1. The Armory Show is open through Sunday, March 8 at Piers 92 and 94.
(By Katy Diamond Hamer)
Founded in 1994 by dealers Colin de Land, Pat Hearn, Matthew Marks, and Paul Morris (and renamed in 1999), the Armory Show attracts a record number of visitors each year along with galleries in both contemporary and modern art. Contemporary art housed in Pier 94 is separated into four sections: Contemporary, Armory Presents (solo and two-person projects by galleries less than ten years old), Not-for-Profit (museums, arts organizations and not-for-profit galleries), and Armory Focus (a curated section that changes each year in specificity). For 2015, Armory Focus is on the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean (MENAM) regions. Selected by Omar Kholeif, Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery in London and cultural partner Edge of Arabia and Education Partner Art Jameel, MENAM consists of fifteen booths, some with solo projects, others presenting multiple artists.
2. Pulse New York is open through Sunday, March 8 at The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street.
The rather young fair Pulse has quickly found a spot for itself in the overcrowded world of art. Established in 2005, “ Pulse Fair has been the premiere satellite fair for the discovery and acquisition of cutting-edge contemporary art. With annual editions in Miami Beach and New York City, the fair cultivates a supportive environment for its international community of galleries and provides a platform for their growth and expansion in the contemporary art market.” Organized by Pulse Projects, the real attraction is the large-scale installations that happen at every edition. This year, Richard Clarkson’s cloud had us on the tip of our toes: the interactive lamp that challenges conventional notions of what a lighting fixture can be. Using motion detectors and color-changing lights, the Cloud detects a user’s presence to mimic a thundercloud in both appearance and behavior.
3. Volta NY is open through Sunday, March 8 at Pier 90.
Volta NY is an invitational fair of solo-artist projects and is the American incarnation of the original Volta show, which was founded in Basel in 2005. The New York incarnation was conceived in 2008 as a focused, curated, boutique event that is a place for discovery. The exhibition showcases relevant contemporary art positions regardless of the artist’s or gallery’s age. By refocusing on artists through solo projects, Volta NY promotes a deep exploration of the work of its selected participants. These galleries must maintain deeply meaningful connections with their artists and follow them throughout their careers. In turn, invited galleries exhibit in an elegant venue, elevating their respective platforms for an experience mutually beneficial to fair visitors and the galleries alike.
4. Spring/Break is open through Sunday, March 8 at Skylight at Moynihan Station, West 31st Street/8th Avenue.
Through its commitment to the discoveries of local to international curators, Spring/Break Art Show will offers a unique destination for collectors, artists, galleries, critics, scene junkies & art enthusiasts during the city’s art fair week. Forty curators will premiere new artworks created by over 150 artists, all selected around this year’s central art fair theme, transaction. By offering a “break” from the typical art fair model, Spring/Break Art Show, which was founded in 2009 by Andrew Gori and Ambre Kelly, aims to turn observation into interaction and reimagine the trade show platform as an opportune playground, instead, of the curator’s exhibition ideal.
5. ADAA Art Show is open through Sunday, March 8 at the Park Avenue Armory.
The 27th edition of The Art Show, America’s foremost and longest running fine art fair, will present specially curated booths by 72 of the nation’s leading art dealers at New York’s historic Park Avenue Armory. The Art Show’s acclaimed booth presentations feature both modern masters and cutting-edge contemporary works in all media. Elaborately themed group exhibitions are presented alongside groundbreaking solo booths, many of which are dedicated to women artists this year. Salon 94 will present several never-before-seen photographs from Lorna Simpson’s landmark series, “Walking and Lying Objects.” David Nolan Gallery will exhibit Christina Ramberg’s depictions of corseted female bodies. Lehmann Maupin Gallery debuts Tracey Emin’s bronze sculpture, “The Heart Has Its Reasons.”
6. Moving Image is open through Sunday, March 8 at the Waterfront New York Tunnel.
Moving Image was conceived to offer a viewing experience with the excitement and vitality of a fair, while allowing moving image-based artworks to be understood and appreciated on their own terms. Participation is by invitation only. The newly formed Moving Image Curatorial Advisory Committee for New York 2014 is inviting a selection of international commercial galleries and non-profit institutions to present single-channel videos, single-channel projections, video sculptures, and other larger video installations.
7. The Independent is open until Sunday March 8 at 548 West 22nd Street New York, NY 10011.
The Independent opened six years ago and just as it names might depict, it is independent of any of the other fairs. Conceived by Elizabeth Dee and Darren Flock, Independent 2015 will feature more than 50 international galleries including big shot Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, in a space designed in collaboration with Jonathan Caplan of Project-Space.
8. Art on Paper is open through Sunday, March 8 at Pier 36.
Art on Paper is an art fair that focuses on galleries and artists who look to paper as a major influence in their sculpture, drawing, painting, and photography. The art fair is the newest addition to a busy New York Art Week and is organized by the producers of Miami Project. Working alongside Beneficiary Partner, Brooklyn Museum, and Presenting Sponsor, The Wall Street Journal, art on paper is set to bring the best in modern and contemporary art to downtown New York’s Pier 36.
9. New City Art Fair is open through Sunday, March 8 at HPGRP Gallery, New York, 529 W 20th street.
Premiered in 2012, New City Art Fair is an exhibition organized to globalize Asian art. On view will be works focusing on young and emerging Japanese artists accessible to new and seasoned collectors alike, in media ranging from painting, drawing, and photography, to sculpture, and mixed-media constructions. A special presentation by Pola Museum Annex, an influential Japanese institution dedicated to young artists, will be joined by New York/Tokyo’s Hpgrp Gallery, Tokyo galleries B-gallery, Einstein Studio, Gallery Kogure, and 92art Studio; Nagoya’s Lad Gallery; and Sapporo’s Gallery Monma & Annex.
10. Scope is open through Sunday, March 8 at 639 W 46th street.
Last but not definitely least: With over 65 art fairs spanning more than a decade, Scope is the largest and most global art fair in the world, celebrated as the premier showcase for international emerging contemporary art and multi-disciplinary creative programming. Renowned for its uncanny ability to forecast new visual trends that are embraced globally, Scope Art Shows in Miami Beach, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons have garnered extensive critical acclaim, with sales of over $800 million and attendance of over 1,000,000 visitors.