SOFA NEW YORK ANNOUNCES
SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
APRIL 20-23 AT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
PARK AVENUE & 67TH STREET
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Inquiries
Marilyn White Public Relations
Marilyn White: (973) 783-3649
[email protected]
Online Press Room
www.sofaexpo.com/press
When SOFA NEW YORK opens its doors at the Park Avenue Armory on April 20-23, visitors will be treated to an
array of special exhibitions, receptions and 20 in-booth events, all complimentary with paid admission.
SPECIAL EXHIBITS
Wharton Esherick in LongHouse Collection
LongHouse Reserve exemplifies living with art in all its forms. Founded by and home of famed
designer Jack Lenor Larsen, its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world
cultures and inspire a creative life. View a prime example of its contemplative aesthetic in the
recreation of Larsen’s own dining room at LongHouse, featuring pieces by renowned modernist
furniture designer and wood sculptor Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), including a 1939 hickory
and phenol fiber table exhibited at the 1940’s World’s Fair. Plus a rare viewing of a panel from
the iconic Sears Tower quilts that Larsen made for Sears Bank & Trust in Chicago, circa
1974-75. And delicate hand-folded, dipped and dyed Japanese Shoji screens. Presented by
LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY.
Joe Mangrum
Museum of Arts and Design
Wharton Esherick
LongHouse Reserve
Swept Away Projects: Joe Mangrum
Installation/performance art by Joe Mangrum, whose explorations of found
objects and multiple media have earned him international accolades,
including a nomination for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art “SECA”
award. Mangrum’s site-specific environmental and often ephemeral
installations include organic materials such as flowers, food and sand, as well
as deconstructed computer parts, auto parts and a multitude of found and
collected objects. At SOFA, Mangrum will create sand installations featuring
his signature mandalas, pyramids, maps, grids and even mushroom clouds.
Ongoing during the fair. Mangrum’s work is part of MAD’s current exhibition, on
view through August 12, 2012, entitled Swept Away: Dust, Ashes, and Dirt in
Contemporary Art and Design. Presented by Museum of Arts and Design,
New York.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
9:30 AM: 5th Annual Designer Breakfast Preview
This much anticipated, invitation-only preview for designers and their clients (before
the fair opens to the general public!) features a panel discussion titled The Design
Continuum: Looking Back to the Future with David Ling (David Ling Architect), Jamie
Drake (Drake Design Associates) and David McFadden (Chief Curator, Museum of Arts
and Design). Judith Nasatir, Contributing Editor of MODERN Magazine, moderates.
Also at the Designer Breakfast, interior designer, collector and author,
Jack Lenor Larsen, interior designer Jamie Drake, and Emily Zilber, Curator of
Contemporary Decorative Arts, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, announce the winners
of the 2nd Annual 2012 LongHouse Reserve Special Recognition Prizes for Best
Booth Design and Best Artwork in Show.
SOFA NY 2011
Designer Breakfast
2 PM: Booth Talk. History and Inspiration
Writer Dominique Browning and ceramist Frances Palmer discuss the COVET project
and her artwork that references the Robert Ellison collection of ceramics in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. Ferrin Gallery, booth 114.
372 West Ontario St., #502
CHICAGO, IL 60654
t. 312.587.7632
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Frances Palmer
COVET project
2:15 PM: Booksigning. Visions Realized: The Work of Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey signs Visions Realized: The Work of Dan Dailey following his
lecture entitled 40 Years Already from 1-2 PM. Schantz Galleries,
booth 311.
~more~
Dan Dailey
Aqualibrium
Schantz Galleries
5 PM: Reception honoring Danish Artists at the fair with the Consulate General of Denmark in New York
Immediately following the 4-5 PM lecture presentation by Birthe Noergaard Fraser (Cultural Connections CC) entitled
The Enduring Thread of Functionalism in Danish Contemporary Studio Ceramics. Reception is open to lecture attendees
and VIP guests.
Ninna Goetzsche
Cultural Connections CC
6-8 PM: SOFA After Dark with the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Arts and Design
The 2nd annual evening event for new collectors and young designers, SOFA After Dark with
the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Arts and Design takes place at SOFA from
6-8 PM Friday, April 20. This exclusive evening features complimentary libations from
WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey and Subarashii Kudamono Asian Pear Wine, and live music by the Thermionics. Admission is by invitation or purchase of a $35 ticket at the door
on Friday, April 20, which admits one to the fair during regular show hours, as well as SOFA
After Dark festivities. Programming includes dynamic artist dialogues in the SOFA Café:
SOFA After Dark 2011
6:30 PM: Artist and engineer Arthur Hash (Sienna Gallery) on Crafting in a Digital Age 2.0,
the intersection of digital technology and his jewelry designs.
7 PM: Furniture designer Philipp Aduatz (Wexler Gallery) discusses The Design Process as an
Innovative Implement—how the laws of thermodynamics inspire a transient transformation in
his designs.
