Hard to believe Armory Week ended a week ago today, and with gratitude that the rain stayed away until this week, this grey afternoon my opportunity to recall last Sunday and my last to fair visits...
Verge took spiritual possession Midtown's Dylan Hotel, with installations in lobbys and other public areas in addition to an eclectic and engaging sampling of many facets art today in presenters' rooms. Taking the stairs to the second floor I found myself surrounded by (detail below) Marc-Anthony Polizzi's untitled multi-level installation presented by SculptureSpace.
On the fourth floor, Tokyo's Megumi Ogita Gallery had devoted the entire room to artist Mitsuru Takeya. Her unique rendition of a penguin, below, was already sold...
Neverless, I managed to acquire on of her feathered friends for our collection:
Was it synchronicity? On my final visit tour of lobby I heard what sounded like birds chirping, but found the source of the sound to be near the Artist's Meeting Art Machine, which looks a bit like a set piece from the film "2001" .
The insertion of the token (above) activates the working mechanism to dispense a piece of art of its own choosing. It gave me a vinyl envelope containing the work (below) of artist Olga Lysenko, who I was delighted meet there - unique and energizing experience of collecting that I think will catch on and come back to NYC soon.
In Chelsea, I was fortunate to catch the last hour of a new fair, The Independent. The presentations of installation art there were remarkable, the physical environment (the late X-Initiative/Dia space) and the personality of the dealers just seemed to click. Being there was an amazing visual experience that was for some reason impossible to photograph well (I tried) , but for a taste visit Bolte Lang's website documenting their solo "non-booth" by sculptor Jill Spector, as well as UK's Kate MacGarry.
That's it for my fair coverage - I sadly could not make it to Fountain or Pulse...if you want to share your experiences at those fairs please e-mail me - ld@resolve40.com.
