STRONG SALES AND DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING MARK 2014 EDITION OF THE ARMORY SHOW

STRONG SALES AND DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING MARK 2014 EDITION OF THE ARMORY SHOW NEW YORK, March 10, 2014: The Armory Show, New York’s leading fair for contemporary and modern art, closed its 2014 edition on Sunday, March 9th. The fair, which welcomed more than 65,000 visitors during its five-day run, featured over 200 carefully selected galleries from 29 countries. Exhibitors remarked on strong sales and attendance from key collectors and institutions from the United States, Europe, China and beyond. For the first time, this year’s edition coincided with the opening of the Whitney Biennial, further establishing March in New York as a key moment in its annual arts calendar. For the 2014 edition, The Armory Show devoted Armory Focus, the specially curated section of Pier 94, to the contemporary cultural landscape in China, presenting an exciting selection of galleries from the Mainland and Hong Kong. The fair also launched the inaugural edition of Armory Presents, dedicated to dual and single artist presentations exhibited by galleries under ten years old. Meanwhile The Armory Show–Modern presented its first ever curated exhibition, featuring seminal drawings by female artists of the twentieth century. Noah Horowitz, Executive Director of the The Armory Show, commented: “The sixteenth edition of the Armory Show has been our most dynamic and content-rich to date. We have worked tirelessly with our Selection Committee and participating galleries to encourage more solo artist presentations and tightly curated booths, as well as providing a more polished and fluid fair layout. This has been supplemented by exciting on-site projects, including our special China Focus section, our first curated exhibition on Pier 92, and the thought-provoking Open Forum talks. The Armory Show has always been New York’s home-grown fair and I am thrilled to see Armory Arts Week establishing itself as a cornerstone event in the New York arts calendar, with an increasingly vibrant city-wide programming.” New and returning international galleries included David Zwirner, Lisson Gallery, Victoria Miro, Lehmann Maupin andSikkema Jenkins & Co in Pier 94 – Contemporary and Marlborough Gallery, Moeller Fine Art, Galleria d'Arte Maggiore G.A.M in Pier 92 – Modern. Exhibitors reported consistently strong sales, further asserting New York’s position at the core of the international art market. Once again the fair welcomed over 100 major US and international museum directors and groups including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Asia Art Archive and the Tate. Arne Ehmann, Salzburg Director at Thaddeus Ropac, said: “We’ve had a very positive experience at the fair this year, with extremely strong sales, including Tony Cragg’s Distant Cousin (2008) which sold for $1 million, a Baselitz for $660,000 and a Tom Sachs for $200,000. It is incredible how many important American collectors come here.” Alison Jacques, Alison Jacques Gallery, London, who dedicated their booth to a solo presentation of Brazilian artist Fernanda Gomes, commented: “We have found the Armory to be a great platform for both conversations with museums and curators as well as strong sales, the fair has improved massively since last year and we would be happy to return again." James Cohan, James Cohan Gallery, New York, said: “We’ve witnessed an amazing array of collectors – including American, European and Chinese. We sold ten works by Michelle Grabner, who is curating the Whitney Biennial this year. There is a great vibe in the fair this year; it really is going from strength to strength.” Zoe Karafylakis Sperling, Sales Associate, Blain Southern, London: “This year we noticed an increased interest in our younger artists, with work by Marius Bercea selling particularly well. As always we had great people visiting the booth, in particular the American collectors that continue to come back year after year. What’s interesting about the Armory Show is that people tend to visit the fair more than once and so sales tend to be staggered throughout the fair dates.” Michael Kohn, Owner of Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles added: “This is the most elegant and user-friendly Armory to date. I've heard the comments over and over again how much the public, collectors and artists like this fair, how it has evolved, and what is has become. It has been an extremely successful fair and we are thrilled that we sold out the work by Eddie Martinez who is a new artist to our roster.” Exhibiting