Your Guide to Armory Week 2020, Art Fairs, Talks, Maurizio Cattelan & More
Just as we were about to deliver our guide to Armory Week 2020, the Armory Show dropped a bombshell. The center of March art madness is on the move for 2021. The Armory Show is shifting to September to coincide with the beginning of the fall art season and will take place at the Javits Center. This is huge news. It was apparent that the Armory Show was having a venue issue after last year’s shift, but this will change everything. The 2021 dates for the Armory Show are September 9-12, 2021.
Now that we’ve got that bit of business out of the way, let’s focus on the Armory Week at hand. It’s suddenly filled with nostalgia for those who have been frequenting the festivities over the years. Let’s soak it all in while we can.
Our recommendation overall is to go small. Most of the intimate fairs and events offer a more pleasant and absorbing experience. Plus, there’s that nasty Coronavirus looming. Better to avoid big crowds, right? Read on for our two cents.
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‘Indolent Harvest’ by Jeremy Olson, curated by Vanessa Albury
SPRING/BREAK Art Fair can do no wrong in our book. The most accessible of the art fair fare, this scrappy artist-run, curatorial-driven player pops up in the most interesting locations. For 2020, it takes place at the former Madison Avenue offices of fashion magnate Ralph Lauren. Over 100 curatorial projects addressing the theme of “IN EXCESS” fill two floors of offices and cubicle spaces. The exhibitions address a range of issues from ecological and socio-political to biological and science fictional.
Highlights include the curatorial projects of Valerie Amend, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Antalek, Vanessa Albury, Dustin Yellin, and the joint presentation by Jacob Rhodes, Rachel Frank, and Kristen Racaniello.
The fair runs through Monday, March 9 and admission is $25 (tickets).
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Installation view, Rafael Domenech: Model to exhaust this place (SculptureCenter Pavilion), SculptureCenter, New York, 2020. Photo courtesy the artist
New York Gallery Open Presented by NADA
After several years of producing an art fair during Armory Week, the New York Art Dealers Alliance decided to decentralize last year. Rather than bring their member galleries to one location, they invite art enthusiasts to part take in guided tours, artist talks, performances, and special events. This type of art going is more engaging, intimate, and community-minded.
For 2020, over 60 art galleries, non-profits, and alternative spaces are participating in New York Gallery Open. Events include guided gallery tours of Chelsea, Tribeca, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn, an exhibition walk-through of Pioneer Works’ More Than Cinema, an artist talk with Sarah Rothberg & Marina Zurkow at bitforms gallery, a collaborative dinner, performances by Jonah Booker, Kurt Schwerdtfeger, and Xina Xurner, and more.
What makes New York Gallery Open even more attractive is its price. It’s free. For more information about what’s going on, visit the NADA website.
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Detail of Akeem Smith, Dovecote, 2020. Wrought steel, paint, video with sound (10 min 22 sec)
Another fair on the top of our list is Independent. Founded by gallerists unhappy with traditional art fair models, Independent seeks to “create a space for all kinds of art” according to Matthew Higgs, the fair’s founding curatorial advisor. The fair’s 11th edition covers a lot of ground. Returning to Spring Studios, the fair features 60 leading galleries and institutions and engages in discussions about the geo-politics of the African diaspora and artistic movements in Latin America. There is also a focus on artists and galleries from Los Angeles.
After presenting work by Gretchen Bender at last year’s Independent, Red Bull Arts New York returns with a debut installation by Akeem Smith. Other highlights include Hervé Bize’s elegant presentation featuring artists André Cadere, Hanna Sandin, and Peter Rösel; Anton Kern and Corbett vs Dempsey’s collaboration around Margot Bergman; Marianne Boesky’s exhibition devoted to Ghada Amer; Anglim Gilbert Gallery‘s display of Carlos Villa; and Object & Thing’s showing of object-based works.
The fair runs through Sunday, March 8 and admission is $35 (tickets).
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Despite being a little overwhelming, Art on Paper holds a special place in our hearts. A fair dedicated to modern and contemporary paper-based art, the 2020 edition is back at Pier 36 and features 95 galleries.
For the sixth installment, Maser, Edgar Heap of Birds, and Karen Margolis have created special installations. As for booths to check out, don’t miss Rebecca Hossack Gallery, Electric Works, Forum Gallery, Paradigm Gallery, and Emmanuelle G. Contemporary Art.
Art on Paper runs through Sunday, March 8 and tickets are $25 for a day pass (tickets).
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After last year’s Plan B scramble, it’s nice to see VOLTA is back in the mix because it had been one of our favorite art fairs. Now under the leadership of Ramsay Fairs, VOLTA New York is taking place at Metropolitan West, an uninspired venue SCOPE inhabited a few years back. The upside of the space is that it’s a stone’s throw from the Armory Show.
