Armory Show Highlights and Lowlights 2018 Round-Up

Armory 2018

As we reach the end of another New York Armory Show few revelations are on hand. Leading dealer Marc Glimcher of the international gallery Pace said, “Contemporary Art has become important to millions of people, We have 15,000 collectors.  The idea of being able to own art has grown widely around the world, and it’s worked it’s magic. We don’t have enough artists to supply the growing amount of collectors.” Mr Glimcher represents a bubble which ignores the existence of actual living artists. It is clear, Pace deals with an abundance of deceased blue-chip masters. This blind optimism is not quite a reality even in Paceland as sales were sluggish at the preview, with only enough art sold to suggest the market was still buoyant, despite the success of the equity markets this year. It is up to the dealers especially the 1% that are disproportionately moneyed, in this unbalanced trade to educate the public by supporting and exhibiting emerging young and mid-career artists. Let them make vast profits on their back catalogue of A-listers, as in the music industry. 

The Armory Show is a leading cultural destination for collecting important 20th- and 21st-century art

British dealers were again prevalent at the fair. Alan Cristea Gallery, London Booth 724 showed Yinka Shinibare Cowboy Angels, print series, Omer Tiroche Gallery exhibited Yayoi Kusama,  Alison Jacques Gallery London showed photographs by Juergen Teller, ceramics by Takuro Kuwata and paintings by Sheila Hicks. Other British galleries exhibiting were Ronchini Gallery, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Blain|Southern, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Lisson who reportedly sold work by  Tony Cragg WT (extended) (2016) for £385,000 ($477,960), Carmen Herrera’s Cadmium orange with blue (1989) for $600,000, and Laure Prouvost’s The Hidden Paintings Grandma Improved – We Are Coming Out (2017) for £30,000 ($37,200). Levy Gorvy showed work by Brazil-born Karin Schneider and Victoria Miro with “furniture” by Elmgreen & Dragset .

 Ronchini Gallery
Ronchini Gallery Berndnaut Smilde: Breaking the Fourth Wall

The Armory Show is one of the leading cultural destination for discovering and collecting the world’s most important 20th- and 21st-century art. Featuring 198 galleries from 31 countries, The Armory Show presents artworks that range from historical masterpieces to the latest contemporary projects by established and emerging artists.Staged on Manhattan’s Piers 92 & 94, The Armory Show features presentations by leading international galleries, innovative artist commissions and dynamic public programs. Since its founding in 1994, The Armory Show has served as a nexus for the international art world, inspiring dialogue, discovery and patronage in the visual arts. The fair was open to the public March 8–11.

The fair welcomed 66 new exhibitors, including Shanghai-based Pearl Lam, one of the most influential dealers in Asia, exhibiting at The Armory Show for the first time. Several other dealers have returned after years of absence, including Galerie Eigen + Art (Berlin), Gagosian (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Geneva, Hong Kong), Perrotin (New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo), Regen Projects (Los Angeles) and Van Doren Waxter (New York). Of the fair’s new exhibitors, 43 participated for the first time, including 80m2 Livia Benavides (Lima), BANK (Shanghai), Galerija Gregor Podnar (Berlin), Pearl Lam Galleries (Hong Kong), Night Gallery (Los Angeles) and Yamamoto Gendai (Tokyo).

Armory 2018
Armory 2018

Galleries, the core section of The Armory Show, features outstanding 20th- and 21st-century artworks in a range of media, presented by 109 leading international galleries. Notable solo presentations include Nam June Paik with a never-exhibited installation at Gagosian; Mary Corse at Kayne Griffin Corcoran; JR at Jeffrey Deitch; Nacho Carbonell at Carpenters Workshop Gallery; Tara Donovan at Pace Gallery; Kaz Oshiro at Honor Fraser; and Sanford Biggers at David Castillo Gallery.

Insights, comprised of 32 international galleries,emphasizes solo, dual-artist and thematic presentations of artworks made before the year 2000. Highlights include a series of 1970s ‘pulled wedge’ works by Ed Moses at albertz benda; a survey of major works by Anna Maria Maiolino from the 1970s through 1990s at Mercedes Viegas; a collection of rare collages by Yayoi Kusama at Omer Tiroche Gallery; and the first-ever United States exhibition of works by Huang Rui, a leading artist in post- Cultural Revolution China, at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery.

Presents, a platform for galleries no more than ten years old. This year, 26 galleries will showcase recent work through solo and dual-artist presentations. Highlights included Athi-Patra Ruga at WHATIFTHEWORLD; André Butzer at NINO MIER GALLERY; at Parafin, new works by Justin Mortimer; at Vigo, selected works by Derrick Adams from his Future People exhibition at Theaster Gates’ Stoney Island Arts Banks; Jose Carlos Martinat at Revolver Galeria; and Cammie Staros’ New York debut at Shulamit Nazarian.

