ABOVE: Maternity fi gure. Yombe, DR Congo. Wood, brass tacks, mirror. To be offered by James Stephenson at MATA, New York, May 5–8, 2016. CENTER: Dan mask with fi ber binding. Côte d’Ivoire. Ex Helena Rubinstein Collection. Wood, fi ber. H: 21.5 cm (wood). To be offered at Christie’s, New York, in early May 2016, est. $1,000,000– 2,000,000. 42 MATA New York—Madison Ancient & Tribal Art (MATA) is an alliance of international dealers specializing in the art of traditional cultures. With an emphasis on fi gurative and abstract sculptures, the goal of MATA is to offer to new and seasoned collectors of traditional, modern, and contemporary art an eclectic range of antique fi ne art and artifacts from the rich tribal cultures of Africa, Oceania, Indonesia, Asia, and the ancient Americas. As it has since its inception fi ve years ago, this spring’s annual MATA show will be held at Arader Galleries’ townhouse (the longtime home of the famed Perls Galleries) at 1016 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. Open to the public May 5–8, exhibitors this year will include James Stephenson, Michael Oliver, Bruce Frank, and Nasser & Co, all from New York; Patrick Mestdagh and Kellim Brown from Brussels; and Marc Assayag from Montreal. Many of these dealers show only rarely, and together they represent a wide range of aesthetics and object types, including some of the best material the tribal art market has to offer. Other MATA members who have permanent New York City spaces, including Pace Primitive, Tim Hunt, Jacaranda, and Arte Primitivo, will be holding special exhibitions at their own galleries. This year, MATA will coincide with the previews for the contemporary art sales at Christie’s (May 10) and Sotheby’s (May 11), which combined form one of the largest art sales events in the world. The MATA tribal art dealers will be sharing their space with Artcurial for its contemporary art preview, creating a fresh and stimulating mixture of art afi cionados. AOA NEW YORK New York—AOA originated as a multidealer springtime show organized by Maureen Zarember, owner of Tambaran Gallery. In its six years it has morphed from a large event held at the Ukrainian Institute into a smaller but more diverse show in Tambaran’s two gallery spaces on East 82nd Street, steps away from the entrance to the Met. While it maintains its tribal art focus, it has come to incorporate a strong and complementary component of contemporary art. This year, Tambaran will share its upstairs salon with Galerie Flak from Paris. Both will show a range of works from a variety of African, Oceanic, and Native American cultures. Downstairs will host an exhibition of paintings by internationally acclaimed Cuban artist José Bedia, whose work draws inspiration from tribal art. Indeed, he himself is an important collector of tribal art (see Tribal Art magazine, summer 2015). The selection of works will be curated by J. T. Snow and José Bedia, Jr. As we go to press, the tentative dates for these shows are April 27–May 15, 2016. CHRISTIE’S New York—2015 marked a milestone for Christie’s African and Oceanic art department. By its calculation, for the fi rst time in its forty-fi ve-year history, the department’s global sales at auction exceeded those of its primary competitor, Sotheby’s, this based on two auctions (augmented by one especially strong lot in a mixed sale) for Christie’s versus three full auctions at Sotheby’s. While this represents a culmination of many years of diligent effort by Christie’s department head Susan Kloman and her team, it is also an advancement for the tribal art market as a whole. Two major auction houses working at this level can only bring an increased level of vitality. While Christie’s tribal sales have been centered in Paris since 2002, one result of this growth is the initiation of a new sale in New York. In doing so, the department is taking a different and innovative approach with a specifi c theme. This carefully curated sale of masterpieces of African and Oceanic art will be comprised of fewer than fi fteen lots and is presented with the title Revolution of Form: African, Oceanic, and Twentieth-Century Art. It showcases the types of works that were at the genesis of modern art, a movement that Paul Guillaume, the legendary Parisian dealer and African art collector, called a revolution. This rich offering of African and Oceanic masterworks will be sold in New York during the major May sales of Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art, and the tribal objects will be previewed interspersed with the paintings from those fi elds to stimulate an aesthetic ABOVE: José Bedia (b. Cuba, 1959), Nkisi 3, 2015. Acrylic on canvas. To be shown at AOA, New York, April 27–May 15, 2016. RIGHT: Female fi gure attributed to the Rockefeller Master. Baule, Bandama River region, Côte d’Ivoire. Wood. H: 49.5 cm. To be offered at Christie’s, New York, in early May 2016, est. $2,000,000– 3,000,000.
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