in the Armory Presents section of the fair, Adnan Z Manjal, Director at Athr Gallery, Jeddah commented: “This is the first time we’re showing commercially in the US and we’ve had an excellent response to our booth. Visitors were clearly curious to discover our artists and responded very well to the carefully curated presentation.” Deborah Harris, Managing Director, The Armory Show–Modern commented: “This year's edition saw a more refined selection of galleries, an improved floor plan on Pier 92 and our first curated exhibition featuring seminal works on paper by women artists. Galleries placed important work with new and established collectors and museums, with continued interest in American, German and Italian works from the 60's, 70's and even 80's. What we have seen throughout the duration of the show are clear signs that the market remains buoyant for fresh works of high quality.” Jorg Paal, Director of Galerie Thomas Modern, Munich commented: “We've noticed a promising increase of established international collectors at this year’s edition, which resulted in significantly stronger sales throughout the fair. There is good energy with many making quick decisions on purchases.” Naoto Kakumoto, International Sales & Marketing Manager at Whitestone Gallery, Tokyo added: “The Armory show continues to attract a higher calibre of collectors in comparison to other European fairs, and it is here that we consistently sell our larger works.” James Barron at James Barron Gallery, South Kent/Rome commented: “The Armory Show has been phenomenal this year. All the improvements to the fair that Deborah Harris has pulled off were evidently appreciated not only by dealers but also by visitors. We have been coming to the fair for years and continue to meet both old and new collectors. Our hats go off to the team for reinventing the fair and bringing new vivacity to the much needed fair for modern works. This year’s Armory Focus, the fair’s specially curated section, provided fresh insight into the dynamic landscape of Chinese contemporary art today. Curated by Philip Tinari, Director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, it showcased an exciting selection of 17 established and emerging galleries from the Mainland and Hong Kong, many of which had never exhibited outside China before. Furthermore, The China Symposium, generously supported by Adrian Cheng and the K11 Art Foundation, brought together speakers from Asia and beyond, including leading artists, journalists, curators, collectors, gallerists, and academics. The two-day program offered perhaps the most comprehensive overview of the art scene in China yet undertaken for a general New York audience. “K11 Art Foundation was proud to support The Armory Show's China Symposium, which inspired a cross-cultural artistic dialogue and explored complex ideas and trends in Chinese contemporary art today," said Adrian Cheng, founder of K11 Art Foundation. "The China Symposium and Armory Focus: China exhibition gave visitors a profound experience of the creative forces that are shaping the vibrant art scene in Greater China. These initiatives will continue inspiring us at the K11 Art Foundation as we carry forward our work to connect Chinese artists with the global art community." Zhang Di, Associated Director at White Space Gallery, Beijing, commented: “It was very exciting to be part of Armory Focus: China, it is not just the first time for us showing in America but the first time outside of Asia. Having the opportunity to introduce our Chinese artists to the established international collectors that the fair attracts is imperative for our gallery and its program.” Alexia Dehaene at MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai, added: “Our first year presenting MadeIn at a commercial art fair as part of China Focus has been extremely successful. We managed to sell all of the work by Xu Zhen, this year’s commissioned artist, and Lu Pingyuan within the first preview day.” Further on-site highlights included a limited edition art work benefitting The Museum of Modern Art by this year’s commissioned artist Xu Zhen, acclaimed internationally for his conceptual body of work that seeks to confront social-political taboos within the context of contemporary China and beyond. Venus Drawn Out: 20th Century Works by Great Women Artists: curated by Susan Harris, marked the first curated project to take place on Pier 92, presenting drawings made by female visionaries of the twentieth century. Open Forum, the thought-provoking series of conversations and panels organized by the New York-based curator Isolde Brielmaier, featured noteworthy