San Francisco 20th Century Modernism Show

Thursday, September 16, 2010 was the preview gala of the 3rd Annual San Francisco 20th Century Modernism Show & Sale (SF20, at Fort Mason September 17-19). Exhibiting were 50 premier national and international dealers presenting decorative and fine arts from all design movements of the 20th century. In three years this show seems to have taken huge leaps— the quality and attendance would make one think it was more of a long-standing tradition, like the perennially popular Fall Antiques Show. It just may become one.

Highlights:

"Double Presence", J B Blunk

Gerard O’Brien of Reform Gallery Los Angeles, brought several amazing J B Blunk sculptures, fresh from the Blum & Poe exhibit earlier this year.  Of the newly rediscovered California artist of the 60′s and 70′s O’Brien says, “Blunk’s work is pure reductive sculpture. He reveals natural forms that are generated by the forces of nature.”

Next to catch our eye was another wood piece, this one more domesticated, or yin to Blunk’s yang. The undulating tiers and silky veneer of T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings’ walnut low table (designed in 1953 for the Widdicomb Furniture Company) is the ultimate in calm. Todd Merrill Antiques, New York.

Mesa Low Table, T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings

A 1950s ivory leather Tommy Parzinger cabinet from San Francisco mission district’s beloved Monument was a stand-out, as was a Flora cabinet from 1940s Swedish designer Josef Frank brought west by New York’s Hostler Burrows. Atop, a group of Swedish ceramic studio vases.

Tommy Parzinger 1950s leather cabinet

Josef Frank Flora cabinet, Swedish ceramic vases

Eclectic collections from two Napa Valley favorites exhibited the unique taste of their proprietors: David Allen’s Artefact Design and Salvage, and Michael Polenske’s Ma(i)sonry. Allen finds beauty in weathered objects that were initially functional, and now serve our aesthetic pleasure in their historic artistry. Steel mill vats, bronze doll molds, and an arresting cast aluminum arm (from an Eastern European carnival) gripping a globe … to name just a few of his selects.

Ma(i)sonry’s display included vintage travel trunks, an old ship door turned into a table, and a pair of linen and leather chairs, designed in 1964 by Jorgen Kastholm.

Cast aluminum arm, Eastern Europe, circa 1930

Jorgen Kastholm chair, 1964

Art set the mood in March‘s serene space, with its taupey neutrals, and linear works by artist Hadi Tabatabai.

March's hand-picked neutrals compliment Hadi Tabatabai's linear artworks

"East Wall" by Norman Zammit, Darcy Badiali ceramics

Noho Modern (Los Angeles) seduced with a large work by Norman Zammit. Zammit “uses the technical to unearth the poetic,” with his rigidly composed bands of color (determined by mathematical formula), subtly changing color over the course of a run. Darcy Badiali’s large hand-thrown ceramic pieces, and Belgian artist Jean Claude Wouters’ mysterious works added to the drama.

1939 American Art Deco Wurlitzer butterfly piano

There were other remarkable finds, including the Art Deco black lacquered Wurlitzer butterfly piano at Off the Wall Antiques, a one-of-a-kind unique piece chess set from Bridges Over Time, Robert Bowman Gallery artist Hannecke Beaumont’s bronze and cast-iron kneeling figures, and Battersea‘s beautifully reupholstered Milo Baughman sofa.

Hanneke Beaumont's bronze and cast-iron sculptures

Milo Baughman sofa with blue and grey tufted window pane fabric

Last but not at all least, Hedge Gallery created a gorgeous display showcasing mostly ceramic artists, including Tony Marsh’s intriguing perforated earthenware clay vessels and contents.

Tony Marsh's perforated vessel ceramics

Hedge Gallery's showcase