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CHARON KRANSEN ARTS, above, with jewelry by Liv Blavarp, below. All Photographs by Robert K. Liu/Ornament, SOFA New York, 2005. as seen in Ornament Magazine.
Mobilia Gallery as seen in Ornament Magazine.
AARON FABER GALLERY as seen in Ornament Magazine.
CHARON KRANSEN ARTS
MOBILIA GALLERY
AARON FABER GALLERY
Jewelry by Liv Blavarp, below. All Photographs by Robert K. Liu/Ornament, SOFA New York, 2005. as seen in Ornament Magazine.
MOBILIA GALLERY, left, showing gold neckpiece by Mary Lee Hu as seen in Ornament Magazine.
The Cooper Family of Mobilia Gallery, from left to right: Jo Anne Cooper, Adele Cooper, Libby Cooper, and Susi Cooper; bottom left, Dr. Irving Cooper as seen in Ornament Magazine.
LIV BLAVARP AT CHARON KRANSEN ARTS
MARY LEE HU AT MOBILIA GALLERY
COOPER FAMILY OF MOBILIA GALLERY
OPTION ART. Artist Janis Kerman. as seen in Ornament Magazine.
SIENNA GALLERY. Noam Elyashiv neckpieces as seen in Ornament Magazine.
URBAN GLASS. Artist Helene Safire. as seen in Ornament Magazine.
ARTIST JANIS KERMAN AT OPTION ART
NOAM ELYASHIV AT SIENNA GALLERY
ARTIST HELENE SAFIRE AT URBAN GLASS
GALLERY 500 consulting. Artist Carolyn Morris Bach, right, as seen in Ornament Magazine.
THE DAVID COLLECTION as seen in Ornament Magazine.
Helena Van Nuys, wearing neckpiece by Mona Wallström, from The David Collection., as seen in Ornament Magazine.
CAROLYN MORRIS BACH
AT GALLERY 500 CONSULTING
THE DAVID COLLECTION
HELENA VAN NUYS, WEARING NECKPIECE
BY MONA WALLSTRÕM
FROM THE DAVID COLLECTION.

SOFA CHICAGO 2006


SOFA Chicago’s annual occurrence, at the Navy Pier Festival Hall, takes place again this November. As one of the primary exhibitions of sculptural objects and functional art, showcased by many international and United States galleries and dealers, SOFA is a notably prestigious event. Nineteen new galleries have signed up thus far, including Rena Bransten Gallery, from San Francisco. Galerie Besson, from London, is one example of seven participating United Kingdom galleries. Not only the UK is internationally strong, as eleven new galleries from Denmark, Japan, Israel, France, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, South Korea, Switzerland, Ireland, and Canada join SOFA Chicago 2006. Established foreign galleries from Australia, Argentina and Italy are also exhibiting.

Mark Lyman, Founder/Director of Expressions of Culture, producer of SOFA states, “This year’s SOFA Chicago is the most international and the largest in terms of square footage that we have ever produced.” As of October 2006, some ninety-nine galleries have promised to attend the show. Besides the newcomers, there will be regular showings from several well-known jewelry-carrying galleries, such as Charon Kransen Arts, Sienna Gallery and Mobilia. There will be plenty to entertain the prospective collector.

The venue begins Friday, November 10, and runs through Sunday November 12. On Thursday, there is an opening public preview from 7 to 10 P.M., costing fifty dollars. On Friday and Saturday, thirty-one lectures cover a wide variety of informative subjects. Emerging Artists 2006 features Brooke Marks-Swanson, Natalya Pinchuk and Hye-young Suh discussing the development of their jewelry and art. Divergent Directions in Fiber, Parts I and II, present a discussion with several artists, such as JoAnne Russo and Dorothy Caldwell, regarding the material differences in their work. Studio jeweler Mary Preston’s Tangling Classic Lines examines the use of traditional forms of ornamentation in her work.

One special presentation is Transforming Vision: William Hunter Retrospective, when artist William Hunter, curator Kevin Wallace and museum director Harold Nelson describe the nationally touring exhibition recently inaugurated at the Long Beach Museum of Art, in California. Throughout the exposition several special exhibits and events are being held, with a live hot glass blowing event by the Corning Museum of Glass.

One can never underestimate the propinquity of the moment. Last year at SOFA New York, the Ornament coeditors stopped at the booth of Mobilia Gallery. Astonished by the beauty of a Mary Lee Hu neckpiece, they immediately decided to make it the cover of a forthcoming issue, and a second cover feature of one of this country’s great jewelry artists.

SOFA New York 2007 runs from May 31 to June 3, within the Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street. At this year’s SOFA New York, the new online community SOFAsphere for arts-minded people debuted. This venture into the medium of the internet allows members to create a personal profile, search for like-minded persons with similar art interests, and exchange emails in a secure environment. More details are available on the SOFA website at www.sofaexpo.com. Photographs by Robert K. Liu/Ornament, SOFA New York, 2005.

 

Published in Ornament Magazine, Volume 30, No. 1, 2007.
— Author Patrick R. Benesh-Liu is Editorial Assistant of Ornament.
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