CRAFTS, ART FAIR AND OFF THE MAIN IN NYC
ByGREGORY SOLMAN Roosters never sleep-especially if they're the colorful, kinetic steel cocks-of-the-walk sculpted by Fredrick Prescott. "I used to show at Art Expo, but this show is different," says Prescott, who tellsCityArtsthat the two-ton wild animal sculptures sent from his two-and-a-half-acre Santa Fe studio to Manhattan, exposed on flatbed vehicles, might cause quite a stir before they even show. "It's a huge avenue into New York City." Bloomington, Ind., furniture maker Lara Moore crafts functional furniture from wooden forms, layers of tissue, "a super top-secret glue recipe" and coats of resin that react with the paper and glue for "a rich, velvety textured color for the eye, and hard functional glass-like feel for the hand." Artists meet artisans out of the mainstream in a rare Manhattan three-fer at the Javits Center, Oct. 19 to 21: The American Craft Show, the Contemporary Art Fair, and Art Off the Main will recognize and exhibit outstanding pieces of furniture, ceramics, glass, woodwork, metal sculpture, textiles, jewelry and fashion; the juried work of over 100 painters, photographers, sculptors and artists working in mixed media; and a separate collection of contemporary paintings, drawings, graphics, sculpture and installations by artists of Caribbean, African and Latin American ancestry. This year's show represents a milestone in the inclusion of Art Off the Main, which has grown in stature and size since its debut at the Puck Building in 2004. Joanna and Richard Rothbard, owners of the American Craftsman Galleries, produced the crafts show. "We look for exceptional work, execution, and style and pick the most compelling, creative, gifted artists and artisans from the thousands we see every year," said Richard Rothbard. As a bonus attraction, American Art Marketing is sponsoring a series of free demonstrations by artisans and speakers addressing both scholarly and practical subjects. An array of local, national and international exhibitors are expected to include Susan Lowenthal (glass), Amy Roper Lyons, Sooyoung Kim (jewelry), Valentina Garnets (fiber-wearables), Paul Fiorello (furniture), Gary Rosenthal (mixed media), Mary Beth Kushner, Paul Blackwood and Richard Beavers (painting), Derek Harkot and Marie-Helene (sculpture), Ciarán Tully (photography) and Hiroyuki Hashino (wood), purveyor to the Japanese emperor.