roundtables that addressed current themes such as artist publishing, the role of women artists within today’s market, and the status of biennials. For the third year running, the fair was designed by Brooklyn-based architects Bade Stageberg Cox. Key enhancements included a refined floor plan, a more fluid connection between the Modern and Contemporary Piers, a fresh graphic identity designed by New York-based firm Our Man in Havana, and improved amenities and dining options. The Armory Show thanks its incredible list of partner organizations, with whom it presented an outstanding edition of Armory Arts Week. SPONSORS AND PARTNERS The Armory Show gratefully acknowledges its 2014 Sponsors and Partners including; American Express, the K11 Art Foundation, Artsy, Pommery, Uovo, Graff, Langham Place Hotels and Resorts, Ace Hotel, Hôtel Americano, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, JW Marriott Essex House, Hudson Hotel, Bade Stageberg Cox, Our Man In Havana, Brunswick Arts, LaForce Stevens, Prentice Art Communications, Roche Bobois, Tucker Robbins, Design Within Reach, Kartell, Flux, 12.29, Everlane, Boqueria, Mile End Deli, Breads Bakery, Ladurée, Turon Travel, UBER, Mango Sedans, TEKSERVE, ERBE Art Projects, The Museum of Modern Art, The New York Times, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Artforum, BLOUIN ARTINFO, ArtReview, and Patrick McMullan Company.  ### #fineartmagazine

VOLTA NY

MARCH 6-9, 2014 // 82MERCER, SOHO // VOLTASHOW.COM

VOLTA NY     NEW YORK (March 10, 2014). Over 20,000 attendees to VOLTA NY's seventh edition and second year in SoHo reconfirmed the fair's mission as a place of compelling contemporary discoveries within deeply insightful solo statements. "A solo project is a formidable risk for galleries at an art fair, even more so when the artist is almost unknown or the presentation is an entirely new or complex body of work. For that reason, I have to really give props to the galleries this year for going balls out and taking major risks with an air of confidence that is absolutely staggering," said Amanda Coulson, VOLTA's Artistic Director. VOLTA Artistic Director Amanda Coulson and Luis de Jesus (director of LUIS DE JESUS, Los Angeles) buss cheeks during the Thursday preview Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size    Indeed, confidence ruled the weekend, with galleries reaping the rewards of presenting brand-new -- and sometimes challengingly new -- bodies of work. This narrative was apparent for LUIS DE JESUS (Los Angeles), who returned to the New York fair after a year's absence with brilliant returns. The gallery's 2012 project with Zackary Drucker preceded the California performance artist and filmmaker's critically-acclaimed participation at this year's Whitney Biennial. At VOLTA NY, the gallery unveiled a significant new array of Margie Livingston's paint-object works, selling to a international clientele with a wait-list for further works. "We sold to a client who had been following her career and went for the new work," said Jay Wingate. Gallery assistant Rebecca Cuomo, manager Gavin Runzel, and director Lauren Licata lounge among artist Thrush Holmes' site specific booth installation of new paintings at Mike Weiss Gallery (New York). Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size  Other works by Livingston and booth artist Chris Barnard went to all new collectors from New York, Canada, and Switzerland, plus the dealers spent time with an adviser sent by MoMA's Young Collectors group.Mike Weiss Gallery (New York) went full-throttle in their installation especially conceived for the fair by young Toronto provocateur Thrush Holmes, unveiling an entirely new body of powdery-minimal canvases accented by neon slashes in cryptic hieroglyphics and universal insignia. By early afternoon Sunday, the gallery had moved a dozen of Holmes' paintings, each outfitted with fire extinguisher bases, at a range of $15,000 - $25,000 each to all new collectors. Down the corridor at Galerie Kornfeld (Berlin), the gallery clocked $25,000 in sales to collectors excited about young Romanian artistLeonardo Silaghi's "New York City restart" into full abstraction. "These are something that haven't existed before, so people are coming to see it," said dealer Giovanni De Sanctis. First-time exhibitor Shin Gallery (New York) soldHyon Gyon's newest work Provocateur II for $25,000 to a private New York collector. It was the young artist's first attempt at combining visceral paint with her eye-catching, impasto-like melted fabric media. Gallerist Hong-gyu Shin also noted strong interest from New York collectors in Hyon