High-End Chairs at The Salon: Art + Design Fair

I’ve been on the lookout for interesting chairs for a new project in New York and my timing could not be better with the last of the year’s major art fairs in New York opening last night. The Salon Art + Design which principally showcases work from the 20th and 21st century (totally my thing!), is one of the most interesting fairs on this side of the pond since many of the exhibiting dealers are from Continental Europe and rarely exhibit in the USA outside of this Fair.

So between the ooh lalala’s and the “c’est magnifiques” and plenty of air kisses, these are some of the chairs that caught my eye:

Galerie L’Arc en Seine had this par of splendid Pierre Chareau fauteuils from 1938 (image above). Can’t get enough of their nod to Cubism with their angular geometric form.

From Paris, Galerie Alain Marcelpoil had a whole booth full of furniture by the incomparable Andre Sornay who is quickly identifiable by the brass nail decoration which he started to use in 1932. This lovely chair is from one of a suite of 4 dating from 1935.

Another Paris Gallery, Oscar Graf, had this fabulous settee by English artist Walter Cave. Guess when this was produced? 1899!!!!! And still looking fresh and modern.

Aline Chastel-Marechal had a handsome arm chair by Janette Laverriere from the 1950s. It was comfy to boot!

Carpenters Workshop brought the work of a Modern Sybarite favorite, Vincent Dubourg. I realize it’s not for everybody, but one has to recognize genius and Dubourg uses a blowtorch to work aluminum like Basquiat did oil paint.

Swedish dealer Modernity had a pair of delightful (and well conserved) leather Mix chairs by Kaare Klint from 1930. Simply beautiful.

My dear friend and ever so chic Diane de Polignac always has something modern and cutting edge without being offensive, and this year she brought a sofa from Salome de Fontainieu, an artist well known to my readers. The artist is precise with her lines and loves to play with rectangles until she gets the perfect shapes.

Jean-David Botella brought this fantastical settee from a suite of furniture by none other than Carlo Bugatti (the father of the car designer). Botella got them from a family in Egypt. Made of ebonized wood, parchment, and camel bone in the early 20th century.