Check out SOFA Chicago to see some art and learn a little

SOFA Chicago, the city's largest and longest continually running art fair, will be going on this weekend at Navy Pier.  It’s an exposition of sculpture objects and functional arts.  You can buy art or just look at it, depending on your mood or wallet.  Admission is $15 or $25 for a three day pass.

The West Town art gallery and education center Intuit is also involved.  They’re offering lecture series presentations and special exhibits, with lectures led by both emerging artists and academics.  Topics range from explorations of artistic materials like glass, ceramics and wood to a discussion of artistic aspects of drinking vessels and customs.

SOFA will be showcasing more than 60 international art galleries and the Intuit Show of Folk & Outsider Art will feature 16 exhibitors.

SOFA’s focus is on sculptural and functional art whereas Intuit, according to their website, is the only nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to self-taught and outsider art.  Intuit Board President Ralph Concepcion said the collaboration between the two groups works because the art the Intuit dealers sell complements the art at SOFA so well.

Concepcion said Intuit was initially planning to launch an outsider and folk art show on their own, but after consulting with Mark Wynam, owner of The Art Fair Company, they agreed that Wynam would produce the show as a separate but connected part of SOFA.  “In the long run, it turned out to be a good fit with SOFA,” Concepcion said.

Earlier art shows had experienced some built-in conflict between the established high end art dealers and the dealers of self-taught art, who didn’t want to marginalize the work they carry, according to Concepcion.   After the move to SOFA, “there wasn’t that same conflict,” Concepcion added.  “We’re able to bring in galleries from all over the country and show the local audience here a wider variety of presentations of self-taught art.”

Donna Davies, director of SOFA, said, “We hope that there’s something for everybody.”  She called SOFA a “venue to learn and make new discoveries” and pointed out that even if visitors are unable to make a purchase, they can still stop in at the lecture series and learn more about new forms of art.

This is the second year the two organizations have collaborated on the annual fair.  Calling the outcome of the first year “tremendous,” Davies said, “The collectors were overjoyed to see some artists and forms that they hadn’t learned about.”  She went on to call it “a wonderful partnership.”  Concepcion echoed that sentiment, saying dealers “did well and the show looked good.”

The fair starts Friday, November 4th at 11 a.m. and tickets are still available online or at the door.  If you want to learn more about SOFA, go here, and if you want to learn more about the Intuit part of the show, head over here.  And if you're generally interested in learning about some new artists, you may want to check out Intuit's usual grounds over yonder.