VOLTA New York also has a new director at its helm, art industry vet and former director of Contemporary Istanbul, Kamiar Maleki. He’s decided to loosen up the format for 2020. VOLTA New York had been a solo-project art fair. But this year, exhibitors can create presentations similar to what they dream up at their home galleries. A combination of longtime returnees and first-time exhibitors, the 2020 show features 53 galleries from 35 cities.
Highlights include Lyle O. Reitzel Arte Contemporáneo’s booth devoted to Los Bravú, ZINC contemporary’s exhibit of Ashley Norwood Cooper, and Roya Khadjavi Projects and Charlie Smith London’s group presentations.
VOLTA New York is open through Sunday, March 8. Admission is $30 (tickets).
Above: Safarani Sisters, Dancing around the bed (1) 2019, Oil on canvas and video projection, 30 x 40 in. Presented by Roya Khadjavi Projects, New York.
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Erika Sanada, Come Play With Us, 2020, Haven Gallery
After the Armory Show, SCOPE is the second longest-running fair of Armory Week. For its 20th anniversary, the fair returns to Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea with shocking and awe-inspiring presentations by 60 international galleries. Alexis Hubshman, president and founder of SCOPE, describes the fair as being “an incubator for new voices and a place that gives artists the opportunity to take risks.” SCOPE also characterizes itself as representing “The New Contemporary.”
Highlights of this year’s fair include presentations by Haven Gallery, Dacia Gallery, and New Apostle Gallery, as well as ALMANAQUE fotográfica‘s booth showcasing Danila Tkachenko, and Stephen Romano Gallery’s display of William Mortensen.
Tickets to SCOPE run $25 for a day pass. The fair runs through Sunday, March 8 (tickets).
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Dubbed the anti-fair for independent artists, Clio Art Fair returns to Chelsea for Armory Week. This year’s edition showcases over 50 artists operating without gallery representation.
This year’s fair includes a special section curated by Misha Capnist entitled A Nest Watching An Avalanche. It features artwork by Thirza Cuthand, Walter Brown, Tricia Healy, Minjin Kang, Jong Yong Yang, Niq Nanu Daah, and Giorgio Guidi.
The fair runs through Sunday, March, and admission is $18 (tickets).
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Rudolf Polanszky, Reconstructions, 2015, cardboard, aluminum, fiberglass, resin, and acrylic on linen, in artist’s frame, 83 1/2 × 105 1/2 inches (211.9 × 268 cm) © Rudolf Polanszky. Photo: Thomas Lannes
Even though this is the last year the Armory Show exists in its current incarnation, we feel this fair is skippable. Clocking in at $63 for a day pass, the fair has wrangled 183 galleries from 32 countries for its 26th installment.
This year’s edition does feature an expanded curatorial program, but it’s not enough for us to recommend going, especially at that price tag. Unless you are looking to fill your penthouse apartment with contemporary art, it’s a miss.
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Other Armory Week Activities
Iggy Pop x Maurizio Cattelan at Perrotin Gallery
On Saturday, March 7, Perrotin Gallery in the Lower East Side will host a release event for Iggy Pop’s limited, numbered vinyl release of FREE. The record features cover art by conceptual “banana” artist Maurizio Cattelan. The gallery will sell the special “test pressing” vinyl starring at 10am. And beginning at 1pm, Iggy Pop and Maurizio Cattelan will sign copies. Other merchandise will also be available for purchase.
Curator’s Perspective with Jacopo Crivelli Visconti at Americas Society
Independent Curators International (ICI) presents a talk with Jacopo Crivelli Visconti, the curator of the hotly anticipated 34th Bienal de São Paulo, which opens in September. Visconti will share his vision and curatorial concepts for the Biennial. The talk is free and open to the public, but RSVP is recommended.
Fort Gansevoort Gallery
Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds: Standing Rock Awakens the World at Fort Gansevoort New York
This must-see show by Edgar Heap of Birds closes Saturday, March 7. The artist uses language-based works to explore body, land, and ownership.
Jeffrey Gibson, She Never Dances Alone Live Performance on Duffy Square (46th Street and Broadway)
Head to Times Square Saturday night (March 7) for this month’s Midnight Moment. Artist Jeffrey Gibson celebrates the power of Indigenous women by transforming the performance of a single jingle dress dancer into a kaleidoscopic, ancestral call for strength and healing. At 11:30pm Saturday evening, there will be a special viewing of She Never Dances Alone, including live performances by traditional song-carrier Joan Henry and acclaimed jingle dress dancer and Miss Native American USA 2013 Sarah Ortegon.
The Art of Whipped Cream Book Signing Event with Mark Ryden
On Sunday, March 8, Gallery Perrotin’s book store hosts a signing event for Mark Ryden’s The Art of Whipped Cream. The book tells of Ryden’s artistic journey creating the sets and costumes for the American Ballet Theatre’s production of Whipped Cream. Ryden will be at the store from 2pm to 5pm.
Image above: ‘Out of the Abyss’ Video Still by Jonathan Monaghan, SPRING/BREAK Art Fair