Armory Arts Week 2019 Wrap-Up: SPRING/BREAK, Independent, Art on Paper and SCOPE
It’s part two of our coverage of Armory Arts Week 2019. It was a year of rolling with the punches. Over here, we detailed NADA’s launch of New York Gallery Open and The Armory Show and Volta’s pier issues. Now, we’re moving on to SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Independent, Art on Paper and SCOPE.
Even after 8 years, SPRING/BREAK Art Show continues to act like a nimble startup that’s flying by the seat of its pants. Surprisingly, it always comes together. This year, the organizers of the curatorial-driven art happening decided to make things even more difficult for themselves by launching a last-minute show in Downtown Los Angeles to coincide with the inaugural editions of Frieze Los Angeles and Felix. Both SPRING/BREAK Art Show Los Angeles, which ran February 15-17, and the New York version (March 6-11) had the same theme, Fact and Fiction. The Los Angeles fair featured over 40 exhibitors.
As for the New York edition, the show changed locations for 2019. Less than two weeks before opening day, news came that SPRING/BREAK was setting up shop at 866 UN Plaza. The space, which was one floor, was previously occupied by the Finnish and Liberian Embassies. The show’s layout was more conventional than in past years. Most of the presentations were in booths rather than tiny office spaces. The fair also scaled back its program, featuring 85 projects compared to last year’s 130.
With the show’s theme of Fact and Fiction, it was interesting how many of the projects took a dystopian turn. Not surprisingly, there was a fair amount of politically charged and feminist art on display. SPRING/BREAK is known for its creative and immersive presentations, many of which are performative. It’s more like visiting an art playground than a fair.
Among our favorite projects was Jonathan Paul’s US/THEM. For this participatory work, the artist demonstrates the arbitrariness of our lot in life and hopes we can all just be better humans. Another interactive work was CJ Henry’s Drug Money, curated by John Zinonos. This work was a commentary on the lack of transparency around the exact wealth and value of money tied to the legal and illegal drug trade. Also on our favorite list was Phaan Howng’s installation. For her work, the artist casts herself as president, CEO, CFO, founder and savior of The Eternal Navigators of Doom (E.N.D.O.), an organization that was launching their post-apocalypse real estate services at the fair. And, Marisa Moran Jahn’s Rubbings for $20; Bootlegs for $100 installation was another highlight. Her project removes the focus from the original artwork and instead celebrates the knock-off.
Other projects of note included Rachel Lee Hovnanian’s Taped Shut, Michael Pellew’s Glossing Over, and Shona Mcandrew’s Sometime Last Night, an installation where she replicated her bedroom in paper-maché sculptures. You’ll find these and more in the photo gallery below.
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We were particularly impressed with Independent this year. In fact, it wins our best of 2019 Armory Arts Week award.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Independent was conceived by gallerists who were unhappy with traditional art fair models and methods of presentation. Their aim has been to create an atmosphere in which to present the ideas of artists and to demonstrate that a fair can be both “a focused and revelatory experience.” The fair is also mindful to rotate 30% of its exhibitors each year, keeping things fresh.
For 2019, the fair returned to Spring Studios with over 60 galleries and art institutions. We were struck by the presentations and the variety of artistic ideas. Browsing the fair never felt tedious, rather, it was exhilarating. Independent also partnered with Redwood Property Group this year to host the first ever TriBeCa Gallery Walk on Sunday morning. The walk was free and featured talks, a performance, and a panel discussion.
Highlights on this year’s Independent included Garth Greenan Gallery’s exhibition of mixed-media installations by Alexis Smith, Albrecht Becker’s photography series No Love Without Pain in Delmes & Zander’s area, and Galerie Nagel Draxler’s exhibit of works by Martha Rosler. Also of note, Red Bull Gallery teased their fastidiously curated Gretchen Bender exhibit (on view until July 28), and Jeff Mesler painted portraits onsite as part of White Columns’ presentation. See our gallery of images below.
The dates for next year’s fair have already been announced. We recommend penciling in March 5-8, 2020 for Independent’s 11th edition.
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Art on Paper celebrated its 5th birthday this year. Back at Pier 36, one hundred galleries participated in the festivities. We are always taken by what some artists are able to do with paper.
The regular fair activities were complemented by large-scale installations by Samuelle Green, Katrine Hildebrandt-Hussey, Wendy Letven, Roland Poska and Lizz Jeff.
Rebecca Hossack Gallery and Electric Works’s booths are always a highlight, and Gallery Poulsen from Copenhagen featured new work by art scene satirist William Powhida.
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SCOPE is the second oldest player on the Armory Arts Week scene. It returned to Metropolitan Pavilion to celebrate its 19th anniversary. A fair that prides itself on showcasing international emerging artists, SCOPE is always a splashy affair. The artwork is provocative, there is a good deal of nudity and we even saw a Michael Jackson portrait in the mix. This year’s fair included over 60 international exhibitors.
As part of the 2019 programming, the fair presented the New Contemporary. The aim of this program was to showcase artists that incorporate and evolve elements of graffiti and urbanism movements in their work. Artists highlighted in this area included MissMe (Galerie C.O.A.), Lucio Carvalho (Chic Evolution in Art), and Kazuki Takamatsu (Corey Helford Gallery).
Browse our gallery below for highlights.
