Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA), originally known as Sculpture Objects Functional Art Exposition, was a series of art fairs held from 1994 to 2022 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(SOFA Chicago), and a smaller version in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(SOFA New York) from 1998 to 2012. The fairs were also known as Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Fair, International Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art, International Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair, International Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design, and for two years as Intersect Chicago. SOFA West was held from 2009 to 2011 in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

. The founding director was Mark Lyman.

History

Foundation

The founding director of both SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York was Mark Lyman, who remained as director until at least 2012. Lyman was also president of the Art Fair Company, which produced many art fairs in the United States.

Chicago

The inaugural Sculpture Objects Functional Art Exposition in Chicago (SOFA Chicago) was held in 1994 at Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, with 58 exhibitors and 14,000 attendees. In 1995 the fair moved to

Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of shops, restaura ...

. In 2002, at the Ninth Annual International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art: SOFA Chicago 2002, it was reported that the British were leading an increased international presence at the expositions. In 2008, international galleries exhibited work by established artists such as Italian glass artists

Lino Tagliapietra Lino Tagliapietra (born 1934) is an Italian glass artist originally from Venice, who has also worked extensively in the United States. As a teacher and mentor, he has played a key role in the international exchange of glassblowing processes and te ...

and Lucio Bubacco, along with American artists including

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

Ruth Duckworth Ruth Duckworth (April 10, 1919 – October 18, 2009) was a modernist sculptor who specialized in ceramics, she worked in stoneware, porcelain, and bronze. Her sculptures are mostly untitled. She is best known for ''Clouds over Lake Michiga ...

, and

Lenore Tawney Lenore Tawney (born Leonora Agnes Gallagher; May 10, 1907 – September 24, 2007) was an American artist working in fiber art, collage, Assemblage (art), assemblage, and drawing. She is considered to be a groundbreaking artist for the elevation o ...

. Emerging artists were also represented, as well as museum curators, art advisors, and collectors. A record 35,000 people attended the 2007 Chicago event. In 2010, Art Fair Company staged the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art alongside the 17th Annual International Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair (SOFA Chicago). In that year, it was the longest continually running art fair, and featured work from 80 art galleries and hosted art dealers from 10 countries. It hosted the two fairs again in 2011. In 2012 SOFA Chicago celebrated the 50th anniversary of the studio glass movement, with major international galleries presenting work by both historic and emerging glass artists. By the time SOFA Chicago celebrated its 20th anniversary in October-November 2013, the event was branded "Sculpture Objects Functional Art + Design". By 2019 its visitors numbered 35,000 over four days. After the October-November 2019 SOFA Chicago, the event was bought by Intersect Art and Design, and rebranded Intersect Chicago. Intersect Chicago was run online in November 2020 owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Each day featured a special focus, including: Glass, Contemporary Art, Ceramic and Craft, Design, Outsider Art, Fiber Art, and Public Art / Sculpture. An in-person event was held in 2021. In 2022, it was renamed back to SOFA Chicago (Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design), "owned and managed by vGMgt LLC, producers of Intersect Art and Design Fairs", but that appears to be its last edition.

New York

The inaugural Sculpture Objects Functional Art Exposition in New York (SOFA New York) was held in 1998 in the

Seventh Regiment Armory The Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory, is a historic Armory (military), armory for the National Guard (United States), U.S. Army National Guard at 643 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Uni ...

. The Fourth Annual International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art: SOFA New York, was held in 2001. In 2011, a special dinner was held on the preview night of SOFA New York at the

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

to honor art collector and patron Judy Cornfeld. The last SOFA New York was held in April 2012, after rents were hiked and it became uneconomical to run the fair.

Santa Fe

The inaugural SOFA West was held in 2009 at the Santa Fe Convention Center in

. This series, held in August, was supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The third event was held in 2011. but the show planned for August 2012 was cancelled in May of that year for economic reasons.

Description

SOFA art fairs focused on only three-dimensional works "that cross the boundaries of

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both Beauty, beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typical ...

, and design". The fairs staged special exhibits by renowned museums, universities, and arts organizations, and held lecture series and special events. SOFA Chicago was held in the Festival Hall on the historic

for most of its existence, usually being held in November. SOFA New York was a smaller fair, averaging around 40 dealers. It was held at the

on the corner of

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

and 67th Street, and was usually held in June.

References

External links

*{{youtube, hmeEgqEo1tw, SOFA Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair New York 2012 Art fairs 1994 establishments in the United States 2023 disestablishments in the United States