TEFAF Maastricht is widely regarded as the world’s premier fair for fine art, antiques, and design, and this week, it returns for its 37th edition with a truly formidable collection of artworks spanning 7,000 years of art history. From March 9 to 14, patrons can visit the Netherlands’ Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre to view an impressive array of artworks and museum-standard collectibles from a diverse breadth of exhibitors.
Courtesy of Salvador Dali and TEFAF Maastricht.
This edition marks the debut of a new initiative called TEFAF Focus, which provides galleries with a dedicated section to delve more deeply into the work of a single artist or concept. TEFAF has also announced its first-ever summit, in association with the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO and a special partnership with the Italian Ministry of Culture and Venetian Heritage. This summit will function as a platform for the international art community to discuss the nuances of cultural heritage and propose ways to foster peace. Other programming highlights include TEFAF Talks panel discussions and TEFAF Meet the Experts presentations.
Cy Twombly, “Untitled (Nike),” 1980, oil, oil crayon and graphite on paper (Fabriano), 65.9 x 49.8 cm / Frame: 83.7 x 67.8 x 6 cm, verso lower left signed, inscribed and dated: Nike Cy Twombly 1980. Courtesy of Cy Twombly and TEFAF Maastricht.
This edition of the art fair presents 41 exhibits, spanning an incredibly diverse range of mediums and time periods. One highlight is Alexander Archipenko’s Admiration of Venus (1944), a gouache painting that epitomizes a consistent theme in the artist’s oeuvre: the curvaceous female form in the nude. There is also Untitled (Nike) (1980) by Cy Twombly, wherein the use of oil crayon and graphite lends itself to a markedly sparse exercise in aesthetics and tactility.
Titian, “The Submersion of Pharaoh’s Army in the Red Sea,” c. 1515, courtesy of David Tunick, Inc., New York.
Visitors should be sure not to miss Salvador Dalí’s “Double Image with the Appearance of a Vermeer Figure in the Face of Abraham Lincoln” (1939), a unique mixed media piece within the artist’s body of work that was sourced directly from a private collection in Spain. There is also a woodcut by none other than the Venetian Renaissance painter Titian; dating back to approximately 1514, scholars have called this piece “one of the most spectacular woodcuts ever created.” One would be remiss not to mention Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker (1903), one of the most iconic sculptures in art history, which will also be on display—rounding out a collection of artworks that is truly grounded in history yet timelessly meaningful.
Alexander Archipenko, “Admiration of Venus,” 1944, graphite and gouache on paper, 35.9 x 29.9 in. Signed Archipenko / 1944 / “Admiration of Venus” lower right. Courtesy of Alexander Archipenko and TEFAF Maastricht.
