TEFAF Maastricht is widely recognised as the world’s leading art fair, annually attracting major collectors, both private and institutional, from around the globe. In order to satisfy an ever-changing and increasingly demanding market, TEFAF constantly monitors and raises its exacting standards and commitment to quality to engender the kind of excitement and anticipation that sets the international art world alight each March. TEFAF 2016 will take place from 11-20 March at the MECC (Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre), Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Following last year’s success of the section curated by Sydney Picasso to complement TEFAF Modern, the fair will again have a designated space for this purpose. At the forthcoming fair, this area will be curated by Mark Kremer, the highly regarded Amsterdam-based independent curator and writer. Entitled Zeige Deine Wunde/Show Your Wound, a reference to a sculptural work presented by Joseph Beuys in an underground passageway in Munich in 1974-5. The installation will show the work of artists that continue to explore and give expression to the ideas death, decay, dispossession and a sense of trauma (the wound) as suggested in Beuys’ original work. These concepts continue to have relevance for younger generations of artists working all over the world. Mark Kremer will make a selection of artists and invite their representing galleries to showcase their works at TEFAF. All objects will be, as are the rest of the objects at the fair, for sale. The exhibition and coinciding publication aims to create awareness of this work and of the resonance of Beuys’ artistic legacy.

TEFAF is known for providing a forum where historical crossovers can be made and discovered. The exhibition aims to show works by living artists that have not previously been shown at the fair but nevertheless have an art historical connection with works that are currently exhibited. The wound is a familiar motif throughout European art history and plays a significant part in our cultural iconography. The title Zeige Deine Wunde/Show Your Wound will therefore inevitably create links with important works from earlier periods.

Creating a space where collectors can easily locate objects within their chosen field at the same time as enabling them to encounter the new and unexpected makes TEFAF unique. With this in mind, for TEFAF 2016 some sections of the floor plan have been modified to improve accessibility. The new configuration is part of an ongoing cycle of improvement to create the best possible environment for dealers to showcase their collections and for art lovers to discover them. Changes at TEFAF 2016 include:

• New design for the Entrance Hall giving dual access to the fair;
• Direct access to the Antiques sections from the main entrance area;
• More spacious and visible entrance to TEFAF Paper incorporating lifts;
• New catering area on the ground floor near the TEFAF Paper entrance;
• New catering area upstairs, which will be semi-incorporated in the TEFAF Paper section;

As in previous years, the loan exhibition in TEFAF Paper gives visitors a one-off opportunity to view a unique selection of prints and drawings from a museum with a major collection in the field. This year’s exhibition, entitled Collecting Collectors, shows prints and drawings from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam - The Netherlands, which is named after two great collectors – Frans Boijmans (1767-1847) and Daniel George van Beuningen (1877-1955). Works chosen for Collecting Collectors include highlights from the Renaissance to the present day, with work by Bellini, Grünewald, Dürer, Fra Bartolommeo, Tintoretto, Rubens and Rembrandt being complemented by modern and contemporary works by artists like Degas, Cézanne, Dalí, Magritte, Fontana and Kusama. In keeping with its foundation, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has always cherished its relationship with collectors. Its renowned department of prints and drawings is a lasting testament to this having acquired a number of important private collections from leading Dutch collectors.

The TEFAF Art Symposium, which takes place on Friday 11 March 2016, will provide the platform for the presentation of the annual TEFAF Art Market Report. Dr. Clare McAndrew will present the report, which analyses the global art market in 2015. The report will include a summary of cross-border flows of art around the world, focusing on key centres in Europe, the US and China in 2014/15 and examine any regulatory changes or other issues that have affected the market. This year industry specialists will be invited to explore the themes covered in the TEFAF Art Market Report in greater depth. Amongst the topics that will be covered are the polarised art market, the performance of certain key market sectors over the last 10 years, the relative importance of various sales channels to the dealer community and the economic impact of the art trade.