Gyon's massive triptych painting. There was a wellspring of discovery with projects by Africans, African-Americans, and artists of African descent at the fair. Beyond Wilmer Wilson IV's reprisal of his grueling durational performance From My Paper Bag Colored Heart to fair visitors on Saturday, his gallery CONNERSMITH. (Washington D.C.) registered strong sales for both documentation of Wilson's work and for booth artist Zoë Charlton's new suite of gouache and collaged works to international museums and private collectors. "Zoë's a role model and a leader in Baltimore and nationally for young artists," said gallery co-owner Jamie Smith. Nearby at NOMAD (Brussels), dealer Walter De Weerdt recalled a weekend reinstallation of Brooklyn-based Rwandan artist Duhirwe Rushemeza's vibrantly patterned acrylic and concrete reliefs, after selling the major installation work Imigongo #1 (Blue, White, Taupe, Ochre, and Brown) to a renowned collector from Israel, plus other works priced from $7,500 to over $12,500 and three more on hold to a German collector. "We've experienced great support from the African-American community," said De Weerdt, "and it is great to receive this kind of support." Rushemeza echoed her admiration of the fair, both in the friends she saw and new people she met. "It definitely provided me a different kind of exposure." Jack Bell (of his namesake London gallery) commented that, "It worked well to bring an artist who spoke the 'local language'," on exhibited artist Cullen Washington Jr, "people were familiar with his older work and were intrigued by his new body of it at VOLTA." The gallery sold abstract compositions from small-scale to massive at $5,000 - $13,000 range, and Bell added they were already thinking about projects for next year. "The weekend was very busy, from the stroller and family crowd to curatorial groups, and we had excellent conversations with everyone," enthused dealer Guido Maus (beta pictoris gallery, Birmingham AL), on his two-decade survey of seminal multidisciplinary artist Willie Cole. The gallery placed much of the booth, with works on hold to major institutions, plus Maus made many new southern stateside and European contacts. "What can I say?! I'm ecstatic... and exhausted!" John Cox, exhibiting artist with and founder of Popopstudios (Nassau) commented that, "Reaction has been extremely good and the exposure is crazy. I've been talking to people nonstop, so I'm exhausted in a good way." He pointed to encouragement about his 'everyday assemblage' oeuvre, in the gallery itself and its location in The Bahamas, and what is going on in the greater Caribbean in general. "Sales are good, but they aren't a huge part of our agenda at VOLTA. For the first few years, we're like the new kid in school, establishing our presence." Guido Maus (right-center: director of beta pictoris gallery, Birmingham AL) holds court in a busy mini-retrospective booth for artist Willie Cole, photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size The positive climate of serious visitors resonated with first-timers and returning galleries. Carol Sun of Identity Art Gallery (Hong Kong) was encouraged by the week. "My experience was 100 percent positive," she said, about her debut presence at VOLTA NY and in her Japanese artist Atsushi Tawa's mix of classical and ultra-modernist works. "People asked lots of good questions. They're curious about the artist and about the Hong Kong contemporary art scene." Second-time exhibitor FRED.GIAMPIETRO (New Haven, CT) sold six of Clare Grill's oil on linen paintings to a variety of clients, including a representative from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and a repeat client the gallery met in their inaugural VOLTA NY project last year. Next door at Hamiltonian Gallery (Washington DC), dealer Amanda Jiron-Murphy noted interest on Will Schneider-White's figurative acrylic on hemp and linen compositions commenting, "People who have liked Will's work have been really sensitive - not sure if you'd get that same sense from just any art fair." She was very happy with the overall experience and the gallery's first time at the fair. "The second time has been as good as the first," lauded Robert Walden, co-owner of robert henry contemporary (Brooklyn). The gallery sold multiple meticulous gouache, watercolor, and/or ink works on paper by Robert Lansden ($1,650 - $10,000) over the course of the weekend. "Also, we ran out of catalogue pages - they're content-rich, not just a pretty package, plus they include a represented artists list, so this is VOLTA NY supporting our full gallery program...and that's unusual for an art