The European Fine Art Fair, best known as TEFAF, is all about decadence. Its ninth New York edition, running through Tuesday, May 14, features 89 galleries showing everything from furniture, jewelry, and antiquities to contemporary art. It makes for a disorienting mix, hopping from sculptures by Kehinde Wiley at the booths of both Sean Kelly and Galerie Templon to London-based Ariadne’s display of ancient Egyptian and Roman sculptures and pottery. That’s precisely the fun of TEFAF, though: There’s something for every palate, if not every wallet.
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Though I left most of the jewelers to the Birkin crowd, Didier’s snug corner on the first floor was irresistible. Specializing in jewelry made by visual artists who also work in other mediums, their cabinets contained pieces including a tiara made by Alexander Calder, earrings shaped like melting telephones by Salvador Dalí, a pocket watch filled with pearls by Joseph Cornell, and pendants made of crushed tin cans by Louise Nevelson, among others. Surrealist works are well represented across the fair: Di Donna Galleries present wispy, delicate drawings by Joan Miró and Paul Klee, as well as an array of charming small sculptures and mobiles (for those who prefer not to wear their Calders).
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