The Collection of Mark Isaacson and Greg Nacozy includes over two-hundred works from one of the most significant figures in mid-century collecting. Mark established the influential Fifty/50 gallery in New York in 1981 (later partnering with Mark McDonald and Ralph Cutler in 1983), which shaped the tastes and collecting habits of many and brought furniture, decorative arts and jewelry from the 1930s, 40s and 50s to the forefront of the market at a time when they were largely overlooked.
Fifty/50’s and Mark’s legacy is most closely associated with bringing Italian art glass to the United States (Mark even advised the MET on their Italian glass collection) and raising the profile of mid-century furniture and American studio jewelry and ceramics; iconic examples of each are represented in this auction, including an early Rudder Stool by Isamu Noguchi, Charlotte Perriand’s and Pierre Jeanneret’s Bahut No. 2, a Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag chair, pottery by Edwin and Mary Scheier and Fausto Melotti, and Venini glassworks.
The most exciting aspects of this auction are the more intimate ones—the works from Mark's and Greg's personal collection that speak to Mark's eclectic taste, his boundless curiosity and sensitivity toward objects and art, and how generous he was in sharing his interests with others and letting them share with him. Standouts include several works by Robert Mapplethorpe—who was close friends with Mark, photographed several Fifty/50 catalogs and got many of the ceramics in his photographs from the gallery—the ecstatic wood construction Wild Plant by Leo Amino, a painting by Ralston Crawford of a spectacularly minimalist skyscraper façade, and photographic works by Man Ray, Edward Weston, Lynn Davis and Dorothea Lange.
This auction also features many works that tie together the thread of Mark’s collecting practices, going beyond the downtown New York sensibilities of the 1980s and showing the scope of eras and cultures that interested him; the sgraffito incisions on a 1940s Scheier vase echo the geometric features of a Senufo Kpeliye'e mask, the entrancing and complex shadows of a grain elevator in a photograph by Ralston Crawford contrast with the severe plainness of a New York City step-back building captured by Walker Evans, and the radical gestures of gay image making are seen in the works of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus and Robert Loughlin. One of the artists in this sale, George Dureau, a photographer from New Orleans (where Greg is also from) who greatly influenced Mapplethorpe early in his career, perhaps best captures the spirit of this collection, saying about his own work:
“I live a warm, involved, humanist sort of life. There are lots of people passing through it. I have exciting experiences and learn things about people. They always go into my art. I cannot have an experience and it not go into my art.”
Fifty/50 gallery reshaped the collecting market during its twelve-year existence, closing in 1993 after Mark passed away from AIDS; his partner Greg has cared for the collection since. The Collection of Mark Isaacson and Greg Nacozy offers an opportunity to see a short but impactful life lived through an enthusiasm for art and design, one that inspired many to see and appreciate objects and live with them as fully as Mark did.
Guido Gambone 1909–1969
One of the most prominent Italian ceramicists of the 20th century, Guido Gambone became known for his unique works that merged ancient, traditional, and modern aesthetics through innovative, painterly technique. Born in Montella di Avellino, Italy, Gambone relocated in 1927 with his family to Vietri, a town well-known for ceramic production. Here, as a teenager, he became an apprentice at the local Avallone pottery, going on to study ceramics at the Manifattura Artistica Ceramica Salernitana. He later enrolled at the Industria Ceramica Salernitana, where he became artistic director in 1935.
Gambone returned to Vietri in 1939, and several years later established La Faenzarella pottery with his brother Remigio and their friend Andrea D’Arienzo. The company’s works became known for the use of thick glazes in both earthy and vibrant hues, often made to appear especially viscous through the addition of sand, with patterns reminiscent of oil painting. In 1947, Gambone received the prestigious Premio Faenza, which he would go on to win multiple times throughout his career.
In 1950, Gambone moved to Florence where he founded La Tirrena pottery. His son Bruno, who was born in 1936, would become an important part of La Tirrena, which expanded on the aesthetics of works created at La Faenzarella. That same year, Gambone participated in the 25th Venice Biennale and had multiple works on view internationally, including at the Brooklyn Museum. He continued to work through 1967, when La Tirrena closed its doors, and passed away two years later. Today, Gambone is recognized as hugely influential to subsequent generations of ceramicists and designers, and his works are highly sought after.
