Armory Show

I spent about 2 1/2 hours strolling from booth to booth today.  I am shattered.  It is truly a lot to take in.  I am not sure why but I enjoyed this year more than years of past.  There seemed to be more galleries, domestic as well as foreign, that had new and different work.  Many things called out to me. 

We have always collected younger artists.  There were a few pieces that I saw today of artists that we had purchased 10 years ago ( that is a long time in the art world ) who have become quite well known.  Needless to say, we paid nothing compared to their worth today.  Not that I have any interest in selling any of the work but there is something exciting about seeing them grow as an artist and watch their work go up in value.

The top floor of the Armory is the classic area.  Much more expensive recognized art galleries and artists.  Above is a Rauschenberg from Faurschou Gallery in Copenhagen.  I didn't even ask the price.  It is fantastic. 

The piece above is from the Marlborough Gallery that has galleries across the world.  The artist is Juan Genoves.  There is something about the circle rotation and the people around it that drew me to it.  This piece a mere $90k.

I do believe this was downstairs in the "emerging" art area but this artist is emerged.  I love his work and am always drawn to it.  Unfortunately it has never been drawn to my checkbook.  Stephan Balkenhol who is showing at the Galerie Akinci in Amsterdam. 

I finally made my way downstairs and realized I probably should have started and ended there.  More my cup of tea.  Also, seeing what every gallery is representing in this area gives any person walking through a really broad range of what is happening in the art world today. 

The first few pieces I was immediately drawn to were at Galleria Continua from San Gimignano.  The artist is Shilpa Gupta.  An artist from Mumbai, India.  Each of these canvases are photographs of young girls.  They are so full of life and hope.  Next to each piece is a pair of microphones.  Gupta asked each girl what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Listening to their answers and what they say while looking at the art piece is really an incredible experience.  I absolutely loved these pieces.  Looking back, these are still my favorites. 

Another wall, from Galerie Laurent Godin, had a variety of watercolors that I thought were hilarious. 
Appealed to my sense of humor.  There were many but I zeroed in on this one.  Made me laugh.  Artist David Kramer.

This absolutely made me stop and pause.  Years ago, Emily and I saw a neon piece that we loved and didn't buy.  Still thinking about it which means we should have bought it.  This is an either angry artist or a one with a very dry sense of humor.  Bert Rodriguez at Frederic Snitzer Gallery.  (saying - the true artist makes useless art for rich people to buy)

I had to take a picture of this.  My favorite word.  BEYOND.  Susan Hefina at Galerie Grita Insam


We have all felt like this on many days.  Anikka Strom...unfortunately I didn't get the Gallery's name. 

I really like this artist's work, and a bonus is that the artist is represented at my friend's gallery.  Harris Lieberman.  The artist is Lisa Oppenheim and she is having a show at the gallery in September.  I went back and looked at Lisa's older work on the website and really liked that work too.  Always a good sign. 

I almost breezed by this booth but then took a few steps backward and walked in.  The booth was from a non-profit organization called Sculpture.  Artists give them work to sell and those proceeds go to support their programs.  I really like that.  Their mission is to expand public knowledge of art through education, social change, supportive environments etc.  I really love this piece.  The artist is Carole Feuerman. 

Always a fan of Mel Bochner's work.  It gets more expensive every year. This piece $30K. This particular piece is brilliant.  A few galleries had his work this year and last year.

I have found that there a few galleries that carry more than one artist that I like.  Same eye, same taste, etc.  Yossi Milo has 3 artists that I really like.  Sze Tsung Leong, Loretta Lux and Myoung Ho Lee.  Lee is relatively young.  I particularly liked these 3 pieces.  Each sold individually but I kind of like the them all together.   For whatever reason, I am always drawn to trees.  Funny because I get an anxiety attack when I am in the woods.  Going to the country is not my thing. 

I am going to try and hit up some of the satellite fairs around the city this weekend.  I heard from the people who run the show that the galleries have been doing really well.  So glad to hear.  To me, this year was moving forward in a new direction.  Lots of work that wasn't as dark as the past.  Lighter, more serene, thought provoking but not to the extreme.  More to come...