< img src =" https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/051/73f/4cda3004ba8b4cdc2b7eaab014828b5055-IMG-0060.1x.rsocial.w1200.jpg" alt=" "> I’m no stranger to design fairs; I have actually been going to them for years. However TEFAF is on another level. Simply getting in the Park Opportunity Armory feels various from, state, the Winter season Program, which offers a lot of remarkable furnishings and art. But TEFAF truly feels like a world apart. I believe it has a lot to do with the scent of money. It was palpable– the intensely transactional mood of the crowd, which seemed to be there for major service, and the gallerists matched their energy. The Armory looked the part, wonderfully dressed up with columns of fresh flowers and garlands decorating entranceways, in addition to a custom-made balcony where guests might have fresh oysters and Champagne while watching out over the Drill Hall listed below. And then there was the choice: numerous remarkable pieces that are probably destined for private museums.
I chose to focus on pieces I would like to cope with, albeit in an imaginary home– there is no space or budget plan in my real one. Whatever I gravitated toward was little, except for a splendid chair made by Paul Rodocanachi for Jean-Michel Frank, circa 1935. Rodo, on view at Galerie Jacques Lacoste, is made from limed oak upholstered in initial Hermès tan leather with X-shaped legs connected by a crossbar. I envisioned this would be the chair I would being in to study my brand-new treasures. And there were lots of.
Rodo, by Paul Rodocanachi for Jean-Michel Frank, circa 1935. Picture: Wendy Goodman
I was immediately set on fire by a trio of hand-carved ebony items by Alexandre Noll at Galerie Lefebvre. They included a round lidded box, a rectangular plate, and a rectangle-shaped box. Noll was a French artist and furniture-maker whose deal with wood made the material feel and look like clay to sensuous effect. My obsession with his work led me to visit his child Odile, who lived beyond Paris in the household home she matured in with much of her daddy’s furniture. Out in the back garden, his studio was a time pill, exactly as he ‘d left it with unfinished work and all his tools. It was among the most significant, motivating pilgrimages I have ever made.
< img data-src=" https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/8a9/897/7b36db052718ef5bfd0fd9c591d57bff13-1-Noll-trio--Galerie-Lefebvre--ny--1-.rvertical.w570.jpg" width=" 570" height =" 712" src=" https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/8a9/897/7b36db052718ef5bfd0fd9c591d57bff13-1-Noll-trio--Galerie-Lefebvre--ny--1-.rvertical.w570.jpg"/ > A trio of Alexandre Noll operates at Galerie Lefebvre. Image: Wendy Goodman I constantly like the art at Karma and selected three paintings for my fantasy apartment: Landscape With Giraffe, ca. 1950– 55, by Gertrude Abercrombie; Untitled (Lady With Pearl Choker), 1954, by Hughie Lee-Smith; and Roses, 1937, by Zenzaburo Kojima.
< img data-src=" https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/865/c21/d2191bd0ca88791f1743a4e692099bafb4-pearl-portrait.rvertical.w570.jpg" width=" 570" height=" 712" src=" https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/865/c21/d2191bd0ca88791f1743a4e692099bafb4-pearl-portrait.rvertical.w570.jpg "/ > From left: Landscape With Giraffe by Gertrude Abercrombie. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Untitled( Lady With Pearl Choker), 1954, by Hughie Lee-Smith. Picture: Wendy GoodmanFrom top: Landscape With Giraffe by Gertrude Abercrombie. Photo: Wendy Goodman Untitled( Lady With Pearl Choker), 1954, by Hughie Lee-Smith. Image : We … more From top: Landscape With Giraffe by Gertrude Abercrombie. Photo: Wendy GoodmanUntitled (Woman With Pearl Choker), 1954, by Hughie Lee-Smith. Image: Wendy Goodman
I was extremely surprised to see a small John Chamberlain, Tonk # 2-86, at Anthony Meier. I would never have guessed I would want to cope with a Chamberlain piece, however I could live with this one. I would position it on the table in the middle of the living room together with other things that feel very different in state of mind and product. It would definitely shake things up for me in a good way. I never thought I would see a small work by Chamberlain, and this one caught me by surprise.
John Chamberlain, Tonk # 2-86, at Anthony Meier. Photo: Wendy Goodman
I would praise daily at the altar of Alberto Giacometti’s Chaise à Stampa, 1963, at Galerie Jacques Lacoste. I feel this way about any illustration or sculpture by Giacometti– there is something sacred about whatever he has touched.
Alberto Giacometti’s Chaise à Stampa,
1963. Image: Wendy Goodman I know I would never ever be unfortunate if I got up to Pablo Picasso’s Visage en Relief from 1947, an oval dish that was cheekily hung above a 2nd-century Roman marble statue of a female, from Galerie Chenel in Paris. The Picasso face beaming above a headless classical statue was wonderful. The playfulness of the face juxtaposed with the drama of the exquisitely sculpted marble was unanticipated.
Pablo Picasso’s Visage en Relief from 1947, above a marble statue. Picture: Wendy Goodman
I would be exceptionally lured to offer these 2 little sculptures from Galerie Jacques Lacoste as gifts to my brother or sisters: My bro Ed would get the lion; my sis Stacy gets the pet dog.
Photo: Wendy Goodman I was also stunned to find the intricate pieces in a lit case at Hostler Burrows were not woven baskets but blown-glass pieces with canework within! How this was achieved is beyond me, however the result is so mysterious and so gorgeous. These are the work of Danish glass artist Tobias Møhl. They would have an interesting conversation with the Chamberlain piece.
Tobias Møhl’s Black Net Collection from 2026, at Hostler Burrows. Picture: Wendy Goodman
I also loved this bronze lamp sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, Coupe aux Deux Figures, circa 1950, at Galerie Lefebvre. The more Alberto and Diego Giacometti in my world, the better.
Alberto Giacometti, Coupe aux Deux Figures, circa 1950, at Galerie Lefebvre. Photo: Wendy Goodman
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