Arthur Hash
Sienna Gallery
Plus live Tweeting on big screens! After Dark-ers can join the conversation with curators selecting
their top picks at the fair including Sarah Archer (Philadelphia Art Alliance), Nicholas Bell (Renwick
Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.), Emily Zilber (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), and
Elizabeth Kirrane, Jennifer Scanlan and Ron Labaco (Museum of Arts and Design, NYC).
7 PM: Booth Talk. Shax Riegler, author of DISH: 813 Wonderful Dinner Plates and Molly Hatch
(Ferrin Gallery) artist/designer and Features Editor at House Beautiful, discuss how the dinner plate
become decorative art. Ferrin Gallery, COVET project, booth 114.
Philipp Aduatz
Wexler Gallery
View more Friday Booth Events at sofaexpo.com, including talks by Chipstone Foundation curator Ethan Lasser and
Michelle Erickson with COVET artists (Ferrin Gallery), John McQueen (browngrotta arts), Suzanne Klemm (Gallery Loupe)
and Chuck Savoie (Jane Sauer Gallery), and more!
Shax Riegler
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
9 AM: History and Inspiration: A Conversation
Visit LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, NY on Saturday, April 21, before its
season opens to the public! Shuttle bus will depart Park Avenue Armory at 9 AM and
return approximately 5 PM. At noon and 2 PM, Mr. Larsen will personally lead tours for
SOFA guests of the grounds and LongHouse. Cost is $150 per person ($120 for LongHouse members). Includes transportation. For further information, please call
631.329.3568 or visit www.longhouse.org.
Be among the very first to preview LongHouse’s major new exhibition
Accumulations: NOW, featuring 500 works in craft media from the last 100 years, enjoy
LongHouse’s gorgeous spring gardens full of newly installed sculpture, and a delicious
box lunch. LongHouse Reserve is home to acclaimed designer and collector
Jack Lenor Larsen, whose name is synonymous with 20th century textiles.
World-reknowned for its exquisite gardens and sculptures, Mr. Larsen created
LongHouse Reserve to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life.
LongHouse Reserve
2 PM: Booth Talk Roots and Stitch – A Threaded History with Eleri Mills, one of
Wales’ and the UK’s eminent textile artists and current visiting artist at Columbia
University, Ruthin Craft Centre, booth 113.
2:15 PM: Booksigning. Georg Dobler – Schmuck | Jewellery 1980-2010
Artist Georg Dobler signs Georg Dobler – Schmuck | Jewellery 1980-2010 following
his lecture titled Composition of Dreams—Geometry and Nature in the Jewelry of
Georg Dobler from 1-2 PM. Gallery Loupe, booth 319.
Georg Dobler
Gallery Loupe
Eleri Mills
Ruthin Craft Centre
3 PM: Visit the Museum of Arts and Design for William Warmus’s lecture
Glass as High Art from Tutankhamen to Koons at 3 PM Saturday, April 21, in the
MAD Theater.
View more Saturday Booth Events at sofaexpo.com, including talks by Norma Minkowitz (browngrotta arts),
Paul Stankard (Jane Sauer Gallery), Henk Wolvers (flow) and Rob and Jaap Thalen (Thalen and Thalen), and more!
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
2 PM: Booth Talk. Finnish Studio jeweler Juha Koskela discusses the inspiration and
technical challenges of his three series of work on display in his one-man show.
Aaron Faber Gallery, booth 312. Also on Saturday, April 21 at 2 PM.
Juha Koskela
Aaron Faber Gallery
View more Sunday booth events at sofaexpo.com
~more~
MONDAY, APRIL 23
Museum Monday at SOFA NEW YORK
On Monday, April 23 members of 32 select museums receive a two-for-one admittance special when they present a current membership card at the door.
Select area museums include: American Folk Art Museum, Asia Society, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum,
Corning Museum of Glass, Fuller Craft Museum, Guggenheim Museum & Guggenheim YCC, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Arts and
Design, Museum of Modern Art, New Museum, Newark Museum. Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art.
To view full list of participating museums, go to sofaexpo.com
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GENERAL INFORMATION
The 15th Anniversary SOFA NEW YORK 2012 will open on April 20 and run through April 23 at the Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at East 67th Street, New York City.
Fifty-five international galleries will present studio art and design for sale.
Opening Night VIP Preview (by invitation only): Thursday, April 19, 5-7 pm Public Preview (by Ticket Purchase): 7-9 pm
General admission hours are: Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21: 11am-7 pm, Sunday, April 22: 12 noon-6 pm, Monday, April 23: 11am-5 pm
Tickets are $25 for a single day of general admission and $40 for a four-day pass.
For general information, visit: www.sofaexpo.com; call: 800.563.SOFA (7632) or 312.587.7632; or e-mail: [email protected]. Press images and information at
www.sofaexpo.com/press