Last night, art aficionados, fashion tastemakers, city socialites retreated from the city’s snowy streets to the Park Avenue Armory for The Winter Show’s Young Collectors Night. The art, antiques, and design fair (which is now in its 72nd year) runs through Sunday, February 1—offering an abundance of museum-quality works from upwards of 70 international dealers of decorative arts, jewelry, furniture, and design. Ticket proceeds from the event directly benefit East Side House Settlement.
Last night, the guest list may set the scene, but it is, of course, the goods that command attention: Every object is vetted for authenticity, provenance, and condition. With the this year’s theme, The Discerning Eye: Study of a Young Collector, the fair’s Young Collectors’ Night felt especially fitting.
A special booth curated by The Winter Show’s Executive Director Helen Allen, along with writer and art advisor Patrick Monahan, brings together the work of 11 international dealers. “They are primarily young dealers. We do have a few very established galleries, but whose directors are very young,” Allen shared with me.
The space, which is a replica of a study, features a variety of works from different eras. “The younger generation, the millennials, they really are more interested in cross collecting,” Allen says of the range of works on display in the booth, which was inspired by the idea of a 21st century grand tourist.
For example, A Mira Nakashima desk (1998) is paired with Poul Kjaerholm chairs (1962), a Mary Beale portrait (17th century), an Ancient Greek amphora (480 BC), Roberto Lugo ceramic (2023). “The idea is to create a dialogue of artists and dealers that are looking to the past as inspiration.”
This year’s Design Council Co-Chairs include Heidi Caillier (the CTC&G-published designer who has captured the attention of Kendall Jenner), San-Francisco-based and Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach alum Noz Nozawa, English designer Ben Pentreath, Architectural Digest editor-turned-designer Jane Keltner de Valle and furniture designer Giancarlo Valle of Studio Valle de Valle. The evening honored Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, the co-creative directors of fashion label MONSE.
Another highlight of this year’s show includes a display of chairs, “The American Chair: 250 Years of Form,” upon entering. A display of 18 chairs show the evolution from 18th century ladder-backs to contemporary seats, and everything in between. Year after year, the evening is proof that in a city obsessed with what’s new, the most compelling objects are often those with a story to tell.
