NEW YORK ART FAIR WEEK 2011

Here it comes! New York Art Fair Week is upon us, ushering in a whirlwind of art fair fever. Among the new developments this year are Chelsea dealer Ed Winkelman’s fair devoted to video art and even -- gasp-- an art fair in Brooklyn. Herewith, an abbreviated listing.

The Art Show, Mar. 2-6, 2011
The week kicks off with the venerable Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory, now in its 23rd year. With “only” 70 or so exhibitors and the relatively small booths, the Art Show seems practically like a boutique fair compared to the massive Armory Show on the piers, which boasts a lot of the same dealers. And in keeping with the small-is-beautiful theme, several galleries are presenting solo shows: Rachel Whiteread at Luhring Augustine; David Reed at Peter Blum; Kathy Butterly at Tibor de Nagy; Richard Diebenkorn at Greenberg Van Doren; Richard Artschwager at David Nolan, Alice Neel at David Zwirner. The gala preview benefits Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side; tickets start at $150.

The ADAA is teaming up with the Art Newspaper to present the grandly titled Art Industry Summit, that is, a panel on the subject of transparency in the art market chaired by Art Newspaper chief editor Anna Summers Cocks. Speakers include dealers Richard Feigen and Lucy Mitchell-Innes, art consultant Allan Schwartzman and Christie’s chair Ed Dolman. (Needless to say, it’s Artnet’s signature price database that provides the art market with what transparency it might have.) The panel takes place on Mar. 3, 2011, at 5:30 pm, and reservations are strongly recommended.

Also on tap: Metropolitan Museum curator Gary Tinterow at the ADAA Collectors’ Forum on Mar. 5 at 11 am, telling tales about the Met’s acquisition of its rich holdings of works by Pablo Picasso.

The Armory Show, Mar. 3-6, 2011
As per usual, the gargantuan Armory Show (since 2007 under the aegis of the Chicago-based Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.) is split into two sections, each to its own pier on the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan. “The Armory Show - Contemporary” takes place at Pier 94 opposite West 54th Street, and “The Armory Show - Modern” is set for Pier 92 at West 52nd Street. In all more than 270 dealers are participating, from Altman Siegel and Babcock Galleries to Washburn Gallery and Zeno X.

The opening night gala on Mar. 2, 2011, benefits the Museum of Modern Art, and features a performance by English hillbilly singer Kate Nash. Tickets start at $100. General admission to the fair is $30.

A new section, Armory Focus (now in its second year), presents a baker’s dozen of galleries from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Venezuela. And this year’s Open Forum series of panels and lectures -- shared with Volta, the Armory Show’s sister fair -- is organized by (former Artnet staffer turned art professor) Stamatina Gregory. Speakers include artist Gabriel Kuri, Theaster Gates and curator Franklin Sirmans and Art in America editor Lindsay Pollock. A special discussion on contemporary Middle Eastern Art is moderated by Nazy Nazhand, founder of Art Middle East.

VoltaNY, Mar. 3-6, 2011
Under the direction of fair director Amanda Coulson, VoltaNY takes its usual spot upstairs at 7 West 34th Street, in the Merchandise Mart building across from the Empire State Building. The fair features solo projects by artists from more than 80 galleries from 23 countries; the online catalogue (which is not quite yet online) is produced in collaboration with Artlog. Apparently, a DIY catalogue is also available, for which visitors pick up an empty folder (with a glossy Volta cover) and insert pages for each booth that appeals to them. Admission is $15.

Assorted performances, projections, art-in-elevators and other odds and ends are promised, as is the Artprojx Cinema at the SVA Theatre on West 23rd Street, a free program of over 80 artists’ films and videos from over 40 participating galleries, screening day and night throughout the duration of the fair. Ah, a place to sit down.

