From the category archives:

Art Fair

The Artist-Centric Movement has its Milestone Moment: SPRING/BREAK

by Paddy Johnson on March 7, 2016
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Walking around SPRING/BREAK this Saturday seemed indicative of a watershed moment. The artist-centric movement we’ve been tracking for the last several years is finally gaining more visibility and commercial success and no where is that more evident than this fair.

Located on the administrative floors at Moynihan Station (above the main post office), over 100 curated projects took over once occupied office space. These rooms were painted, wallpapered and filled with weird, temporary installations of fake apartments, medical institutions and cut out gardens. They also included paintings, collages and any other medium you can think of. Meanwhile, lines of fair goers wrapped around the building waiting to get in—even from the outside the excitement was palpable.

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Rachel Stern’s SPRING/BREAK Slideshow

by Rachel Stern on March 7, 2016
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Those hoping to catch SPRING/BREAK still have a chance to do so. The fair closes today at 6:00 pm.

In the meantime, last week we asked photographer and curator Rachel Stern to produce a SPRING/BREAK slide show over instagram for us. This is what she shot.

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Yes, Pulse is Totally Worth a Visit

by Michael Anthony Farley on March 5, 2016
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Pulse continues its trend of refining itself into a better and better fair. With both well-executed booths from dealers and commissioned projects, it’s getting easier to overlook all the mediocre fair fare.

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Toilet Design, The Visceral, and Zizek at Volta

by Rob Goyanes on March 5, 2016
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It’s a grey frigid Thursday, and the cold is not quite dizzying.

Pier 90 juts out onto the Hudson River. In poetry, the volta is the sudden change, the modulation which shifts emotional pitch or cognitive focus. During Armory Week, Volta is the art fair of galleries presenting artist solos. Though I’m unfamiliar with many of the galleries participating, I know immediately the first thing I want to see: my bladder begs.

As relief washes over me, I think of Zizek’s observation that the presence of ideology can be found in toilet design.

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Fresh New Digs for Aging Independent

by Chris Green on March 4, 2016
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The Independent art fair is apparently all grown up and ready to cement its place of privilege in a new Tribeca location. This year’s event space, Spring Studios, is better known for exclusive fashion and Tribeca Film Festival events, but the organizers believe it is just right for a fair that now considers itself to be mature and ambitious. Aging is perhaps a more appropriate characterization here—this year, the formerly new-blood establishment of the Independent seems as though it is content to coast into retirement.

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The Armory Show: Where All The Cowboys Have Gone

by Michael Anthony Farley and Molly Rhinestones on March 4, 2016
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Long before Richard Prince was screencapping Instagram, he rode an appropriated image of a cowboy to fame. At The Armory Show, it seems other artists are attempting the same. Cowboys are everywhere. We picked out some noteworthy examples, after the jump.

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We Went to The Armory Show: HOW TO SPEND IT

by Michael Anthony Farley and Molly Rhinestones on March 4, 2016
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Michael: Every time I go to a fair I’ve been told is going to suck, I’m pleasantly surprised by the first few works I see and actually like that are somewhat engaging. Then, usually within an hour of arrival, fair fatigue sets in and I want anything to shatter the stifling boredom.
Molly: I’m honestly devastated I didn’t know that the “YOUR MOM” balloons were free for me to take.

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The Armory: The Forgettable Fair

by Paddy Johnson on March 3, 2016

It’s hard to imagine a more art boring fair than this year’s Armory. Looking back at yesterday’s photos there’s virtually nothing to say about any of it. The fair is filled with generic art market standards: neon, monochromes, mirrors. If you’re looking for an art genre, the boilerplate version of it is on view here. At least last year’s iteration was bad enough to warrant ridicule. This one will be instantly forgotten.

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SPRING/BREAK: Too Many Cooks in the Post Office

by Chris Green on March 3, 2016
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When the curator becomes the primary product, nobody wins. With 800 artists to 100 curators, the flashiest booths naturally win out at SPRING/BREAK. We picked a handful of booths which deserve a longer look.

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The Art F City Survival Guide to the 2016 Armory Week Fairs

by Michael Anthony Farley and Rea McNamara on February 29, 2016
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Do you like art fairs? If yes, you are in luck! If not, get the hell out of New York City this week. Art fairs are multiplying like Gremlins, and mutating as they spawn. We now have specific art fairs for everything: paper, video art, solo projects, Asian art, curator-driven booths, independent artists, dykes, shiny things, boring shows… there’s something for everyone.

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