Only one event can bring art lovers from all around the world to the 13.4-mile, cold island of Manhattan: the 11th annual International Fair of New Art, otherwise known as The Armory Show.
The Armory, a venue for buying and selling cutting-edge contemporary artwork, is widely considered to be the most important art fair in New York and one of the most important art fairs in the world. Renowned for exhibiting an international pool of celebrated galleries and artists, The Armory Show attracts over 80,000 people in one weekend. Yet the pieces in this year’s Armory are not heavy and confrontational, as might be expected because of the current economic crisis—rather, they inject viewers with a feeling of light-hearted and uplifting urgency.
Christine Hill’s The Volksboutique Armory Apothecary is one such example of art that is both playful and urgent. Behind a counter at Ronald Feldman’s booth, Hill stands in front of tiny labeled boxes, prescribing remedies to her “sick” Armory customers. She offers pencil as the cure for one student suffering from “Moxey.”
Because customers are required to pay $20 for a consultation, Hill questions the intersection of commerce and art, as well as the fact that a piece like Armory Apothecary is virtually impossible to physically sell. Marco Nocella, a representative from the gallery, offered an alternative interpretation: “This work is less focused on the commodity ... and I think that that’s very refreshing as well as being very affirmative and healing in a spiritual metaphysical sense.”
The belief that the works at The Armory are not necessarily there just for a profit seems to be the overall consensus. Its main goal is to showcase the best art, not necessarily the most “sellable.” As Giovanni Garcia-Fenech, the fair’s current communications manager and a former exhibitor, said, “A lot of what happens in the show is not about sales. It’s about meeting people and meeting artists.”
The Adam Fuss photographs at Cheim & Read are truly representative of the quality of the fair. Some of the best photo pieces in the entire show, these untitled photograms look like textured silk, spotted with arbitrary water droplets and waves. Similarly impressive are the golden El Anatsui installations located near the new Modern pier. The installations are enormous in size, and their intricacy is astounding: bottle caps and champagne wrappers have been carefully folded and attached by copper wires to create undulating wave-like masses.
Focused, bright, and carefully rendered, the works at Baronian_Francey’s booth look like they belong together. A set of miniature photorealist paintings by Robert Devriendt are eerily restrained by their size, and Lionel Estève’s playful, neon sculpture-painting asks to be touched.
Another exciting find at the fair is a collection of sculptures by John Miller, a Barnard visual arts professor. The sculptures are objects that range from guns to bottles, and they stand out amidst the surrounding paintings because they are covered with gold. When asking his dealer, Bruno Delavallade, how he and others were doing in terms of sales, he admitted, “Slower. I’d say slower.” But he quickly added, “I think it’s a really beautiful fair.”
What is most interesting about this year’s Armory Show, however, is the addition of Pier 92 entirely dedicated to dealers of Modern art. Yet although this addition is significant, it makes the fair overwhelming and indigestible. “It’s a stamina issue,” said Nocella. The awkward separation between the two “zones” begins the dizzying transition, and only until you’ve walked through a couple of booths do you realize that most of the artwork can be seen at the MoMA. However, it is still exciting to see all of the artwork up close, which is why for a focused buyer, the pier is convenient. But for viewers, this section of the Armory would be better relegated to a different time of year.
From the humor of Wim Delvoye’s Fuck 1 x-ray to the absurdity of Tony Matelli’s Double Meat Head meat constructed busts, The Armory Show is able to bring a breath of fresh air to Manhattan. In the end, the fair seems to articulate the hope that art may move beyond an objectively traded commodity to become something that is loved and valued for what it is.
The Armory Show runs through March 8. It is located at Pier 92 & 92, 13th Avenue at 52nd-55th streets.
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