fair." Some exhibitors counted success over the entire run of the fair. Scaramouche (New York) noted heightening interest in New York-based artist Michael Bühler-Rose's cross-media oeuvre since opening day, moving three paintings from the artist's humorous series What the fuck and other questions (which utilize the word "fuck" in various phrases and colors to test the viewer's temperament) to different collectors, while a group of four photographs from the evocative portrait series Constructing the Exotic - featuring Western women in a traditional Hindu community - went to a private foundation in Florida, and two (of an edition of three) large-format portraits of The Chess Match to New York collectors. CES Contemporary sold one of Robert Larson's largest recycled packaging works on canvas ($10,000 approx.) to New York collectors, plus more large works on linen and several works on paper, including 10 works on paper during Friday alone. "It's been amazing on all levels," said the artist. "It's been significant. It's the start of a journey to a whole new place." CHARLIE SMITH LONDON (London) sold over half the booth and $14,000 approx. in total for Sam Jackson's petite-scale intense portraiture of underground London life. Works went to an international cast of collectors, including an art historian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a gallerist-collector from Colombia, with a potential exhibition offer there as well. Dealer Zavier Ellis commented on the constant, serious interest in Jackson's New York solo debut: "He's never had that many eyeballs anywhere else, really. It's great bringing someone so British, so London, with such an international response." Other highlights throughout the fair period included longtime exhibitor HilgerBROTKunsthalle (Vienna), who noted intense interest in mid-career pop-culture maven Daniele Buetti's work, selling the multi-part perforated lightbox photograph I'm Too Old For This Shit ($41,000) and additional interest in Buetti's related works and other series. "His titles are getting more critical, but it's a reflection of our times," commented director Michael Kaufmann. "It's not all just about beauty." Beers Contemporary (London) moved nearly all of Pawel Sliwinski's U.S. solo debut presentation of expressive mid-size and large-scale figurative paintings, while Anna Maria Brunnhofer (of Brunnhofer Galerie, Linz) noted significant curatorial and institutional interest in Elisabeth Sonneck's site-specific rolled oil on paper works and the possibility for commissions. First-time exhibitor Maki Fine Arts (Tokyo) sold several of Shu Ikeda's incised photographic works on Saturday evening, including the large-scale landscape Fragile Relationship, all to new clients. In addition to selling a large, textured painting by young Brooklyn-based artist Julian Lorber to a prominent New York collector, director Mindy Solomon (of her namesake Miami gallery) fielded requests from art consultants and advisers for both Lorber and mid-career sculptor Dominique Labauvie in possible future commissions. Charlie James Gallery (Los Angeles) sold one of Bay Area-based Iranian artist Ala Ebtekar's paintings ($30,000) and a print ($8,000) to collectors from Dubai and New York City while meeting many good curators throughout the fair.  Kim Dorland's presentation of new works with Angell Gallery (Toronto) Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size "Within the first hour of the fair, we made our first sale at an accessible entry point, and now we're closing with sales at the top end," said director Lisa de Simone of C24 Gallery (New York) on young Brooklyn-based Swiss artist Katja Loher's cutting-edge video-sculpture works, counting sales ranging from nearly $6,000 to just under $15,000 apiece. Nearby at TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY (Osaka), assistant director Chie Uchida was effusive over artist Satoru Tamura's large-scale North American debut. "This is the first time that we sold so many works in the first day of any art fair we've done, so we're really happy!" The gallery counted over $30,000 in emotive examples of Tamura's Machine and Point of Contact series to international institutions and collectors. Jamie Angell (director of his namesake Toronto gallery) found it "excellent to reconnect with clients familiar with Kim Dorland's earlier works," as the suite on view (particularly the dramatic salon-style installation curated by the critically acclaimed artist himself) was entirely new. The gallery had over $100,000 in sales before closing time. The stunning number of visitors to VOLTA NY this year was reflected in