Maastricht: Some 260 antique dealers and gallery owners from 16 countries exhibited at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair), fair of art and antiques from the Netherlands, until March 27.
If, from the distance and thanks to the Internet, we take as benchmark that important source we find in the comments of readers on pieces of information published by the media, we’d have to quote this note written by an enthusiast who gives a substantial description of the fair: “Hello: I’m in a hotel at Maastricht. I’ve spent the whole day in the fair, from 12:00 to 19:00 hours. You can be sure that there’s nothing similar in the world of art. There’s no Noble Girls or Giaconda, but it’s presently among the top ten in the world. It’s an exhibition lasting a week or so and the works are for sale including, as I’ve seen, more than thirty Renoirs, one Rembrandt, five Murillos, ten Van Dyck, some other Rubens, and Jordaens, one Goya, Riberas, Teniers, Van Ostade, Delacroix, Ingres, Canaletos, Picassos (fifty), Matisses and Monets. The list is endless. It’d be interesting for people who love art coming here and learning”. (Check: http://www.hoyesarte.com/mercado-2/mercado-2/9454-la-mejor-feria-de-arte-del-abre-sus-puertas.html)
Regarding to the promotion, the event has developed a praiseworthy strategy: some pieces of news have been progressively put in the map, such as the fair presentation in other cities and regions of the world in a sort of campaign carried out in Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, Uruguay; or the publication of advertisements on the works to be sold, a method that creates expectations and encourages the projects of collectors interested in TEFAF: sales of Rembrandt, Rendir and Goya’s works for prices which make us doubt about the crisis in the world of art.
Museums from all over the world, such as the Hermitage from San Petersburg, Tate Britain, Louvre, d’Orsay from Paris and most of the important ones in the US are increasing their collections with works of Rubens, Van Gogh, Frans Hals, Willem de Kooning, Alexej von Jawlensky, Henry Moore, El Greco. Guaranteeing the seriousness of the event is the fact that TEFAF counts on a committee made up of 29 specialists and 168 experts (international) who analyze the quality, authenticity and condition of works.
During this period of time, the economy of Maastricht also flourishes and, furthermore, the exhibition and activity program of other art expressions gets multiplied including dance, jazz, classic music and theater, involving a significant share of the 70 thousand visitors.
During his visit to Uruguay, some months ago, when Sur de Punta del Este Gallery was invited to TEFAF, Dutch merchant Ben Janssens, expert in Chinese art and collector of contemporary geometric art, issued encouraging comments for the region: “In 15 years […] the vision of art was modified, there is a stronger international perspective, less Euro-centrism, thanks to the mass media, the access through trips and migrations […] places like Latin America are no longer so strange for European people. […] we begin now with Uruguay, Argentina”. (For further information: www.transfers.com.uy)
Resolutely, beyond the positive reports on Maastricht, there’s something missing these days: a significant representation from Latin America and the Caribbean. Let’s hope that, in upcoming editions, galleries from the region become into an important presence, not only an accent.
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