Ask any of the exhibitors at the FOG Design+Art fair about what makes this particular aesthetic celebration special, and the response is likely to be quick and nearly unanimous: it’s so uniquely San Francisco.
For the third year in a row, this four-day event – a collaboration with the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art (SFMOMA) – sees galleries from across the US (centered, perhaps predictably, in San Fran and New York, with representation from LA, DC, Philadelphia, and Seattle), as well as London, Paris, and Mexico City, bring everything from small, take-homeable trinkets, to hands-on craft and highly polished installations, to the city’s Fort Mason Festival Pavilion. This mix of mediums across a range of creative eras makes for an eclectic selection that’s delightful as eye candy, but also demands a deeper look.
21POP greets guests first thing; the bulbous black-and-white installation by designer Stanlee Gatti features a series of artists working on their respective crafts – on-site, in real time – themed this year around the concept of 'Cut It Out'. Beyond that is an afternoon’s worth of wandering, up and down the aisles, then up and down again. Visitors should check out the official schedule for screenings and discussions offered throughout the weekend. Above is a handful of Wallpaper's fair highlights.
The black-and-white motif of 21POP, by Stanlee Gatti, provided a space for artists to demonstrate their craft for visitors
Alex Rasmussen of Neal Feay took us to another world with his Moon console
A woven wall-hanging at Demisch Danant was made in the 1970s by Sheila Hicks. 'It just came out of her studio,' said gallery co-founder Suzanne Demisch. 'We’ve been calling it "Magenta"'
Also at Demisch Danant was a series of one-of-a-kind, fully functional works of art from Belgian designer Jos Devriendt
Noam Rappaport presented wall-mounted wedge sculptures and a minimalist lighting fixture at San Francisco’s Ratio 3 gallery
Annie Vought brought her steady hands to 21POP, along with a selection of her precisely cut paper pieces. The Oakland-based artist sat amongst the crowd at the fair's opening and worked on a new project, which involved slicing out impossibly tiny shapes from a blank, black sheet of paper until words emerged
At first glance, it’s difficult to decipher that the patterns within Vought's pieces – such as The space above is for you, from 2015, pictured – are actually a mix of shapes and letters
Park Life – a popular design store and gallery in SF’s Inner Richmond neighborhood – set up shop in the front of the fair. ’We distill everything down to the best and newest editions, and pick stuff that hasn’t been seen by too many eyes,’ said owner/curator Jamie Alexander. Amongst the treasures: a David Shrigley silk scarf, and limited edition acetone transfer from photographer Todd Hido
Real Deal, Zoot Suit and Rain Gain – a trio of colour flat bite etchings from pop icon Ed Ruscha at Crown Point Press
Model Thirty Six, a cinder block boom box by Tom Sachs at New York’s Salon 94, was gently blasting Biggie through the chatter at the gala opening
The familiar panels of everyone’s favorite astromech droid, R2D2, as imagined by Tom Sachs with synthetic polymer paint, watercolour, pyrography, and palladium leaf on plywood at Salon 94
Maurizio Anzeri’s intricate embroidered images stood out at San Francisco’s Haines Gallery. The London-based, Italian artist stitched complex geometric patterns on both portraits – with coloured thread – and landscapes, with delicate black lines
Combining Gregory Nangle’s Fog Rolls Through – made with a proprietary mirroring process – and Andy Paiko’s Indefinite Sum #5–6 into a fantastic singular installation was creative alchemy by Philadelphia’s Wexler Gallery
INFORMATION
FOG Design+Art is on view until 17 January. For more information, visit FOG’s website
ADDRESS
FOG Design+Art
Fort Mason Festival Pavilion
San Francisco
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