The MATA Ancient and Tribal Art Fair will hold a cocktail reception for collectors, gallerists and their guests on Friday, May 15, 5 - 8 pm in the Arader Galleries townhouse at 1016 Madison Avenue. 

The four-day selling exhibition of art by indigenous craftsmen from Africa, Asia, Oceania, India, Australia, Hawaii, and the ancient Americas opens on Thursday, May 14. Collectors are welcome to begin shopping the collections at 11:00 a.m. 

International dealers showing at the Arader Galleries townhouse include Bruce Frank (New York), Patrick Mestdagh (Brussels), Marc Assayag (Montreal), Wayne Heathcote (England), James Stephenson (New York), Michael Rhodes (New York), Kellim Brown (Brussels), Michael Oliver (New York), Jacaranda Tribal (New York), Nasser and Co (New York), and Splendors of the World-Hawaii. 

Pace Primitive, Arte Primitivo and Hunt Fine Arts, also members of the Madison Ancient and Tribal Arts alliance, will hold exhibitions in their upper east side galleries that are within walking distance of Arader Galleries.

All of the objects for sale are vetted and many bear substantial provenance. Most pre-date the 20th century.

Highlights of the exhibiton include masks and staffs from the Dan people of Africa, early Hawaiian wooden bowls and carvings, pre-Colombian carvings from the Huari of Peru, and artifacts from the Dogon of Mali. The cultures of Polynesia are represented by an ivory-inlaid war club from Fiji and a toddler's stilt step from the Marquesas Islands, among others.

The Ancient and Tribal Arts Fair hosted by members of the Madison Ancient and Tribal Art (MATA) alliance runs concurrent with the African and Oceanic auctions at Sotheby's and Christies in New York and Bonhams in San Francisco. 

As the sales records of 2014 proved, demand for primitive art is on the upswing, with several items breaking the $1M mark at auction. The MATA Ancient and Tribal Art Fair is one of the few venues collectors can view and purchase collections held in private hands.

It is expected that primitive art collectors and interior designers sourcing art will make the rounds of both auction houses and the MATA Tribal Art Fair. Contemporary art buyers in town for the annual round up of fairs are also expected to drop in at Arader Galleries for items of authenticity that informed 20th century modernists. 

The MATA Ancient and Tribal Arts Fair hours are Thursday, May 14th 11am— 8 pm, Friday, May 15th, 11am—8 pm,  Saturday, May 16th, 11am—7 pm, Sunday, May 17th, 11am—6 pm. The opening cocktail reception is Friday, May 15, 5 - 8 pm.  Admission to the galleries is free.

For a preview of the collections, please visit www.matanyc.com.