For the TEFAF New York Spring Fair, 92 top galleries and dealers will exhibit their art and antiques from May 4 to 8 at the Park Avenue Armory. TEFAF, which hails from The Netherlands and is renowned for its high-level art, antiques and decor, had its New York debut last fall. This is its first springtime show stateside.
An opening-night preview will be hosted by The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering on May 3, and will benefit the patient care, research, and education programs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in addition to cultural programs at the Armory.
“The thinking behind bringing TEFAF to New York, is that this fair that is renowned for offering the highest quality and broadest range of art and design in the world should have a strong presence in the marketplace with the highest concentration of art collectors in the world,” shares Michael Plummer, co-director of TEFAF New York. “While Maastricht has always attracted a large contingent of North and South American curators and collectors, it is still not the same as holding such an art event in their own backyard. It is not merely a matter of convenience, but it also shows a degree of appreciation and respect for the important role that New York, and the Americas at large, play in the international art market.”
Plummer says the U.S. fair stands apart from the Netherlands one. “The TEFAF New York Spring Fair is different from Maastricht in several key ways: It is a third the size, and it is in a historic building in the heart of Manhattan,” he explains. “Exhibitor stands are smaller due to the limited space, so it is a highly edited fair, and the Spring Fair focuses on 20th-century art and design, a uniquely keen passion of American collectors, which will give the event a significantly different emphasis than Maastricht.”
