Brooklyn during Armory Week


2013-03-04


It’s here again, the NY art world’s equivalent to Fashion Week, Comic-Con and Fleet Week combined; The Armory Show, arguably New York City’s premier annual contemporary art fair. Though mostly placed in Manhattan, Brooklyn art galleries enjoy a robust presence in the attendant fairs with additional late night events happening on Saturday evening, March 9, in DUMBO and in Williamsburg and Bushwick

I start my list with the 2nd Annual “curator-driven” art fair, SPRING/BREAK Art Show set in an old school house in Nolita. A concurrent art auction will benefit NYFA and the admirable, Arts in the Armed Forces organization. The impressive 20 curator roster includes Eyelevel BQE’s Gabriella Alva, Ballast Project’s Adam Mignanelli, NURTUREart’s Marco Antonini, and Interstate Projects’ Tom Weinrich, while artists of note include Russel Tyler, Matt Mignanelli, and Cheon pyo Lee. At $5. a ticket, this is a MUST!

The Armory Show mother-ship has, to my knowledge just one appearance by a Brooklyn gallery, but what an appearance! Williamsburg’s Pierogi Gallery shows a fine selection of works, including a “how-the-heck-is-he-gonna-do-that” eliciting, urinal instillation replete with auto flush and self-contained plumbing system from bad boy fave, Andrew Ohanesian.

The 4th edition of the Independent art fair will include 40 international galleries, with some proceeds dedicated to NY non-profits hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. Greenpoint’s Real Fine Arts will show works by Sam Pulitzer, Heji Shin and minimal, talismanic masterworks from Ned Vena. With a specific focus on solo-projects, the invitational Volta NY art fair includes 95 international galleries and has a new SOHO location. Here Bushwick’s Robert Henry Contemporary will show Richard Garrison, an artist who reframes the aesthetic visual detritus of his suburban environs (fast food drive ins, advertisement flyers) into hypnotic compositions that are colorful, analytical and dynamic. Also from Bushwick, Slag Gallery offers work by Naomi Safron-Hon, one of the 5 winners of last years GO Brooklyn; the Brooklyn Museum’s controversial borough-wide open studio event.

100 years after the original Armory Show, Fountain Art Fair will be held in the same location; the 69th Regiment Armory on Lex & 25th. With an indy flair and origins rooted in Brooklyn, this event will house several Brooklyn institutions, including; Mighty Tanaka, RUSH Arts Gallery, The Parlour Bushwick, et al Projects, Front Room Gallery, Grace Exhibition Space, Yes Gallery, and Fuchs Projects.

Uptown, at the Park Avenue Armory you can find ADAA’s The Art Show with offerings from Luhring Augustine. In Chelsea, visit the FREE contemporary video art fair Moving Image and find Bushwick’s Interstate Projects (making a second appearance among the fairs) presenting enigmatic work by Rbt. Sps. a multi-media artist whose very name is a mystery. At Scope find contributions from Arcilesi Homberg Fine Art and Muriel Guepin Gallery.

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