Warren James Returns as Architect for PINTA NY 2013

Warren James Returns as Architect for
PINTA NY 2013

August 28, 2013 (New York, NY) – PINTA NY is pleased to announce the selection of renowned architect Warren James to design the interior layout of the fair’s seventh edition, located at the historic 82MERCER building. This is James’s second appointment as the fair’s architect, the first being his design of the 15,000 square foot Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea for the fair’s 2007 inaugural edition. PINTA NY, the modern and contemporary Latin American art fair, will take place November 14-17, 2013 at 82MERCER in New York City.

Diego Costa Peuser, founder of PINTA NY, dubs James “an artist’s architect.” On his choice to reappoint James for this year’s interior space design, Costa Peuser had this to say:

Collaborating this year with Warren James’s architecture studio is closely linked to the choice of the new, unique exhibition space, 82MERCER – a very special location unlike the "white cubes" commonly used for these events. 82MERCER is a loft with its own identity closely tied to the spirit of New York's SoHo district. Therefore, we understood, for this seventh edition of Pinta NY, that we should pay close attention to the dialogue between the fair’s exhibition design and the fully curated content.

James has a reputation for site-specific designs and an aesthetic described by Spanish critic Antoni Bernat as "a sensual clarity and geometric interest...[with] a preference for built lucid forms,” which promises to deliver an elegant, dynamic art fair flavored by the architect’s distinct “glocal”—global and local—approach. In 2007 The New York Times art critic Holland Cotter praised James’s design for the inaugural edition of PINTA NY as “...stylish and airy. In general a less-is-more sensibility prevails. For once, a fair looks like an art exhibition, not a job-lot display.”

On the process of designing an art fair, James observes:

We strive for a memorable interior sequence—visually and spatially. Event architecture used to arrive, get installed, live for days, and then disappear. Art fairs are ephemeral, that's their nature. Architecture is the opposite. Now art fairs go on and on digitally, long after the event, rethinking their impermanence is made permanent.

PINTA NY’s redesign of a historic building for a four-day event underscores a larger architectural trend toward the design of temporary spaces or “ephemeral architecture.” The meticulous composition of a structural environment that can only be enjoyed within a certain span of time is in some ways counter to the architectural principle of building something to last. In this way, PINTA NY is excited to partner with Warren James to explore new frontiers in the way people experience new spaces and ephemeral architecture.

82MERCER boasts the industrial, rugged beauty of an iconic downtown New York loft-style building; a 50,000 square foot space, which maintains many original 19th century architectural features including cast-iron columns, 14-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, and brick archways. Located conveniently in SoHo, 82MERCER brings PINTA NY to the heart of the New York’s powerhouse retail and arts district.

Warren James is the celebrated architect and principal of Warren A. James Architecture + Planning. James received degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities, going on to work in Puerto Rico, Spain, and finally returning to New York. His long and distinguished career is punctuated by numerous awards and grants including the A.I.A Unbuilt Awards, The Andrew Dickson White Prize/Cornell University, and The George W. Neikirk Prize / C.S.A.A., among others. His work has been shown in exhibitions and published internationally.

PINTA NY is a curated presentation of Modern and Contemporary art from Central and South America, Spain, Portugal, and The Caribbean, and a leading voice in the championing of Latin American art. It will take place 14-17 November 2013.

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