Frieze New York 2022 art fair is back in the Shed at Hudson Yards in lower Manhattan on the west side. The fair relocated here last year from Randall’s Island. With only 65 galleries, the new director, Christine Messineo says, “The scale of the fair is now more intimate and very manageable.” And it is. The booths mostly present a single artist. More than half are galleries from New York. Here are my highlights. Frame section designated for young galleries less than 10 years old. The section is curated by Sophie Mörner. Her own gallery, The Company, presents an orgy installation by Cajsa von Zeipel, who coincidentally is Mörner's wife. And perhaps, the most buzz-worthy booth is the Gagosian, which has a vending machine that sells (gives away) Kafftee, a caffeinated drink designed by German artist Albert Oehlen. Special project “Zero Nukes” by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes serves as a warning, especially in the current unstable political situation, about the danger of nuclear war. Finally, I can't not mention a presentation at the Breguet stand in the upstairs lounge. It's part of the two-year Swiss watchmaker Breguet collaboration with Frieze.
Tag: New York
TEFAF New York 2022 | Part II
On the closing day of the TEFAF New York fair, I returned to the Park Avenue Armory to view some galleries upstairs in the period rooms. Michael Beck and Ute Eggeling, the founders of the eponymous gallery from Düsseldorf, talked about the gallery's origin in East Germany and their cooperation with John McEnroe in New York. Michael Beck explained why they are not Basel people, but TEFAF people, and gave me some background on their current presentation "Cómo pretexto Picasso" by Manolo Valdés. Next, I spoke with art historian from Axel Vervoordt, a Belgian gallery. I also was pleasantly surprised by my new discovery - a beautiful gallery from Munich, Galerie Thomas. Silke Thomas, the founder's daughter and art historian, gave me a glimpse into the art scene of the last century, the German Expressionism, Wassily Kandinsky and The Blue Rider, et al. All three galleries weathered the pandemic pretty well, and have had a successful show in New York. And my final note is on Creative Spaces, the initiative at TEFAF designed for displaying select artworks in the areas throughout the show to "increase the visual excitement of the fair environment."
TEFAF New York 2022 | Part I
TEFAF is finally back for an in-person event in New York this May. The international art fair opens May 6 in the Park Avenue Armory. 91 galleries from 14 countries are presented in this edition. The invitation-only preview opening night is a benefit for the Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Acquavella Galleries | Around Color
Acquavella Galleries New York is currently having a group exhibition "Around Color," featuring contemporary art ranging from mid-century to present by Jackson Pollock, David Hockney, Wayne Thibaud, Damian Loeb, to name a few. The family-owned, 100-year-old gallery, with its museum-quality artworks, is located in a beautiful French neoclassical townhouse between Madison and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. The exhibition is on view through September 10, 2021.
Estefania Velez Rodriguez | Praxis Gallery
Thursday night is when Chelsea galleries used to have openings (pre-covid). I was curious to see if anything changed. The city is very much alive, and it's great to discover something new! What impressed me about this gallery is that it's owned by a collective of women and represents many female artists, especially Latin American artists based in New York. All I had was my📱 (the video is shot without camera 🎥 or 🎤). On July 15, they hosted an opening reception for Estefania Velez Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican artist from Brooklyn. Special thanks to Justina Gómez Romero, who talked about the history and mission of the gallery. The exhibition is on view until September 11, 2021.
Greaves Productions 