New York Art Fairs 2009
From an Artist's Perspective
By: Joshua Field - Mar 15, 2009
After arriving in New York by way of MTA Metro North out of Poughkeepsie (round trip = $25), we made our way down to Chelsea to do a quick "gallery hop" before hitting the Bridge Art Fair. Coincidentally, the first two people that we saw on exiting our cab were artists Lana Z. Caplan of Boston and Jason Brinkerhoff from San Francisco, both participants in Gallery 51's (Mass College of Liberal Arts in North Adams) "Woodshed II" exhibition in January. Just a few minutes later we bumped into BFA's own Charles Giuliano on 25th Street. It is truly a small world.
Among our gallery stops was the Zieher Smith exhibition of Mike Womack's curious, whimsical sculptures. Roughly constructed machines that explore optical phenomenon, they felt like something that Tim Hawkinson or Rebecca Horn might create after reading Isaac Newton's "Opticks." The centerpiece of the exhibition entitled "Metronome" is a large and loud machine with rapidly spinning mirrors that create the illusion of a wave of light. At once frightening and mesmerizing, the piece rumbled like a freight train when running. The other works in the show seemed delicate and contemplative in contrast to the bravado of "Metronome".
Armory Show weekend proved an unexpected mix of familiar and not so familiar faces from New York, San Francisco, as well as galleries from Europe and South America. The hotel fairs of previous years (Red Dot and Art Now) were cancelled this time due to a lack of participation and the result was a last minute shuffle as galleries scrambled to decide which fair to participate in.
The first stop on our whirlwind fair circuit was Bridge Art Fair. Perhaps it is a reflection of the economy or the last minute shuffle in the absence of the hotel fairs, but Bridge had the feel of a street art fair where anything goes. The work was inconsistent, which was something we'd also experienced at the hotel fairs, but many of our favorite galleries from the hotel fairs opted not to participate this year. The venue was a straight shot from one end to the other and the presentation felt somewhat anemic and last minute. We found ourselves wondering if that was all there was to see when we reached the end of the corridor. Happily, that gave us more time to go straight uptown to the Lincoln Center where SCOPE was being held.
In contrast to our first stop, SCOPE was great. The event was held in Damrosch Park in a giant tent that was so well installed that it was indistinguishable from an indoor space. An invitation-only roster of 50 galleries was well selected and the energy at the entrance was high as we waited in line. The quality of the work proved well worth the wait. A number of my favorite galleries were represented including ada gallery, David B Smith, Jonathan Levine, Lincart, and Shooting Gallery. As always, David B. Smith from Denver had some great work on view including a wall of smaller works by Gregory Euclid whose work is currently on view as part of the Badlands exhibit at MASS MoCA and a beautiful little gouache painting by Oliver Vernon. We grabbed a overpriced bite to eat from the catered café at the back of the tent (not recommended unless you are in a rush) and headed down to 34th St.
Our next stop was Volta (the ugly kid sister of the Armory Show) which had a strange energy seemingly fueled by a desire to be cooler than the office building context in which it is housed. Silly sights included a topless woman directing patrons as they rummaged through a pile of yarn looking for $500 necklaces (Golden Ghost by Surasi Kusolwong), an installation by Alejandro Diaz that consisted mostly of pieces of cardboard crudely lettered with magic marker, and an installation involving plants that one was instructed to direct negative thoughts towards. None of this was particularly compelling. Volta was also the site of a number of examples of the "flavor of the month" which right now seems to be either macramé (guns, hammocks, etc), neon text in various configurations, and China (military, peasant worker or tweaked silk paintings). On a positive note, Andy Harper's intensely layered paintings, which loosely reference hyper-detailed images of vegetation, were hypnotic and worth spending time with.
We retired to STAY Hotel (157 West 47th St. – cheap at $140 a night through Travelocity) in Times Square. The lobby and bar were fun and funky, having been redesigned in 2008. The room was neat and tidy with a big flat screen TV, crisp sheets and a down duvet. Buyer beware though; our air conditioner did not work and the room reached a balmy 76 by the middle of the night. We also read that a room higher than the third floor is your best bet for a good night's sleep. Judging by the professional DJ setup in the bar (Aspen Lounge), I'm inclined to agree. The AC problem aside, it was a good, clean, reasonably-priced place to stay but plan on hiking a bit to find an inexpensive meal since Times Square is the ultimate tourist trap.
The next day, we happily set aside quite a bit of time for PULSE, which was the largest of the fairs that we attended with 101 exhibitors. With coffee and bagel in hand, we boarded the 1 line train which took us from Times Square straight down to Houston St. There was a queue at the fair ticket counter in advance of the noon opening and people seemed excited about the show (especially given that it was the Sunday morning after the dreaded daylight savings time change). We watched a bit of little league soccer at the athletic complex inside of Pier 40 while waiting to get in. I never cease to be amazed by the inventive use of odd spaces in the city.
Our strategy for walking the fairs was to do a quick run through and then return to the galleries that carried work that was particularly interesting. One of the highlights from the show was a series of gorgeous drawings at Morgan Lehman Gallery by Eric Beltz (and I spotted a really great little painting by Andrew Schoultz behind the desk). Other gallery highlights include Richard Heller Gallery out of Santa Monica with works by Edward del Rosario, Mixed Greens Gallery of NYC with Alessandra Exposito's exquisitely painted animal skulls and PPOW with a lovely little series by Dottie Attie and the incomparable Julie Heffernan at Catherine Clark Gallery. Heffernan's paintings are luscious psychological dramas, frequently self portraiture with sweeping dreamlike compositions that are reminiscent of traditional Dutch genre tradition in their excess.
Despite recent economic troubles, there are plenty of people making and looking at art, though whether the lookers are also buyers remains to be seen. Artists may experience a dip in sales, but those honestly compelled to make and show work in order to satisfy an inner desire, rather than catering to the whims of the marketplace, will continue to do so while tightening their belts a few notches. Those who truly love an artist's work, but can't afford a painting, may buy a print, a book or even a t-shirt. It was evident at the fairs that this age old love affair between artists and art lovers remains unscathed, even as the upper echelons of the art world scramble to figure it out.
Intrepid art fair travelers Joshua Field and Melissa Lillie are both North Adams-based artists and their work can be seen at www.joshuafield.com and www.melissalillie.com.