The IFPDA Fine Print Fair will take place this week, with opening night on November 1, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, the show is produced by the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) and presents over 90 dealers. Works to be displayed include historical prints from European Impressionists and Old Masters, as well as new prints by contemporary artists.
To give you a taste for the upcoming fair, we spoke with a few participating galleries to get their take on the festivities:
R. S. Johnson Fine Art was established 57 years ago and collaborates with over 60 museums across the country. Their gallery is based in Chicago, Illinois, selling works from the Old Masters through Modern artists. The research they do has been published in significant catalogs. R. S. Johnson has participated in the Print Fair since its conception 25 years ago.
While they exhibit at many art fairs throughout the year, president of the gallery R. Stanley Johnson notes that they “prefer the IFPDA fair because of the general quality level of the works exhibited and its concentration in one area of art.
In four days, we meet there with 40 to 50 museum curators and directors, as well as experts in multiple domains, and our own esteemed colleagues.”
Saying it takes six months to acquire all of the works and one month to prepare for the show, they are excited to present a wide range of pieces that will appeal to the art lover in every visitor. Some of the works that the gallery will be selling include: a “magnificent impression of Dürer’s 1497 woodcut, The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, an early impression of Rembrandt’s Death of the Virgin of 1639, an impression of Goya’s Self-Portrait from Los Caprichos, 1st edition, 1799, Picasso’s large Still Life with Bottle of Marc from 1912 and Cassatt’s At the Dressing Table from 1879.”
Shaye Remba, director of Los Angeles gallery Mixografia, tells us that as printers and publishers themselves, the gallery displays contemporary works that they produce. He notes, “The Mixografia technique was developed in 1973 and is a unique fine art process that allows for the production of deep textured prints with very fine surface detail.”
Remba also notes the benefits of the IFPDA Fair, stating, “it allows the print dealers to show work that is not typically featured at mainstream fairs.
Each year we hope to attract a wide audience including print collectors, art aficionados, print curators basically anyone involved and interested in prints. It’s a great opportunity to educate and gain new enthusiasts. The fair really does offer a very strong education and public outreach component which allows for an exchange of ideas and knowledge about our technique and printmaking as a whole.”
Works to be displayed range in price from $3,000 to $30,000 and will include new work by John Baldessari entitled Crowds with Shape of Reason Missing, 2012, as well as new prints by Chun Kwang and a number of international artists. In addition to this fair, Mixografia will also present artworks at the Armory Show next year.
The Paul Stolper Gallery focuses on contemporary art works and is based in London as well as in Oslo, Norway. They also publish the works that they display, which includes pieces from all over the world.
Director Paul Stolper writes,
“As a fair dedicated to prints I am always excited to see the breadth and depth in prints and printmaking that the fair offers the viewer, from Durer to Damien Hirst. That in itself makes it unique amongst fairs.
The focus on prints alone, spanning so many centuries really adds academic weight to the fair as a whole. We have many American clients who we always look forward to seeing, and the IFPDA Fair gives us a great opportunity to show them newly published work, and to keep in touch with collectors and museum curators that we might only see once a year.”
The gallery’s works on display will range in price from $800 to $15,000. Stolper notes, “Many of the works will not have been seen or exhibited in New York at all, and so it always exciting to see how people react. Although we focus primarily on artists from the UK this year, including new foilblock works by Damien Hirst, a lenticular by Damien Hirst, as well as a beautiful new suite by Don Brown, hand-coloured etchings by Mit Senoj, and screenprints by Sarah Hardacre, we will be exhibiting four new prints we co-published with West Coast artist Shepard Fairey.”
The IFPDA Print Fair takes place at the Park Avenue Armory, located at 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street. Friday and Saturday hours are from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Purchase advanced tickets for $15 or unlimited access to the fair for $40. For more information, check out the show’s website at ifpda.org.