Pulse New York, Mar. 3-6, 2011
For its 2011 edition, Pulse New York director Cornell DeWitt has moved the fair to the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan. Among the more than 50 participants are M + B and Luis De Jesus (both from Los Angeles), Benrimon Contemporary (New York), ftc. (Berlin) and Michael Rosenthal (San Francisco). Special projects include “Assembly,” a show of works by eight emerging Southern Californian photographers, and Ben Wolf’s Clamber, a massive environment made from materials salvaged from an abandoned ship in Newark.

Independent, Mar. 3-6, 2011
Now in its second edition, Independent goes down once again at the old Dia Center for the Arts space on West 22nd Street. The brainchild of New York dealer Elizabeth Dee and Darren Flook of London’s Hotel Gallery, the fair boasts installations by Anton Kern Gallery, Jack Hanley Gallery and Artist’s Space, as well as Air de Paris, Sprüth Magers and Hard Hat from Geneva. Most spectacularly of all, admission is free.

Scope, Mar. 2-6, 2011
The 2011 Scope New York fair takes place this year at 320 West Street, a spot on the West Side Highway between Spring Street and Houston Street. Its 50-some exhibitors include English Kills from Brooklyn, Eleanor Harwood from San Francisco and Black Square Gallery from Miami. Tickets are $20.

Highlights include “US vs. US,” a five-day performance program organized by Lilah Freedland. On the bill are Katya Hott and Eddie Yoo, members of Floor Obsession, a break-dance crew that is hosting an invitational dance battle at the fair. Also offered is Stephanie Diamond’s “Home Away from Home,” a booth that promises a range of comforts, from TV and wi-fi to breath freshener and pencils.

Fountain, Mar. 4-6, 2011
Now in its sixth year, Fountain Art Fair 2011 opens at Pier 66 Maritime at West 26th Street and 12th Avenue in the Hudson River Park. Presenting over 20 projects in its biggest fair yet, the “alternative exhibition of avant-garde, independent galleries and art collectives” includes Brooklyn’s Camel Art Space, Miami’s Evo Love and San Francisco McCaig-Welles. One special attraction is a 100-foot-long collaborative installation by more than ten street artists, including Dickchicken, Gaia, and Clown Soldier.

Moving Image, Mar. 3-6, 2011
This year marks the first edition of dealer Ed Winkelman’s Moving Image Art Fair, which takes place in the Waterfront Tunnel event space on 11th Avenue between West 27th and 28th streets. Featured in the international video fest are Janet Biggs (whose Arctic Trilogy is currently on view at Winkelman Gallery), Martin Soto Climent (represented by Zurich’s Karma International), Carolee Schneeman (of N.Y.’s P.P.O.W.), Maider Fortune (of Paris’ Galerie Martine Aboucaya) and David Wojnarowicz (also of P.P.O.W.). Admission is free.

Verge Art Brooklyn, Mar. 3-5, 2011
As much of a community open house as an art fair, Verge is sited in more than nine locations in DUMBO and beyond, with 70 gallery exhibitors, nearly 40 participants in "Material Issue: Artist's Projects Spaces," and 50 up-and-coming Brooklyn artists chosen by Courtney Wendroff of the Brooklyn Arts Council and her team for "Tomorrow Stars: The Art Brooklyn Open Call Exhibition." Admission is free.

Pool, Red Dot, Korean Art Show
The last remaining hotel fair, Pool, is dedicated to “unrepresented artists,” and it quietly takes its place at the famous Gershwin Hotel at 7 East 27th Street, Mar. 4-6, 2011. Red Dot has moved to SoHo this year, with about 50 gallery exhibitors gathering at 82 Mercer Street, Mar. 3 -6, 2011. Red Dot is also hosting the Korean Art Show, some 30 gallery members of the Galleries Association of Korea, which shares the 82 Mercer Street venue.

Coming up later in New York City this month -- more details to follow in this space -- are the AIPAD Photography Show, Mar. 17-20, 2011, and the Artist Project, Mar. 17-20, 2011. Stay tuned.

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