Billed as the most rigorous iteration to date (fair director Noah Horowitz proudly cites a record number of applications), 199 galleries from across the globe presented their art to enthusiastic patrons. “This year was unquestionably the strongest in my tenure in terms of the caliber of exhibitors, the quality of the artistic presentations and programming, and the overall sophistication of the design and layout,” Horowitz said. The opening on Wednesday was packed, despite inclement weather in New York. Various exhibitors told Happening that most of their sales were made during the fair’s VIP opening that day.
Sol Lewitt and Josef Albers at Armand Bartos Fine Art at
The Armory Show
Across the city, other fairs and special exhibitions bolstered Armory’s impact. Pulse, Volta, Scope and Independent brought hundreds of galleries from around the world. And ADAA’s The Art Show, which some have considered a rival to the Armory Show, saw 72 galleries present their art at the Park Avenue Armory on the upper east side. With smaller booths and concentrated presentations, this fair delivered both solo and group presentations of art from the modern through the contemporary. The absence of Gagosian Gallery at the fair did not go unnoticed.
The Guggenheim gave us Paul Chan, the winner of this year’s Hugo Boss Prize. And Bjork presented an installation at MoMA. The museum’s private Armory after-party, with tickets ranging from $175 to $10,000, had the city’s art elite dancing to a live performance by Kelela and DJs Alexis Taylor and Ezra Koening.
Much as in Miami Beach during Basel’s overwhelming presence, it was hard to know which way to turn in New York this past week. After exhausting yourself on too much art at one of the fairs, an invitation for cocktails at a private gallery or museum event seemed far too tempting, such as Sean Kelly's Party for Hugo McCloud. Now if only you could find a taxi in the snow.
A canvas by Frank Stella on sale for $10M by Mnuchin Gallery at
The Art Show
