Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week
WestWorld of Scottsdale
March 20-23
Single-day tickets start at $30, scottsdaleartweek.com
The inaugural Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week will be unlike anything Arizona has seen before. More than 100 national and international galleries from as far away as Argentina, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Brussels and Turkey will gather at WestWorld of Scottsdale, offering inventory ranging from contemporary art to American Modernism to Indigenous and Latin art. With Ferrari of Scottsdale as the title sponsor, SAW promises to blast open an exciting new entry point in the U.S. art market – think Miami’s Art Basel, but with cactus and luxury automobiles. “Between a host of visionaries who’ve been inspired by our desert landscapes and many affluent individuals who seek out their work, bringing an event of this scale and scope to Arizona was simply common sense and long overdue,” says festival director Michael Plummer.
Artist Profile: Tony Abeyta
One of the highlights of the weekend will be a special curated exhibition by Diné painter, educator, art dealer and collector Tony Abeyta. Based in Santa Fe, Abeyta will marshal his expertise in 20th-century Southwestern art to create an exhibition that will discuss the work of Indigenous and Anglo artists who helped make Scottsdale what it is today, including works by Fritz Scholder, Philip C. Curtis, Charles Loloma, Frank Lloyd Wright, Paolo Soleri, Ed Mell and Lloyd Kiva New. Featured as an appraiser on the popular PBS series Antiques Roadshow, Abeyta recently curated the popular New Terrains: Contemporary Native American Art exhibition at Phillips auction house in New York City.
Tell us about your work on Antiques Roadshow.
On the show, I’m an appraiser for tribal arts. This is my third season, and I do on-the-spot appraisals and help them to evaluate the Indigenous art people bring. I learn a lot from my co-appraisers, and I never know what will come through the door next. I just finished one that featured a Joseph Henry Sharp painting… virtually unknown, a woman had it hanging in her basement and had no idea who painted it, and it turned out to be worth $70,000.
Describe your exhibition at Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week.
The exhibition is titled Modernism in Phoenix, but it extends to Northern Arizona as well. The exhibition champions the modernist efforts of artists working from the 1950s to contemporary times. There will be a strong focus on Native American and Indigenous modernists of Phoenix… I like the era because there weren’t as many artists working then as there are today… working progressively to create new visions of the West.
What do you like about Scottsdale’s art culture?
Scottsdale keeps getting bigger, and the art scene has been going for a long time… and I feel this new art fair will breathe life back into the arts. It’s a very exciting period for the arts scene and the Valley, and I look forward to reflecting on its past history and giving new light on to how it all began with my exhibition.
Three SAW Must-Visit Galleries
Addison Rowe Gallery
The brainchild of longtime art dealer Victoria Addison, this influential Santa Fe gallery focuses on American Modernism as well as art of the Transcendental Painting Movement, which includes artists such as Emil Bisttram, Agnes Pelton and Florence Miller Pierce.
Vallarino Fine Art
Based in a townhouse in Midtown Manhattan and specializing in post-war American abstract painters, including those associated with the Stable Gallery in New York City in the 1950s and ’60s, Vallarino is known for quality offerings from artists such as Milton Avery, Karel Appel, Will Barnet, Harry Bertoia, Norman Bluhm and
Ilya Bolotowsky.
Lillian Nassau
Located on West 57th Street in New York City, this gallery has specialized in the work of Tiffany Studios and Louis Comfort Tiffany for more than 75 years. Eponymously established in 1945 by Nassau, the gallery is credited with single-handedly reviving interest in Tiffany Studios, best known for it iconic Tiffany lamps. The gallery is now owned by celebrity appraiser Arlie Sulka.
SAW Party: The Vernissage Gala
Want to take your SAW experience up a notch? Along with the booths from more than 100 national and international galleries, Thursday’s Vernissage Gala will include musical entertainment by acclaimed opera singer James Valenti and an Indigenous fashion show organized by Phoenix Fashion Week. SAW will also present two awards at the gala: The Ed Mell Memorial Arizona Artist of the Year Award, which will be given to Melissa Cody – a fourth-generation Diné weaver from No Water Mesa, Arizona, who became the first Indigenous woman artist to have a solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York City – and the Scottsdale Art Week Lifetime Achievement Award, which organizers will bestow on longtime art supporter and collector Janis Lyon.
— Josh Rose
