FOG Design + Art fair, hosted at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center, is an intimate fair with a broad reach. For $20 in advance or $25 at the door, both industry vets and design enthusiasts alike rub elbows at this highly curated fair benefiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The show highlights contemporary and modern art, design and architecture.
While other on-the-radar-shows such as Art Basel and ADAA may seem daunting, this highly curated San Francisco fair has become a destination and for good reason. Beautiful sculptures like Katsuyo Aoki’s The Void III are found alongside the unconventional sculptural pieces of James Plumb. At R & Company, move-in ready furniture is displayed with contemporary art. With such a diverse array of offerings, it broadens one’s notion of what “art” is. For example, is Martin Szekely’s Artefact just a coffee table? This fair is an all-access look at the design and art world, and you do not have to be an industry insider to attend or to “get it.”
With sophisticated ceramics and beautifully sculpted tables juxtaposed with funky sculptures of radios and other pieces of this nature, attendees are inspired to think about art in broader terms, and the variety creates a less haughty atmosphere. It is unique to see art in its natural habitat, alongside chairs and coffee tables like in your office or home. One is able to envision the lifestyle as a whole instead of having to segment “art” and “design” and view them separately. The fair also offers interactive discussions and lectures like the “Innovators Luncheon” on Friday January 15th, featuring Instagram co-founders Mike Kreiger and Kevin Systrom and drawing upon the “tech” aspect of Design and of San Francisco.
FOG fair is a brilliant intermediary between artists, artisans, curators and interested consumers who are ready and able to purchase. Because of this the show has attracted artists and designers from all over and very quickly gained notoriety. San Francisco honors its artistic roots and paves the way for the future of art and design by hosting a show like FOG, leaving all of us who are unable to attend just California Dreamin’.
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