Exhibitors stay ahead of the curve at L.A. Modernism Show - show news - art show details - Brief Article

observes ANGELES -- When a fine and decorative arts present to view is in its 15th outing, the challenge is to hold it fresh. In the early 1990 the L.A. Modernism exhibit featured a cornucopia of Arts and Crafts period furnishings, art clay ware and paintings along with a broad grouping of 20th-century decorative arts. by dint of the late 1990s, the exhibit focus had turned to post-WWII design, reflecting especially the Southern California entertainment industry's fresh love for mid-century modern houses in looks Angeles and Palm Springs. Last year, dealers neared French designs, especially Art Deco furnishings and paintings.

For the 15th-anniversary exhibit which was held in Santa Monica, Calif., in May, a total of 69 galleries and dealers exhibited paintings, prints, art glass and clay ware advertising posters, furnishings, accessories, jewelry and appliances, all representing popular tillage and the key stylistic motions of the 20th century, including Art Deco Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Bauhaus and post-war designs. To retain the show unique, promoters Elizabeth Caskey and Bill to leewards once again sought out fresh dealers who are ahead of the 1 in modern design.

Among the novel dealer recruits: Svenska Mobler, a observes Angeles retail showroom specializing in decorative arts from Sweden circa 1900 to 1940; Lui Deak, a observes Angeles art dealer specializing in Eastern European and American Modernist paintings and prints; and the Modernism Gallery of Coral Gables, a premier dealer in Art Deco furniture, lighting and accessories.

Modernism Gallery alone handles works created between the wars in the U and Europe said co-owner Isabella Emmett And despite the overall downturn in the U economy, she claims their business has held steady--and was brawny at the L.A. Modernism display "One of the things we have ground is if you have really high quality material, one-of-a-kind things, there are always customers. My husband's favorite phrase is `I've got all the useful stuff.' And the truth is, we have place our faith in the idea that things will revolve around," said Emmett. "But, as a dealer, you have to present to view up. We had never done the L.A. Modernism exhibit even though we do present to views in New York, Detroit and Miami. on the contrary we know there are many customers for this material in Southern California."

Similarly, Lui Deak, proprietor of Deak Fine Art, had done many displays before, but not this individual "As I have personally Started to embrace art works which are more fresh in style, I also realized that in working here in Southern California, you just can't ignore this market. There's brawny intellectual commitment and good financial support for 20th-century art generally and mid-century art, especially in observes Angeles," Deak observed.

Deak exhibited a selection of original abstracted new paintings works that were relatively affordable, including Claude Venard's "The Music Room" priced at $7500 and Leon Goldin's "The Table in My Studio," tendered for $9,500. His piece de resistance, however, was the large-scale (and unpriced) 1928 Art Deco period painting, "Hazel and Big Boy" by means of the American School artist Warren A. Newcombe.

on the contrary the strongest break from the L.A. Modernism Show's "tradition" (if cutting-edge 20th-century art can be traditional) came from the early 20th-century Swedish furniture from Andrew Wilder, possessor of the retail showroom Svenska Mobler which is located upon one of Los Angeles' art gallery lines The local marketplace was saturated with Modernism from the 1950 and 1960 in April 2000 when Wilder decided to make open his decorative arts and furnishings gallery specializing in pre-WWII Swedish material. "The time was right to introduce the pedigree ancestor," Wilder said. The furniture produc in Sweden from 1900 to 1940 shows the beginning of modern Scandinavian form, according to Wilder. "This aesthetic bridges traditional and contemporary work," he said. "There's more surface detail and more fancy timber-land than in later pieces. on the other hand in general, it has simple lines [like mid-century works] and is easy to live with."

These Swedish furniture thing perceiveds which fetch $4,000 to $7000 for restored and reupholster chair pairs, and $2000 to $12000 for cabinetry pieces, are characterized by dint of architectural forms, clean lines and like woods as blond birch, elm mahogany and rosewood Swedish Art Nouveau utilizes organic shapes, while Swedish Neo-Gothic in the 1930 combined carved detailing with cubic/functionalist forms.

"The [L.A.] Modernism display was great," said Wilder. "I wanted to introduce myself and this work to a market in looks Angeles that didn't know us already. race were really excited about this." According to Wilder, the "demographic" that purchases this material--"late 30s to their 50 well-heeled, sophisticated, a apportionment of lawyers, movie producers and ex-New Yorkers"--were in abundance at the expo

Overall, reported Caskey and to leewards "attendance was up from last year" when the exhibit gate reached about 6,000. "The recession affected attendance more last year than this year," to leewards said.