Antiques and The Arts Weekly
The 70th Winter Show Embraces Continuity and Change
Events Programs & Partnerships Drive Attendance Over 11 Days
REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY LAURA BEACH, EDITOR AT LARGE
February 16, 2024
NEW YORK CITY — The beauty of The Winter Show is that it does two opposing things brilliantly. It provides an impeccable backdrop that, year to year, affirms tradition. It also nods gracefully to change, reflected in an evolving cast and updated content. Continuity and change were unofficial themes of the 70th anniversary Winter Show, celebrated at the Park Avenue Armory from preview night, January 18, through the fair’s close on January 28. Other themes, as articulated by the show’s hardworking executive director, Helen Allen, were community, collaboration and craftsmanship. Seventy-six exhibitors took part in the fair, billed as a premier source for more than 5,000 years of fine and decorative arts and the longest running show of its kind in the United States. Net proceeds benefit East Side House Settlement, which recently received approval to establish Haven Charter High School, a healthcare-focused career and technical education model set to launch in 2025.
Run with military precision, The Winter Show is an increasingly complicated undertaking, offering in addition to its catalog and welltooled website a host of events and programs designed to turn out specific audiences and strengthen ties with allied organizations. Sponsored by Bank of America, the opening night party attracted 1,000 guests. Chubb returned for its 28th year as the show’s presenting sponsor.
Jewel-box themed in partnership with Muzo Emerald Colombia, an exuberantly fashionable Young Collectors Night on January 25 broke attendance records, drawing “just shy of 900 guests,” said Allen, noting, “We’ve really cultivated a young generation that is deeply engaged with arts and design.”
[CUT]
Joan B. Mirviss Ltd.’s special exhibition “Taking Space, Making Space: Japanese Women Ceramic Artists,” complemented the groundbreaking exhibition on the same topic at the Art Institute of Chicago through June 3 and nearly sold out by fair’s end. Mirviss’ show receipts increased 30 percent versus previous highs and included one of the fair’s most photographed pieces, a red “bundle” sculpture, illustrated on page 20. The work by emerging talent Tanaka Yu (b 1989) won an Exhibitors’ Choice Award and sold to a new client on opening night.
[CUT]
The Winter Show is a grand production with exquisite touches that too often go unremarked. Grace notes this year included a decorative carpet at the fair’s entrance custommade for the show by JD Staron, and arrestingly original arrangements of fruits and f lowers by Tin Can Studios of Brooklyn, N.Y.
“We have so much to be pleased with,” [Helen] Allen said before the fair’s close on Sunday. “The dealers’ booths have never looked stronger. We’ve developed great partnerships, not only with our longtime sponsors but with cultural organizations. I love putting together the best panels that are pertinent to the moment. Looking back, it all really coalesced around craftsmanship and the passion for collecting.”
The 2025 Winter Show is scheduled for January 23-February 2. For more information, www.thewintershow.org.