Focus, curated by Gabriel Ritter, Curator and Head of Contemporary Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, featured 28 international galleries with solo or dual-artist presentations, which examine how technology has both mediated representation of the physical body and imagined its emancipation in contemporary art. Highlights include an ambitious presentation of new work by Takeshi Murata paired with historical works by Tishan Hsu at Empty Gallery; at Night Gallery, Claire Tabouret’s acrylic paintings on canvas and Anne Libby’s machine-cut objects, which reflect the anxiety of a nearing postapocalyptic future; at Max Estrella interactive mediations on hyper-surveillance by Rafael Lozano- Hemmer; at Redling Fine Art recent and historical works by Tony Oursler that question technology’s role in reanimating the past; visceral reminders of the body’s fragility by Hermann Nitsch at Marc Straus; sculptures by Aleksandra Domanović and Oliver Laric exploring reproducibility in the internet age at Tanya Leighton; recent paintings by Kei Imazu that combine digital effects and traditional oil painting techniques at Yamamoto Gendai; immersive video installations by Tabita Rezaire exploring digital shamanism at Goodman Gallery; and work by Emma Amos that address racial, geographical, and sexual perspectives at RYAN LEE.

Platform staged large-scale artworks, installations and commissions across Piers 92 & 94. Now in its second edition, the 2018 Platform section, entitled The Contingent, is curated by Jen Mergel, Vice President of Programming for the Association of Art Museum Curators and former senior curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Featuring 15 site-responsive projects by internationally acclaimed artists, Platform includes 11 new works by The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Sarah Cain, Beth Campbell, Tara Donovan, Leonardo Drew, Jeffrey Gibson, JR, Amalia Pica, Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley, Berndnaut Smilde, and Wilmer Wilson IV. Four large-scale projects by Elmgreen & Dragset, Sir Richard Long, Mary Sibande, and Wang Xin will make their US debut.

Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley - My Turn, 2018. Edward Cella Art & Architecture, Platform 1.
Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley – My Turn, 2018. Edward Cella Art & Architecture, Platform

Situated in the Town Square on Pier 94 is a new commission by Tara Donovan, who is known for her command of vast spaces with accumulations of a single material that triggers our perception of infinity, movement, and the relation of parts to a whole. The new monumental installation, Untitled, results from her latest experiments with the material condition of transparency and takes the form of a pyramidal cross-section, comprised of tens of thousands of clear plastic tubes.

On the exterior of Pier 94, JR will debut a work that transforms archival Ellis Island photographs into a large-scale installation, presented in partnership with Artsy and Jeffrey Deitch. Like his recent image of the smiling toddler Kikito, strategically installed on scaffolding in Tecate to peer over the U.S.-Mexican border wall from the California side, the supersized silhouettes of SO CLOSE are sited at a symbolic point of entry—to the city, to the country, and to the art world.

The inaugural Curatorial Leadership Summit, chaired by Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, convened top global curators for a daylong program that aims to foster innovation in the curatorial landscape. Invited curators will explore, debate and challenge ideas of cultural appropriation, censorship and representation with artist and writer Coco Fusco and Olga Viso, Independent Curator and former Director of the Walker Art Center.

Armory Live convenes prominent art world figures for a series of thought-provoking conversations and panels hosted at the fair. All Armory Live events take place in the Armory Live Theater on Pier 94.

Highlights included a keynote by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine Galleries, on exhibition making in the 21st century; solo artist conversations with JR, Hermann Nitsch and Carolee Schneemann; artists-in-dialogue pairings featuring Constant Dullaart and Matt Goerzen; Leonardo Drew and Ja’Tovia Gary; and Josh Kline and Patty Chang; and a series of panels addressing the future of the gallery model, the rapid growth of new cultural centers globally and the paradoxical conditions for political resistance.

Armory Arts Week is a citywide program of art fairs and events that highlight the diverse cultural offerings of New York’s arts scene. With eight satellite fairs coinciding with The Armory Show, in addition to dozens of gallery and museum openings, Armory Arts Week is New York’s premier arts week and a cultural destination for thousands of international visitors. Parallel fairs are Art on Paper, Collective Design, Independent, Moving Image Art Fair, NADA, Scope, Spring/Break Art Show and Volta NY.

Exhibitor List 2018

VON BARTHA
Basel, Switzerland

GALLERI BO BJERGGAARD
Copenhagen, Denmark

BLAIN|SOUTHERN
London, United Kingdom

PETER BLUM GALLERY
New York, United States of America

MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY
New York, United States of America

GALLERI BRANDSTRUP
Oslo, Norway

BUCHMANN GALERIE
Berlin, Germany

CARPENTERS WORKSHOP GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY
Miami Beach, United States of America

