It’s remarkable.
In a few short weeks, International Fine Art Expositions (IFAE) has transformed the Palm Beach County Convention Center from an über-cool, contemporary art warehouse that housed their Art Palm Beach fair into a refined country-manor home for the current American International Fine Art Fair (AIFAF).
At the entrance, a four-spout fountain sits, surrounded by plush greenery and a few delicate pink flowers. The polished concrete floors have been replaced by plush carpeting. Subdued track lights have replaced bright overhead lights. White-cube exhibit booths have been Martha Stewart-ized with alternating Wedgewood blue, vermillion red, steel gray and buttercream walls accentuated by white molding.
The convention center leapt from MOMA to Met — while we were sleeping.
The crowd seems to have changed as well. Rather than Latin accents, one now hears plenty of British and French ones. Women have gone from wearing silver Prada to pink Pulitzer. The young and trendy have been replaced by mature bluebloods. Even the parking lot has gone from BMW to Bentley.
The art is different, too, for the most part. Abstract paintings have been replaced by plenty of serene landscapes with ornate, gold-gilt frames. Marie Antoinette is no longer walking among us, though she can be seen in some of the works on display. There are now also antiques, ceramics and rare books. And the bada-bling has gone up a notch with the participation of high-end jewelers such as Graff, Scavia and Buccellatti.
In this genteel environment, one might almost forget that, for-the-pure-love-of-art notwithstanding, the AIFAF, which will be at the convention center through next Sunday, Feb. 13, is about selling. Yes, all of these beautiful people are here to buy and sell art, which is a relatively stable commodity right now.
The art market, unlike other sectors of the economy, has held, despite the precarious economy and post-Madoff private-collector decommissioning. Most buyers believe, along with William Gaddis, that “a work of Art redeems time. And buying it redeems money.”
The market for contemporary art, illustrated by last year’s Art Basel Miami Beach, seems to be bursting at the seams, but the tastes at AIFAF tend to more conservative genres.
“I deal mostly in 19th-century and some contemporary realism. Our clients are successful and busy,” said Howard Rehs, a third-generation New York dealer and owner of the Rehs Gallery. “At the end of the day, they’re looking for something relaxing and calming to look at. They prefer figurative or landscape to abstraction.”
Moving throughout the fair, one could see that these traditional tastes transfer to more contemporary mediums, too, as demonstrated in works by photographer John Dugdale, who was on hand at the Holden Luntz Gallery booth. Dugdale is blind and was accompanied by an affectionate companion, a golden lab named Henley, who gently nuzzled up to visitor’s ankles. The artist’s studio is located in the Catskills, which may explain why his photographic work demonstrates the same glow that is seen in many Hudson River School landscapes.
Dugdale explained that he sees his work “in my heart.”
“I just recently lost the sight that I did have. But I have these images in my memory bank,” he said. Of the Catskills light, he noted, “It’s so lovely. You can’t get away from that golden light. It’s pervasive.”
That golden light was evident in many works throughout the fair, but strikingly evident in a very large landscape painting taking up the entire wall at New York’s Alexander Gallery Booth. Laurel Acevedo, who owns the gallery with her husband, stood in front of the work, The New World by Baron Jean Antoine Théodore Gudin, explaining its provenance and significance while engaging two private collectors.
Though Gudin worked at the same time as the Hudson River School painters he was not a part of the movement and worked mostly in Europe, though Acevedo noted that “he inspired Frederick Church.” One could easily see the influence.
“It’s a rare work to see because Gudin, though American, existed mostly in national collections in Europe. He was employed by two kings of France. This work was in the collection of a former secretary of state,” she said.
Some of the fair’s galleries crammed work into their booth space. Others presented work in a thought-out manner, such as the Renoir and Friends exhibit in New York’s Hammer Galleries booth. Though all the works are for sale, they’re presented in a curated exhibit, with accompanying catalog, something you don’t always see in an art-fair setting.
Hammer’s president, Howard Shaw, explained that the gallery has a history of presenting one-man exhibitions of Renoir’s works, having done so in both 1959 and in 1984. Because the Hammer Galleries recently relocated, the show wasn’t seen in New York, and Shaw chose to preview it here at AIFAF, a treat for visitors who will see works that illustrate Renoir’s influence on other great artists.
“While Renoir doesn’t fit neatly into the history of modernism because in his late work, he looked toward the old masters—whereas artists such as Monet and Pissarro embraced modernism—you wouldn’t be able to appreciate Matisse’s odalisques or Picasso’s nudes without understanding Renoir’s influence on them,” Shaw said.
While the majority of fine art offerings at AIFAF are geared towards 19th-century figurative and landscape artists, there are a few galleries that present some modder offerings, such as Palm Beach’s Arcature Gallery and Miami’s Rudolf Budja Galerie.
And moving from art to look at, to art that you can wear, Scavia displays jewelry-as-art in original, elegant floral settings. The Graff booth is guarded by two tall, young models bedecked in evening gowns and jewels. And Buccellatti has what seems to be a tongue-in-cheek “hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil” three-monkey statue greeting visitors to its booth.
Complementing the dealers and their offerings, AIFAF is providing a robust program of lectures that brings scholars, artists and specialists to the lectern to discuss a range of topics. Those that collect and those that merely admire have the opportunity to both increase their knowledge and rub elbows with great art, all in an environment created with every detail intended for the uplifting pleasure of celebrating aesthetics and inspiring awe.
Jenifer Mangione Vogt is a marketing communications professional and resident of Boca Raton. She’s been enamored with painting for most of her life. She studied art history and received her B.A. from Purchase College.
The American International Fine Art Fair (AIFAF) runs through Feb. 13 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. daily through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13. Admission is $10 in advance, or $15 at the door, for a one-day pass; $35 for a one-day pass with catalog; $15 in advance, or $20 at the door, for a multi-day pass; $45 for a multi-day pass with catalog. Student admission is $10. For more information, visit www.aifaf.com.