the consistency of high-quality guests, many of whom returned more than once, including: Susan and Michael Hort (New York collectors, returning from the Thursday preview); Eric Shiner (Director of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh); Mera Rubell (co-founder of the Rubell Family Collection, New York); Knight Landesman (Publisher of Artforum International); Lowery Stokes Sims (Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York); Alan and Rebecca Ross (Chairwoman of Detroit Institute of the Arts); Bill Arning (Director of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston); Dr. Livia Straus (co-founder of the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY); Serge Tiroche (Israel collector and co-founder of the Tiroche DeLeon Collection); Marty Margulies (Miami collector); Joel and Sherry Mallin (New York collectors); representatives from Diane von Furstenberg (New York-based fashion designer); Spike Jonze (prominent film director); plus many distinguished members of the press and other guests. ARC Magazine's panel at VOLTA NY 2014, featuring (from left) Holly Bynoe, Ian Deleon, Joiri Minaya, Blake Daniels, Olivia McGilchrist, and Jayson Keeling, photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size Special projects at this year's edition provided further potential for creative immersion. Culture Shock's (Brooklyn) fourth project with the fair, ULTRA VOLTA: The Spectrum of Ultra Violet provided just that sort of sensorial environment around Ultra Violet's multidisciplinary career. According to programmer Monica LoCascio, "Everyone is very interested in the work, in the artist Ultra Violet, and in us as an agency. Our intersection of art and technology is unique" in the context of both an art fair and the greater arts scene. 2014 Columbia University School of the Arts MFA candidate Pamela Council's slow-strut around the fair in Sweet Grace (presented by Kianga Ellis Projects, New York) enchanted the Sunday crowd with her sendup to both charismatic original Bishop Charles Manuel "Sweet Daddy" Grace and Council's own thoughts on soulful "Blaxidermy". Talks programming drew room-filling crowds and critical attention, from curator and UNTITLED Art Fair Artistic Director Omar Lopez-Chahoud's unmoderated roundtable On the Future of the Gallery (Exhibition), presented by 2014 Whitney Biennial participants Critical Practices Inc. (New York), whose co-founders and directors Saul Ostrow, Susan Bowman, and David Goodman joined artist-run podcast Bad At Sports (Chicago/New York) in a Bedside Chats interview prior to their discussion; and Caribbean arts journal ARC Magazine's reprisal presence at the fair, Metanoia - Practices of Exhaustion, moderated by Editor-in-Chief Holly Bynoe and Junior Editor/Curator Blake Daniels and featuring multidisciplinary pan-Caribbean artists Olivia McGilchrist, Jayson Keeling, Joiri Minaya, Ian Deleon, and VOLTA NY 2014 artist John Cox. "After a few years where the art world seemed to be schlepping through the doldrums, it was good to feel the old VOLTA spirit being re-birthed: dealers were hyped, risk-taking and generous with one another, the visitors were engaged, enthusiastic and effusive," Coulson added. "Going into our decade anniversary in Basel, the celebratory tone has certainly been set." ###    VOLTA NY 2014 DATES: Thursday, March 6 - Sunday March 9, 2014 LOCATION: 82MERCER / SoHo, New York between Spring & Broome Streets PRESS MEDIA KIT: Please download the VOLTA NY Press Media Kit HERE VOLTA10 2014 DATES: Monday, June 16 - Saturday, March 21, 2014 LOCATION: Markthalle Basel, Switzerland www.voltashow.com

#fineartmagazine

cutlog appoints A&O as PR Agency for Second Edition of New York Art Fair cutlog NY returns to the Clemente during Frieze Week: May 8-11, 2014

Press Contact: Lainya Magaña | A&O PR (p) 415.577.1275 | (e) lainya@aopublic.com

cutlog appoints A&O as PR Agency for Second Edition of New York Art Fair cutlog NY returns to the Clemente during Frieze Week: May 8-11, 2014 What: cutlog NY is pleased to announce the appointment of A&O PR to oversee marketing and public relations pertaining to the fair’s second edition, taking place during Frieze Week: May 8-11, 2014. Who: Approximately 50 international exhibitors will convene to present one or more works by cutting-edge contemporary artists selected by a jury of professionals. A selection of sculptures and installations will be displayed in the Clemente building and courtyard. A curated film and series of performances will be presented as an extension of the fair exhibitors’ booth presentations. Why: The fair aims to foster new relationships between