The week contemporary art collectors and enthusiasts look forward to all year has finally arrived. Frieze New York opens to the public today and with it comes a legion of other art fairs and happenings. There are some returning players, such as Moniker and 1-54, as well as some new additions like NADA House and CADAF. We recommend starting your adventures at Randall’s Island. However, if you’re looking for more to see and do, check out our picks below.

FAIRS

Frieze New York

This is the sun for which all other planets orbit this week. Now in its eighth year, Frieze New York returns to Randall’s Island to present its usual sampling of contemporary art’s riches. However, this art fair isn’t one to grow complacent. For 2019, Frieze New York is testing out several new programs, one of which launched last week in midtown Manhattan. In partnership with Tishman Speyer, Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center is a public art exhibition that features works by 14 international artists such as Nick Cave, Paulo Nazareth, Kiki Smith, and Hank Willis Thomas. It remains on view through June 28, 2019.

At the fair itself, visitors find a number of new dynamic collaborations with guest curators. Patrick Charpenel (Executive Director of El Museo del Barrio, New York) and Susanna V. Temkin (curator) present Diálogos, a new themed section for Latino and Latin American art. Daniel Birnbaum has organized a Virtual Reality section. And, Javier Téllez has curated an exhibition of self-taught artists with the assistance of the Outsider Art Fair. Also, after Matthew Higgs’s well-received tribute to Hudson’s Feature Inc. at last year’s fair, Frieze enlisted Franklin Sirmans to pay homage to Linda Goode Bryant and her pivotal New York gallery, Just Above Midtown (JAM).
Friday, May 3, 11am-7pm, Saturday, May 4, 11am-6pm, Sunday, May 5, 11am-6pm
Randall’s Island Park
$57 & up

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Moniker International Art Fair

This London-born-and-raised art fair returns to New York for its second year. Targeted towards lovers of urban contemporary art, this year’s edition has been relocated from Greenpoint to Manhattan and features 32 exhibitors and special projects from around the globe. Also, the 2019 fair is curated around the theme of Cause & Effect, with the goal of examining “our shared roles and commitments in addressing the current state of political, social and ecological injustices.” Fairgoers will happen upon works by Icy and Sot, Christian Boehmer, and EVOCA 1, and galleries presenting include Parlor Gallery, Vinyl On Vinyl, Fusion Gallery and Moscow’s 11.12 Gallery. Be on the lookout for FATHERLESS’s SAFE House structure, and an installation by Hyland Mather, as well as WK Interact’s contribution which will put some fairgoers under arrest.

Also of note, for 2019 Moniker is teaming up with Superfine!, a contemporary art fair that prides itself on transparency when it comes to the buying and selling of artwork. Fairgoers can purchase a dual pass that gets them into both fairs. After a stint in the Meatpacking District the last couple of years, Superfine! is setting up shop in Soho.
Friday, May 3, 1pm-10pm, Saturday, May 4, 12pm-8pm, and Sunday, May 5, 11am-6pm
718 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
$15 one-day pass, Free hours: Friday, May 3 1pm-2:30pm, Sunday, May 5 11am-12:30pm

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1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

It’s year five for 1-54, the transnational fair that showcases galleries supporting African art and artists. For 2019, the fair has made a few tweaks. Instead of Pioneer Works in Red Hook playing host, this year’s edition takes place at Industria in the West Village. 24 galleries are participating, of which 12 are exhibiting at the fair for the first time. Fairgoers can also expect to browse the work of over 70 artists operating in a variety of media. Exhibitors of note include Jack Bell Gallery, AFRONOVA Gallery, MAGNIN-A, and October Gallery.

The fair will again host 1-54 FORUM, a series of conversations and performances that are curated by Black Chalk & Co. under the title, Why Don’t You Carve Other Animals. This year’s participants include artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji, photographer Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa, and writer Siddhartha Mitter. Visitors can also have an “encounter” with exhibiting artists. On Saturday, Richard Mudariki will be at the Barnard Gallery booth at 5:30pm, and on Sunday Lawrence Lemaoana visits AFRONOVA’s booth at 2pm and Wura-Natasha Ogunji stops by 50 Golborne at 3pm.
Friday May 3 & Saturday May 4 11am-8pm, Sunday May 5, 11am-6pm
Industria, 775 Washington Street, New York, NY 10014
$20