JAMES COHAN
New York, United States of America

GALLERIA CONTINUA
San Gimignano, Italy

GALERIA VERA CORTÊS
Lisbon, Portugal

ALAN CRISTEA GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

JEFFREY DEITCH
New York, United States of America

DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM
Berlin, Germany

GALERIE EIGEN + ART
Berlin, Germany

GALERIE FRANK ELBAZ
Paris, France

ESPAIVISOR
Valencia, Spain

DANIEL FARIA GALLERY
Toronto, Canada

RONALD FELDMAN GALLERY
New York, United States of America

FLEISHER/OLLMAN
Philadelphia, United States of America

GALERIE FORSBLOM
Helsinki, Finland

HONOR FRASER
Los Angeles, United States of America

GAGOSIAN
New York, United States of America

GOODMAN GALLERY
Johannesburg, South Africa

KAVI GUPTA
Chicago, United States of America

HALES
London, United Kingdom

HANART TZ GALLERY
Central, China

RHONA HOFFMAN GALLERY
Chicago, United States of America

EDWYNN HOUK GALLERY
New York, United States of America

PIPPY HOULDSWORTH GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

GALLERY HYUNDAI
Seoul, South Korea

I8 GALLERY
Reykjavik, Iceland

MARIANE IBRAHIM GALLERY
Seattle, United States of America

INGLEBY
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

BERNARD JACOBSON GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

ALISON JACQUES GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

KALFAYAN
Athens, Greece

PAUL KASMIN GALLERY
New York, United States of America

KAUFMANN REPETTO
Milan, Italy

KAYNE GRIFFIN CORCORAN
Los Angeles, United States of America

SEAN KELLY
New York, United States of America

KÖNIG GALERIE
Berlin, Germany

TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY
Tokyo, Japan

ANDREW KREPS
New York, United States of America

PEARL LAM GALLERIES
Hong Kong, Hong Kong

GALERIE LELONG & CO.
New York, United States of America

JOSH LILLEY
London, United Kingdom

LISSON GALLERY
London, United Kingdom

LOCKS GALLERY
Philadelphia, United States of America

GALLERIA D’ARTE MAGGIORE G.A.M.
Bologna, Italy

RON MANDOS
Amsterdam, Netherlands

MARLBOROUGH CONTEMPORARY
New York, United States of America

PHILIP MARTIN GALLERY
Los Angeles, United States of America

MAZZOLENI
Turin, Italy

YOSSI MILO GALLERY
New York, United States of America

FRANCESCA MININI
Milan, Italy

GALLERIA MASSIMO MININI
Brescia, Italy

VICTORIA MIRO
London , United Kingdom

MIZUMA ART GALLERY
Tokyo, Japan

MOR CHARPENTIER
Paris, France

GALERIE VERA MUNRO
Hamburg, Germany

NICODIM GALLERY
Los Angeles, United States of America

CAROLINA NITSCH
New York, United States of America

GALERIE NATHALIE OBADIA
Paris, France

GALLERIA LORCAN O’NEILL
Rome, Italy

OSL CONTEMPORARY
Oslo, Norway

OTA FINE ARTS
Tokyo, Japan

P420
Bologna, Italy

PACE GALLERY
New York, United States of America

PACE PRINTS
New York, United States of America

PARAGON
London, United Kingdom

PERROTIN
New York, United States of America

PIEROGI
New York, United States of America

GALERIA PLAN B
Berlin, Germany

GALERIJA GREGOR PODNAR
Berlin, Germany

P.P.O.W
New York, United States of America

PRAZ-DELAVALLADE
Paris, France

GALERIE EVA PRESENHUBER
Zurich, Switzerland

PROYECTOSMONCLOVA
Mexico City, Mexico

R & COMPANY
New York, United States of America

REGEN PROJECTS
Los Angeles, United States of America

YANCEY RICHARDSON GALLERY
New York, United States of America

ROBERTS PROJECTS
Los Angeles, United States of America

GALERIA NARA ROESLER
São Paulo, Brazil

GALERIE THADDAEUS ROPAC
London, United Kingdom

MICHAEL ROSENFELD GALLERY
New York, United States of America

LIA RUMMA
Milan, Italy

GALERIE THOMAS SCHULTE
Berlin, Germany

MARC SELWYN FINE ART
Beverly Hills, United States of America

JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY
New York, United States of America

SHOSHANA WAYNE GALLERY
Santa Monica, United States of America

SICARDI AYERS BACINO
Houston, United States of America

SIES + HÖKE
Düsseldorf, Germany

JESSICA SILVERMAN GALLERY
San Francisco, United States of America

BRUCE SILVERSTEIN GALLERY
New York, United States of America

STPI
Singapore, Singapore

FREDRIC SNITZER GALLERY
Miami, United States of America

GALLERY TAIK PERSONS
Berlin, Germany

GALERIE DANIEL TEMPLON
Paris, France

TWO PALMS
New York, United States of America

GALERIE GEORGES-PHILIPPE & NATHALIE VALLOIS
Paris, France

VAN DOREN WAXTER
New York, United States of America

AXEL VERVOORDT GALLERY
Wijnegem, Belgium

SUSANNE VIELMETTER LOS ANGELES PROJECTS
Los Angeles, United States of America

VISTAMARE
Pescara, Italy

WENTRUP
Berlin, Germany

BRYCE WOLKOWITZ GALLERY
New York, United States of America

ZAK | BRANICKA
Berlin, Germany

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