Big Apple Art
Independents shine once again during New York Art Fair Week
Article by Teriha Yaegashi
Another bustling week of art fairs, gallery exhibition openings, and opening parties is drawing to a close, and the main Armory fair has mixed reviews once again. “Well, it’s better than last year”, and “it’s an opportunity to buy and sell” have swirled around the fair’s reputation for the last few years. It’s quite clear that the art world spins ahead because of its many business axes, but certainly this “business first” presentation can flatten the experience for the avid collectors and art lovers seeking inspiration, especially when corralled into a stream of boxy white booths after being blasted by relentless snow outside. The main excitement seemed to happen around the open champagne lounge, where global art world friends could finally catch up again.
Of the 13 different art fairs happening this week, there has been plenty of buzz around the DIY, curator-driven art fair titled Spring/Break, which has taken over the abandoned upper levels of the historic U.S. Postal office in midtown Manhattan. It’s a favorite among creatives, as this fair offers a strong presentation of artworks ranging from emerging to established artists – and can be especially gratifying if you’re in the know (or simply adventurous) enough to find your way through the dilapidated halls, and have an eye for spotting treasures by museum-exhibiting artists like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Baptiste, Daido Moriyama, Mel Ramos, Jeremy Hutchison and Hanayo, in spite of broken overheads lights and burnt-out cords hanging from the ceilings.
The real draw of the fair though, is the wealth of experimental works, particularly by New York locals like Dustin Yellin and the Bazaar Teens collective, the Bruce High Quality Foundation School, as well many conversation-starters from artists who have yet to be discovered. Only in its fourth year, this fair has a high appeal among curators, press and other artists, who are hungry to see something fresh. And does it deliver. Director George Lucas, artists Maurizio and Cindy Sherman, critic Jerry Saltz, and the fashion-photographer-turned-legend Bill Cunningham have all made appearances. So far, the fair has received rave reviews and continues online at the fair website (http://springbreakartfair.com/collections/all) and at Paddle 8 (http://paddle8.com/auction/springbreak/).
But perhaps the crowd-pleasing favorite is the Independent Art Fair, which straddles the unconventional with its “no booth walls” approach, while presenting the works by a mix of coveted artists and mega-galleries with a refined, open sensibility.
London was well-represented both on the gallery side and with great artist presentations. Stuart Shave Modern Art showed three large-scale works by recent Cooper Union graduate Torey Thorton, who has already amassed an impressive resume showing in trend-setting galleries like OH WOW (Los Angeles) and the Journal (Brooklyn, NY). With their bright, eye-catching appeal, these abstracted works have an ease to them that is immediately enjoyable.
In contrast, Christian Andersen Gallery from Copenhagen had a beautiful presentation of British artist Tom Humphreys, who is a mid-career artist presenting three works on which various drawings on paper have been very delicately laid onto large canvases. With an exceptional sensibility, these moody works seemed to nearly jump off the wall.
Overall, it was another well-done art week in New York (despite the arctic weather) but - as can only be expected from this fair city – all anyone could talk about was their excitement for their next art conquest period to arrive: with Frieze Art Fair, returning for the fourth time this year, in May. Onward. 