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CADAF

CADAF (Contemporary & Digital Art Fair) makes its grand debut during Frieze Week 2019. Sort of filling the void left by Moving Image Art Fair‘s departure from the New York art fair scene in 2017, CADAF features immersive installations, video art, virtual reality, and more. The rookie fair seeks to bridge the gap between the art community and the technology community. Highlights include Tommy Hartung’s The Old Testament, Eve Sussman’s 89 seconds at Alcázar (2004), and Yu Hong’s She’s Already Gone (2017). In addition to checking out the works, CADAF is hosting screenings and panel discussions on topics such as emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and creating site-specific digital art projects. The fair runs through Sunday and closes out with a free party at the Hotel 50 Bowery.
Friday, May 3, 6pm-9pm, Saturday, May 4 10:30am-8:30pm, Sunday May 5 11:30am-6pm
Lightbox, 248 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018
$15 & Up

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Object & Thing

It’s also year one for Object & Thing. Founded by Abby Bangser, former Frieze Art Fairs artistic director for the Americas and Asia, Object & Thing seeks to disrupt the traditional art fair model. As the name implies, the fair’s focus is on art and design objects. Visitors encounter an open layout at the fair’s Bushwick digs with works carefully grouped by theme, color, or material. Objects range in price from $1,000 to $50,000. For what’s on view, check out this list on the fair’s website.
Friday, May 3, 4–8pm, Saturday, May 4 & Sunday, May 5, 10am–6pm
99 Scott Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237
$25

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ART EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS

OPENINGS

NADA House

After last summer’s Close Quarters project, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) returns to Governors Island with NADA House. Opening May 2 and running through August 14, 2019, NADA House takes over 34 rooms across three historic, turn-of-the-century Colonial Revival Houses. The show is basically an expansion of last year’s project and has a similar vibe to 4Heads’ Governors Island Art Fair (recently renamed Portal), with NADA member galleries curating the shows. In total, 39 galleries are presenting the work of 45 artists. The three-month-long project is accompanied by activations and performances.
Friday-Sunday, May 3-August 14, 11am-5pm
Governors Island
Free

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Pictures From Another Time: Photographs By Bob Colacello, 1976-82

Travel back to the 1970s at this show which features photographs by former Interview Magazine editor Bob Colacello. Equipped with a Minox 35 EL camera, Colacello captured the circles he traveled in. And, Colacello traveled in some exciting circles. He crossed paths with politicians, tycoons, artists, writers, fashion designers, and movie stars. A close confidant of Andy Warhol, he accompanied the artist on trips to Europe. The show at Vito Schnabel Projects consists of roughly 150 vintage and unique prints, most never previously exhibited.
May 3 – June 21, open Monday – Friday, 11am – 6pm, also Saturday, May 4, 11am – 6pm
Vito Schnabel Projects, 43 Clarkson Street, New York, NY 10014

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Alex Israel – As It Lays 2 & Solo

Alex Israel is opening two shows in New York during Frieze Week. His inaugural show at Greene Naftali is a sequel to As It Lays, the artist’s DIY talk show, which found him floating questions to a random succession of celebrity participants. A trailer for As It Lays 2 is below. As for his show at Reena Spaulings, visitors encounter a hologram of the artist performing a solo on saxophone.
Reena Spaulings, 165 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002 – May 2-June 15
Greene Naftali, 508 West 26th Street, Ground Floor, New York, NY 10001 – April 30-June 15

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Chronos Cosmos: Deep Time, Open Space

Socrates Sculpture Park transforms into a gateway to the universe for this celestial group show. Drawing inspiration from atomic physics, amateur astronomy, afro-futurist theory, and non-western histories, the artists experiment with time and space and offer up various cosmic perspectives. Participating artists include Radcliffe Bailey, Beatriz Cortez, Alicja Kwade, Eduardo Navarro, Heidi Neilson, and Oscar Santillán with new commissions by Miya Ando, William Lamson, and (MDR) Maria D. Rapicavoli.
May 5-September 3, 9am to sundown
Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106
Free

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Carlito Dalceggio: Mythologia Libre

Artist Carlito Dalceggio’s multimedia installation, Mythologia Libre, fit billed as a portal for “the liberation of the spirit.” It’s all pretty trippy. The show is accompanied by spontaneous moments of performance and art.
May 3-24, 2019, 1pm-8pm daily
332 Canal Street, New York, NY, 10013
Free

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CLOSING SOON

Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Timing is running out to catch the Brooklyn Museum’s landmark exhibition devoted to Frida Kahlo. The show is less about Kahlo’s artwork and more about what the made the artist tick. Featuring photographs, personal objects, archival films, clothing and more, Appearances Can Be Deceiving is a revelatory view of the iconic Mexican artist and explores her identity and motivations.
Through May 12, 2019
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052
$16