The New York Art Fairs

Blogging will most likely be light round these parts next week as the art fairs come to the Big Apple. Despite the economic situation and expectations that this year will be less frantic than previous years in terms of activity, there are some interesting developments in the landscape that have folks who pay close attention to these matters intrigued. None the least of which is the addition of a Modern component to the heretofore only contemporary fair, The Armory Show. Competing with the ADAA's Art Show (held last weekend) formula by mixing the two, this expansion strategy would be easier to judge in terms of effectiveness in a better market, I suspect, but we'll see.

Paddy has a map and additional information on all the fairs (it's so much more manageable in New York than in Miami), but let me extend a "personal" invitation to come visit us a the PULSE New York art fair, if you're making the rounds. In addition to their spiffy new website, the extraordinary PULSE team has assembled a record number of large-scale projects at this year's event (including one by our own Jennifer Dalton!). Here's a preview of what we're presenting this year:

Two years ago, our solo booth debut of work by Ivin Ballen at PULSE New York was a huge success. It led to multiple group exhibitions throughout the US and Europe and solo shows in New York and Detroit, for which Ivin received a rave review in the March 2008 issue of Artforum magazine. This year, we are pleased to present a spectacular new body of Ivin's three-dimensional trompe l'oeil paintings:

Ivin Ballen
Untitled (2 rectangles)
2008
Fiberglass, Aquaresin, acrylic, absorbent ground, gouache
35" x 37" x 3”
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At last year's PULSE New York, we presented the highly acclaimed piece by Russian-born artist Yevgeniy Fiks, "Lenin for Your Library." This was followed in the gallery by Yevgeniy's solo exhibition "Adopt Lenin," at which visitors could take any of the Lenin memorabilia on display at no charge, so long as they signed a contract obligating them to never profit from its resale or gifting. Fantastic reviews of this exhibition appeared in January 2009's Art in America and many other publications. We are pleased to present this year an installation of Yevgeniy's portraits of contemporary members of the Communist Party USA. Begun in 2006, when the notion of nationalization and governmental socialist interventions in the US seemed absurd, these unironic paintings today resonate with a new urgency and relevance:

Yevgeniy Fiks
Portrait of Sheltreese McCoy (Communist Party USA)
2008
Oil on canvas
36" x 48"
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Joy Garnett's solo exhibition in the gallery this past year received glowing reviews in TimeOut New York and artforum.com to name but a few. For PULSE New York, we present a selection of new paintings based on photographs of the China Yangtse Three Gorges Project. Joy explains the relevance and urgency of this subject as follows: "The project has grown to become one of China's worst environmental nightmares, contributing on a massive scale to erosion and pollution levels, and adversely affecting fault lines, the vitality of wetlands, fish populations, etc. It has nevertheless become a model for similar proposals from countries on other continents, providing a high profile stage for global one-upmanship." As with all her work, though, Joy 's take on such subjects of violent natures results in a gorgeous group of expressionsist paintings that reveal the role photography plays in forming our collective consciousness:



Joy Garnett
River (3)
2008
Oil on canvas
26" x 32"
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This year we are also delighted to present a special installation offering a sneak peak at Eve Sussman and the Rufus Corporation's next major film, "White on White: A Film Noir." Featuring a section lifted straight out of Eve's studio, storyboards, video clips, and polaroids, this installation offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how her films are made. We'll also feature the gorgeous first photograph from this new body of work.

Eve Sussman
Yuri's Office
2008
Digital C-Print
30" X 22.5"
Edition of 10, Plus 2 APs

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They're selling very quickly, but should we have any left, we'll also bring Andy Yoder's fabulous new multiple, All Your Eggs, part of the Compound Editions series we're producing with Schroeder Romero Gallery:



Andy Yoder
All Your Eggs
2009
4.25" x 7.25" x 7.25"
23 carat gold, clay, wood, excelsior, and shredded U.S. currency
Edtion of 100, plus 10 APs.
Published by Compound Editions.

And, because we love it so much, we're also bringing the last of Andy's fabulous cast brass chairs available (of a series of 5). Created during his residency at the Kohler Institute, this sculpture is suitable for outdoor or indoors (although, the brass makes it considerably heavy).



Andy Yoder
Side Chair
1995
Cast brass
37" x 19" x 19"

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And finally, we're delighted to present as a special project at PULSE New York, circling the entrance to the fair this year, Jennifer Dalton's light installation This Is Not News. First presented at her 2006 solo exhibition at the gallery, this 100-foot-long work documents the disparity of opportunity in the US art world between men and women artists:


Jennifer Dalton
This Is Not News (gallery installation view)
2006
5 strings of 100 light bulbs, ink on colored paper, string
Dimensions variable (each string 101 feet)
Edition of 10, plus 1 AP

Please stop by and say hello if you're at the fair!