi Ogita Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), focusing on young Japanese and American artists remarkable “for their absorption and adaptation of traditional materials and techniques in startling new expressions.”

SOFA Lecture Series, free with paid admission. Leading the way on this year’s docket is glass artist/designer Dan Dailey (Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, MA), internationally-known for his vibrant, humorous sculpture and luminary art. AVIP Program for upper-level collectors and gallery clients will again offer VIP cardholders ultra-exclusive private collections and curator-led museum exhibitions tours. Over 400 VIPs participated in the program last year.

Friday Evening Savvy Soirée, April 20 for the 35 and under set. Last year’s enthusiastic crowd included alumni from the Institute of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), School of Visual Arts, New York University, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, Boston University’s MFA Program, Pilchuck Glass School, and Chicago Art Institute; young collectors groups from the Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian, The Whitney Contemporary, Fuller Craft Museum, and Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses; and young designers from the offices of Bradley Stephens, Jayne Michaels, Adrianne Neff, Jennifer Eisenstadt, Tamara Eaton, and Tim Button.

The 5th annual invitation-only Designer Breakfast Preview, Friday, April 20, planned in consultation with SOFA’s National Design Committee, which includes such notables as Alexander Gorlin, Amy Lau, Juan Montoya, Jamie Drake, Nancy Epstein, Steven Gambrel, David Ling, and Joyce and Maya Romanoff.