Jill Bokor of The Salon Art + Design on What Makes the Seven-Year-Old Fair “Fluid”
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The Salon Art + Design, whose seventh edition gets underway in New York on November 8 and runs through November 12 on the Upper East Side, couldn’t have had a more appropriate location than the Park Avenue Armory. The building, completed in 1881, is known fJill Bokor of The Salon Art + Design on What Makes the Seven-Year-Old Fair “Fluid”
The Salon Art + Design, whose seventh edition gets underway in New York on November 8 and runs through November 12 on the Upper East Side, couldn’t have had a more appropriate location than the Park Avenue Armory. The building, completed in 1881, is known for its period interiors that are still intact. It provides a perfect backdrop to a fair such as The Salon, which prides itself in presenting a tightly curated annual fair, featuring a mix of fine and decorative arts — from Old Masters to Contemporary stars, from decorative arts of the ancient worlds to modern design.Jill Bokor, head of the Salon, spoke to BLOUINARTINFO on the fair's upcoming edition.As the fair enters its 7th edition, how will you sum up the journey so far? Has the fair achieved the kind of stability it may have sought in its initial years? And how do you see it progressing to future editions from here?The Salon has matured in ways we could not have foreseen seven years ago. Because we collaborated with the SNA (Syndicate National des Antiquaires) in our first few years, The Salon was very French influenced. While it was distinguished and elegant, it was also somewhat limited, as all the European exhibitors were required to be members of the Syndicat. The real change started in year No. 3 after separating from the Syndicat, and we began to include Contemporary design.I don’t think stability is the most desirable way to describe the fair. While I’m happy to note that 21 of our original exhibitors are still participating (three others do The Salon in alternating years), I prefer to think that we’re fluid — ever-changing with a core of continuity.What are the most exciting trends in the field of design these days that the fair would hope to capture in its upcoming edition? This year I’m seeing many works of architectural geometry, conceived in unconventional ways. At David Gill there’s an incredible console by Daniel Liesbeskind in titanium, spare and slotted. In the same booth is another console by Sebastian Brajovic, all angles folding over themselves with a literal twist!The furniture of Juan and Paloma Garrido also uses sharp angles and shiny surfaces with great purity of form. From Galerie kreo, there’s a Gino Sarfatti chandelier hung from an angular frame descending into circles of color.Mouvements Modernes will showcase a mirror by Elizabeth Garouste that is concave and filled with intersecting squares, triangles and rhomboids giving pause for lots of reflection.Pairing of fine art and design is something that is unique to The Salon, with not many fairs doing it the way you do. In order to limit itself and not spread out with all the possibilities that the two fields offer, does the fair consciously impose certain themes, or any other limiting factors? Is there a number that you hope not to cross while selecting exhibitors?To take the last question first, we have 57 exhibitors in 55 booths. We don’t want to become bigger than that. Too many fairs in the Armory have 70+ dealers, many with rabbit warren-like booths. The Salon has always sought exhibitors who show fine material, but the difference is that we encourage participants to create an environment rather than a selection of objects.It’s been consistently true that the booths with a home-like feel, showing the possibility of design and art residing harmoniously, do much better than the ones who only display objects. So while we don’t consciously impose a theme, it’s sort of a mantra when we’re considering new exhibitors that we hope they’ll create an immersive experience.What are the regions of the world that have most exciting work going on in the field of design currently? Are there some non-traditional regions that are showing promise in terms of creativity, materials used, themes explored, etc.?We’re thrilled to be showing for the first time Contemporary African art and design as presented by Southern Guild. The work is breathtaking and unexpected. Here is a ceramic piece by Andile Dyalvane, a ceramicist who comes from QoboQobo, a small village in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.Certainly, of interest too, is Brazilian design. The known makers are represented at The Salon, but we’d love to bring a Brazilian design gallery to the fair.How do historical decorative art objects compare with the Contemporary ones? Is there still a proclivity for historical pieces over Contemporary ones? Or is that not a factor at all? I think that “antique” has become an undesirable word, though the concept of having work that is not Contemporary is not anathema. The sea change I’ve noticed is that in the ’80s and ’90s, people collected horizontally — American 18th-century Furniture, or Silver, or Flemish Old Masters, for example. Today’s collectors may well have Gio Ponti, Borsani, Sarfatti, Prouve, Royere and/or Wright in their homes, but you can bet it will be mixed with the best of Contemporary design. Frank Lloyd Wright, of whose work we have an entire booth this year, could look amazing with a colorful Calder (of which we’ll have two).Finally, what used to be called collecting with a capital C has morphed into the consideration that pieces from many countries and periods create a more interesting way to live. And by the way, the “brown wood furniture” which is dismissed by many, is still being made, but it’s different in form and sensibility.Do you think it’s possible to build a great art and design collection like some of the well-known art collections? What kind of cross-collecting knowledge should one have to build one? Absolutely! It’s happening more and more. The great collections are varied and thoughtful, but not contrived. The art and design create spaces in which you really want to spend time — not just view. The top collections are subtle; they don’t scream “design,” they invite.I don’t know that cross-collecting knowledge per se is important. After all, most of these pieces aren’t bought cerebrally, but sensorily. That having been said, of course you’d want to learn all you could about anything that you collected irrespective of what it’s going to live with. If mid-century Murano glass appeals to you, why not pair it with this very graphic 2018 cabinet by Martino Gamper? It’s important to know about the genre, the material, the designer. Look at everything until you hone in on the piece or genre you keep coming back to. Talk to the gallerist. If s/he’s living, talk to the designer. And then finish off the room with a gorgeous monochromatic Fontana Concetto Spaziale!Are there any plans to branch out The Salon to other design hot spots in the form of other annual fairs?We’ve been asked to take the fair to other markets, but I wouldn’t want to replicate The Salon. It would be more interesting to take very edited versions — maybe showing 12-15 galleries — of the fair and create mini-Salons that could also incorporate local talent. It comes up a lot.This article appears in the November edition of BlouinShop magazine.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/Founder: Louise Blouin Read more