San Francisco Antiques Show To Open With Derek Lam Preview Party

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Oct 17th 2010 at 10:01AM

On October 27, San Francisco kicks off the 29th annual Fall Antiques Show with an opening night preview party hosted by Derek Lam. The show at Fort Mason Center is the oldest international antiques fair on the West Coast and runs October 28-31. Over 60 new and returning dealers will present thousands of decorative and fine art objects representing all styles and periods including American, English, Continental, and Asian furniture, silver, ceramics, glass, jewelry, rugs, textiles, paintings, prints, and photographs.

To celebrate this year's theme, Chinoiserie: Rococo to Eco, guests will be greeted by a two-story, gilded pagoda entrance created by architect Andrew Skurman. Maria Santangelo of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and historian Holland Lynch co- curate the special exhibition, which showcases furnishings, porcelain, lacquer, and fine arts presenting imaginative Western interpretations of Chinese artistic influences. The pieces in this display are on loan from the collections of Ann Getty, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and others.

"Over the last three decades, The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show has emerged as one of the most prestigious art and antiques fairs in the United States," said Lisa Podos, Executive Director of the Show. "With our spectacular exhibitors, sponsors, chairs, and lecturers, as well as our exciting Chinoiserie theme, this year's Show will no doubt continue that tradition."

The fair benefits Enterprise for High School Students which has a mission of helping teens invest in their own futures and achieve their goals. Gala tickets start at $200. Show tickets are $15 and lecture tickets are $15 each. The complete lecture schedule is below.

LECTURE SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 28, 11:00 a.m.
From the Courts of Europe to the China Cabinets of California:
400 Years of Chinoiserie and Japonisme in European Ceramics
Christina Prescott Walker, Senior Vice President, Department Director, Chinese Works of Art and Head of European Ceramics and Chinese Export Porcelain, Sotheby's, New York

Chinese and Japanese decorative arts, which came to Europe starting in the 17th century via the East India trading companies, had a profound effect on European decorative arts, and in particular on ceramics as manufacturers sought to emulate and imitate porcelain. Walker will trace the assimilation and interpretation of Chinese motifs, exemplified by the humble and ubiquitous Staffordshire blue-and-white pottery Willow Pattern along with interesting recent examples of Chinoiserie.

Thursday, October 28, 2:30 p.m.
ChinaQuake: China and World Fashion Today
John S. Major, Former Professor at Dartmouth College, Scholar, and Author, New York

Chinese fabrics and styles have inspired Western fashion designers throughout the 20th century, for example Paul Poiret and Yves Saint Laurent. After illustrating such creations, Major, co-author of China Chic: East Meets West (Yale University Press, 1999), will consider the impact of China's influence today: how contemporary Chinese-American designers such as Derek Lam, Anna Sui, Vera Wang, and Jason Wu have enlivened the fashion scene; China as the leading manufacturer of clothing, and the future of Chinese fashion.

Friday, October 29, 11:00 a.m.
Chinoiserie at Court: The Influence of China in the Arts of 18th-Century Europe
Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, Member of the British Royal Family,
Author, Lecturer, and Interior Designer, London

China became not only an inspiration but an obsession in a number of European courts in the mid 1700s. Princess Michael, author of several books about European royal history, most recently The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King (Simon and Schuster, 2005), will show the effects of this influence in the arts and highlight the key personalities, such as Catherine the Great and Marie-Antoinette, who promoted the current taste for Chinoiserie.

Friday, October 29, 2:30 p.m.
"Mandarin only is the Man of Taste": Chinoiserie in Britain, 1650–1820
David Beevers, Keeper of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton

Chinoiserie in Britain was at its height in the late 17th and mid-18th centuries, with a magnificent flourish in the early 19th century as exemplified by the dazzling interiors of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. Bringing to life the fantastical decorative schemes created there for King George IV, Beevers, curator of the exhibition Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930 (co-author of the accompanying catalogue, 2008), will trace the enthusiasm for this hybrid aesthetic as expressed in English furnishings and interiors.

DESIGNER SATURDAY
October 30, 11:00 a.m.
Billy Baldwin, America's King Cotton Decorator
Adam Lewis, Interior Designer and Author, New York
Sharing the discoveries featured in his new book, Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator (Rizzoli, 2010), Lewis will recount Baldwin's privileged upbringing in Baltimore, his decorating career in New York City, and his meritorious rise to international fame, and shed new light on this interior design legend. His iconic and influential classical, clean, and colorful style will be shown in interiors he created for a star-studded clientele, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Paley, and other tastemakers.

October 30, 2:30 p.m. Book-signing reception to follow.
Bringing the Past to the Present and Beyond
Bunny Williams, Interior, Furniture, and Accessories Designer, and Author, New York
At this exclusive San Francisco launch of her latest book, Scrapbook for Living (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2010), renowned designer Bunny Williams will share her creative ways to design, organize, and personalize interior spaces. Room by room, she will discuss how to blend antiques with contemporary design, drawing on her impressive knowledge of the decorative arts and her vast experience creating homes throughout the world.

SPECIAL EVENT
Friday, October 29, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Cars and Cocktails
Enjoy a complimentary cocktail and a viewing of the Tesla Roadster electric sports car, winner of many awards for its innovative design.

Tags: antiques, antiques fair, antiques show, san francisco