MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS.-TEFAF Maastricht is expanding in exhibition space and in range of art—particularly contemporary art—on show. Twenty-four new exhibitors bring the total number of dealers to 218, an increase of 9% over 2005. New to the Modern Art and Paintings, Drawings & Prints sections are major names such as Gagosian Gallery, Galerie Jan Krugier, Daniel Katz and Wildenstein & Co./Pace Wildenstein. TEFAF Maastricht 2006 can also boast a greater representation of Art Deco in the Antiques and Works of Art section and an impressive number of participants specializing in Chinese, Indian and South-east Asian art. The nineteenth TEFAF Maastricht will run from March 10-19, 2006 in the MECC, Maastricht. Around 75,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to visit the fair.

Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian Art - In view of the ever-increasing global interest in Asian Art, particularly in emerging markets such as China, the organizers of the 2006 fair aim to broaden the appeal to collectors in all aspects of Asian art and to attract new visitors from areas such as Asia and the USA. To achieve this goal, three new participants with US and Asia-based clientele and specialists in a range of disciplines not previously represented at TEFAF have been invited to take part.

The Hong Kong-based firm of Grace Wu Bruce is the world leader in the field of classical Chinese furniture dating mainly from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). A past exhibitor at TEFAF, Grace Wu cites the importance and maturity of the European market among the principal reasons for her return to Maastricht. Many of the new collectors from mainland China are keenly interested in “Imperial” porcelain and works of art. Littleton and Hennessy (London/New York), with their high quality stock, are certain to attract such collectors to Maastricht.
The Amsterdam-based gallery Dries Blitz specializes in early Chinese ceramics and works of art, particularly from the Song dynasty (960-1279). An expert of long standing, Dries Blitz has a strong US client base.

Antiques & Works of Art - First-time exhibitor Vallois Mobilier, Paris, widely recognized as the principal specialist in the field of Art Deco, will be bringing objects by creative designers such as Eileen Gray, Diego Giacometti and Jean Dunand to Maastricht. Another newcomer to TEFAF, New York-based Michelle Beiny, is offering exquisite eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century English and Continental porcelain, European faience and objets de vertu. Daniel Katz of London, world leader in the field of Renaissance sculpture, is returning to TEFAF Maastricht after an absence of eight years.

An architect’s commode (1.) by the renowned German cabinet-maker Abraham Roentgen will be without doubt one of the most spectacular pieces of furniture at the fair. It was made around 1760 and contains numerous folding and sliding elements and secret drawers. It can serve as a drawing table, but it can also be used as a desk. Only three other such commodes are known. This piece, which is being shown by Frank C. Möller Fine Arts of Hamburg, belonged to Princess Marianna of Orange-Nassau (1810-1883), wife of Albert of Prussia.

Paintings, Drawings & Prints - For the first time in their history, one of the biggest names in the international art trade, Wildenstein & Co./Pace Wildenstein of New York, is appearing at an art fair. They will be bringing both Old Masters and Modern Art to TEFAF. The Parisian Galerie Canesso will be showing a selection of works by seventeenth-century Bolognese painters, among them a portrait of a man and ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’ by Pietro Faccini. There are only twelve known paintings by Faccini and very few come on to the market. After a long absence, Richard L. Feigen of London is also returning to TEFAF. He will be showing his recently acquired masterpiece by Bartholomeus Breenberg(1598-1657), ‘John the Baptist Preaching.’ This painting had been on loan to The Art Institute of Chicago for twenty years. Newcomers to the Fair, The Fine Arts Society, one of the oldest and most established galleries in London, will bring a selection of works by British artists from the 19th and 20th century including paintings by Walter Sickert, James McNeil Whistler, Charles Rennie Mactintosh and the Scottish Colorist, SJ Peploe.

Modern Art and Contemporary Art - Newcomers to this section include leading contemporary galleries, Gagosian Gallery, London and Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva. Both galleries share a strong international profile, which will enhance the contemporary content within the Fair. Further additions to this section include the Parisian dealers Galerie Hopkins & Custot, who will bring a selection of Modern and Impressionist paintings; Achim Moeller Fine Art, New York, who specializes in French Impressionism, German Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, the Masters of the Bauhaus, Dada, and Surrealism; and Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, specialists in Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Richard Serra.

Antiquities - Kunsthandel Mieke Zilverberg of Amsterdam is bringing a collection of Anatolian earthenware, consisting of around twenty jugs, pots and dishes, among them objects from Haçilar, a site in Central Turkey, where the oldest known pottery in the world is found. The ochre decoration with dark red zigzag lines and geometric patterns, which look remarkably modern, is typical of these wares. A reddish-brown jug dating from the third millennium BC is a particularly fine example. With its long neck and stylized arms on its swelling belly, the jug resembles a female figure. One of the showpieces being displayed by Royal Athena Galleries, London and New York, is a second-century Roman marble torso of the Greek poetess Praxilla of Sicyon, portrayed dancing with upraised arms and wearing a chiton that leaves her left shoulder and breast exposed.