If turbulence has taught the market anything over the past decade, it is the value of constants. And yet, even the most tradition-oriented art fairs need to keep things fresh. Now in its tenth edition, The European Fine Art Foundation’s (Tefaf) New York fair (until 14 May) has undergone a steady evolution on its way to establishing itself as the esteemed US cousin of its older counterpart in Maastricht, while at the same time differentiating itself as a brand on its own terms.
“Tefaf and the city of Maastricht have long held a magical place in the hearts of the intrepid collectors who make the journey,” says Will Korner, Tefaf’s head of fairs. “It’s an experience like no other. We believe the formula continues to work.”
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Despite the many changes, there remains a clear respect for the academic side of the fair, underpinned by its stringent vetting. “Tefaf is an opportunity for collectors in New York and beyond to experience a calibre that had been missing from the New York fair landscape,” says Emmanuel Di Donna, the founder of Di Donna Galleries. “It both activates the uptown collecting community and draws a discerning audience uptown, so it is an excellent gateway to Upper East Side galleries such as ours.”
Di Donna also highlights the use of the fair by New York-based galleries as a platform to create dialogue with their shows in the city. He describes his Tefaf presentation this May as a “pendant to the scholarly exhibitions that we have on view a few blocks away at our Madison Avenue gallery”. He plans to bring a group of Modern works “with a shared interest in the natural world and the cosmos” to his Tefaf stand this May, including examples by Paul Klee, Alexander Calder and Yves Tanguy ranging in price from $700,000 to $2.5m.