Armory Show 2018: Rejuvenated and Ready to Mingle, Highlights
The Armory Show has turned a corner. Closing out over the weekend, the fair celebrated its 24th year with a new layout, an expanded Focus section, and a trimmed-down selection of exhibitors; changes that were universally lauded. A fair that perhaps had begun to feel tired and unruly, The Armory Show has made great strides over the last couple of years to rejuvenate itself. Read on for the 2018 highlights.
Important to note, while The Armory Show 2018 appears to have gone off without a hitch, there was a major #metoo-inspired upheaval during the planning phases of the event. In November, Benjamin Genocchio, who had been the fair’s director since January 2016, was ousted from the organization over accusations of sexual harassment. Nicole Berry, who had been Deputy Director, was elevated to Executive Director and steered the ship the remainder of the way. If she remains onboard, it will be interesting to see what direction she takes The Armory Show next year, when it celebrates its 25th anniversary.
As far as stats for 2018, the edition featured 198 galleries from 31 countries. There were 66 new exhibitors, of which several had returned after many years of absence, including Gagosian, Regen Projects, and Perrotin. The layout of the show had been retooled by Bade Stageberg Cox, and featured a new Town Square on Pier 92. In the core gallery section, visitors were treated to a show-stopping Nam June Paik installation, a look inside the studio of Spanish designer Nacho Cabonell, a mesmerizing Roxy Paine diorama, and Ken and Julia Yonetani’s reimaging of the Last Supper. Additionally, the fair hosted sections: Insights, Presents, Focus, and Platform.
Insights, which made its debut in 2017 as a replacement for the fair’s Modern section, returned for 2018 with 28 exhibitors. Presenting solo, dual-artist and thematic presentations, the work in this section was all made before 2000. Highlights of this year’s Insights included a collection of collages by Yayoi Kusama presented by Omer Tiroche Gallery, artwork by Gerhard Richter, and Wayne Thiebaud’s Nude from 1963 in the Allan Stone Projects booth.
For 2018, Presents, a section for fledgling galleries under 10 years old, showcased 26 exhibitors. Of note were the solo presentations by Lyles & King (artist Farley Aguilar), Revolver Galeria (artist Jose Carlos Martinat), and Sabrina Amrani (artist Timothy Hyunsoo Lee).
Gabriel Ritter curated this year’s Focus section around the theme of the body mediated by technology. He invited 28 international galleries representing 18 countries to take part. Among the standouts were Filipino artist José Santos III’s totem-like sculptures presented by The Drawing Room, works by Takeshi Murata presented by Empty Gallery, and a selection of sculptures by multimedia and installation artist Tony Oursler presented by Redling Fine Art. Other eye catchers included Sims Reed Gallery’s prints and videos by Bruce Nauman, Upfor Gallery’s exhibit of Iranian artist Morehshin Allahyari’s 3D printing and video works exploring ancient myths in relation to contemporary culture, and Max Estrella’s booth that featured Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Paredolium (2018), a work that consists of a fountain that uses face detection software to create portraits out of vapor.
Rounding out the show was Platform. Introduced last year, Platform consists of large-scale installations and site-responsive works sprinkled throughout the fair. Curator Jen Mergel dubbed this year’s program The Contingent, and featured work by 15 artists/artist teams that “reflect on the precariousness and possibility inherent in a collection of uncertain, conditional circumstances.” Highlights included The Bruce High Quality Foundation’s Ways to Die (2018), Mary Sibande’s Cry Havoc (2014), and Alex Schweder and Ward Shelly’s My Turn (2018), which was a large rotating wheel that the artists inhabited for 8 hours each day of the fair. Amalia Pica also contributed a performance to Platform. Her artwork, entitled The drip, involved a person with a small bag of confetti throwing out each piece, one at a time. And, self-proclaimed photograffeur JR was also featured in this section. One of his large-scale photos inspired by the immigrants at Ellis Island was posted outside Pier 94, which allowed for viewing not only by fair patrons, but also by passersby.
Armory Live also returned for 2018 with speakers Hans Ulrich Obrist, Carolee Schneemann, Leonardo Drew, and more. We caught a spirited talk on The Armory Show’s last day between JR, gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, and Artsy’s Matthew Israel. Addressing a capacity crowd in the Armory Live Theater on Pier 94, JR discussed several projects including a giant picnic he staged at the US-Mexico border, Chronicles of Clichy-Montfermeil, and so Close, which Artsy and Jeffrey Deitch presented at The Armory Show.
Scroll through the gallery below for additional highlights from The Armory Show 2018. The fair ran March 8-11, 2018 at Piers 92 and 94 in New York City.
