A SOFA That You Don't Sit On Tonight is the night! SOFA opens. That is to say, the show for sculpture objects, fine art. (Get it? SOFA?) This is a show we look forward to annually. For years, we covered the fine craft category for The New York Times and have followed the rise of museum-quality craft, elevated to its proper place in the pantheon of art and design. (That age-old argument of what is art and what is craft is a tricky, sticky wicket which we have no desire to enter into, thank you very much.) So as far as we are concerned, fine craft is art and the SOFA show underscores that year in and year out.  Yes, this is the Mecca show for serious collectors, gallery owners, dealers, and well, just plain interested shoppers.  It is here that you will find extraordinary, contemporary decorative arts and unusual, superlative designs from more than 60 galleries, hailing from 11 countries, with many luminaries in their fields, like ceramist Bennett Bean (above left), furniture-maker Sam Maloof, and glass maestro Dale Chihuly, all exhibiting here. We have so many favorites, it's hard to enumerate, but we always gravitate to the jewelry of German designer Axel Russmeyer and to the presentation from the Charon Kransen Gallery (which represents many modern jewelers who work in unexpected media); we love the glass at Heller Gallery, which represents Lino Tagliapietra (above right), one of the finest glass artists in the world; we love the ceramics of Mara Superior, the photo works of Lucy Feller, and the sculptural, folded Japanese paper by Nishimura Yuko (below)...and on and on and on and on.   If you've never been to SOFA, make this the year to get enlightened and see the amazing work -- ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry, woodworking, and so much more -- at the exhibition (and needless to say, sale, since this is capitalist America and the works shown here are for sale), opening tonight at the Park Avenue Armory, on Park Avenue at 67th Street. This evening, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., is the big-deal preview, with $100 tickets. It's a great gala (always with exceptional food and fare!) and we have never missed it. But if you don't want to spend a Benny, regular tickets are $25 for a single admission and $40 for a three-day pass. The hours for the show are Thursday and Friday (the 29th and the 30th), from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday (the 31st) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday (June 1st), from noon to 6 p.m. Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 @ 11:59 AM | 40 replies View/Post Feedback Browse: Art