galleries, collectors and art institutions, forming a collaborative platform for building new perspectives on contemporary art. cutlog NY aims to be a creative laboratory, showcasing works by artists from all over the world and offering them the opportunity to gain global visibility. A&O is a boutique agency to match the boutique fair, with bi-coastal affiliates and a nuanced understanding of the contemporary art world. The writers, publicists, and curators who collaborate on A&O campaigns leverage greater context for clients on the cutting edge of arts and culture. Where: 107 Suffolk Street, New York NY 10002 in the Clemente, a Dutch Neo-Gothic building and premier cultural venue on the Lower East Side. When: cutlog NY will return for its second edition May 8-11, 2014. For more information visit www.cutlog.org #fineartmagazine

VOLTA NY

MARCH 6-9, 2014 // 82MERCER, SOHO // VOLTASHOW.COM

VOLTA NY MARCH 6-9, 2014     NEW YORK (March 7, 2014). Like the art fair equivalent to a warming hot toddy against New York's lingering polar vortex, VOLTA NY opened its second year in SoHo with a resounding wave of red-hot sales. Thousands attended the preview and evening vernissage, double the number of last year's bustling SoHo debut. Quality was the word of the day, both in the selection of compelling projects in the fair's seventh iteration and in the collectors coursing through both floors. Julie Meneret Contemporary Art (New York) was thrilled. "This is my first fair, and I didn't expect such an overwhelming reaction," Meneret enthused, noting that she sold a range of Jin Joo Chae's melted chocolate and North Korean newspaper compositions (mostly $10,000 each). "I'm so happy!" she beamed. Tokyo gallery YUKI-SIS echoed the appreciation, as dealer Yuki Terashima commented that "visitors were totally different than who I've experienced at other fairs. Here they really want to buy. And the level of the fair is high and fresh." She sold two of Katsutoshi Yuasa's oil-based woodcuts on paper and met many new clients. Furthering strong sales in works on paper was first-time exhibitor STUDIO10 (Bushwick), who moved eight of Meg Hitchcock's small to medium-sized collaged-word works ($950-$2,300) to several collectors, with additional interest in her larger works. Dealer Larry Greenberg was pleased and "surprised by how engaged people were." Downstairs, Elana Brundyn of Cape Town mainstay BRUNDYN+ was heartened in "meeting new people nonstop, who had more than just the normal questions" in Mohau Modisakeng's powerful post-apartheid practice. The gallery sold an edition from the young South African artist's Inziloperformance video ($2,800) plus one monumental-scale photograph from Untitled Frames Series. Anthony Spinello of Spinello Projects (Miami) discusses works by Farley Aguilar with collector Michael Hort (New York) Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size Some galleries counted exceptionally brisk business.Jonathan LeVine Gallery (New York) had nearly sold out their entire booth of Chicago graf-alchemist Pose's pop-tastic acrylic and spraypaint compositions an hour into the preview. No doubt Pose's public mural on 188 Lafayette, created through the support of The L.I.S.A. Project NYC and completed just before the preview, drew additional attention to his booth works. MeanwhileHeike Strelow, of her namesake Frankfurt am Main gallery, was ecstatic after selling approximately $48,000 total in Florian Heinke's large and small-scale silkscreened canvases, mostly to major Los Angeles collections. "It was a bit mayhem," Anthony Spinello ofSpinello Projects (Miami) said with a sly grin, on the fair's first hour. He held court with collectors Susan and Michael Hort (New York), who bought half of Farley Aguilar's booth presentation, including large-scale oil on canvas paintings from the Nicaraguan artist's new series The Veil plus several earlier ink on mylar works. "The Horts wanted to see everything, of course, and their selections were dead-on," he added. Within another hour, he had sold the remainder of the booth to other clients. Two collectors immerse within Josh Dorman's four-panel work Mined Land (RYAN LEE, New York) Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size RYAN LEE counted great interest in Josh Dorman's fantastical antiqued ink and acrylic compositions, which channeled Bruegel and Bosch through a rosier spectrum, selling several medium-sized works and the four-panel Mined Land ($15,000 - $45,000 approx.) to a New York collector. Irina Protopopescu ofSLAG Gallery (Brooklyn) was all smiles upon moving Tim Kent's fractured interiors to New York and European collectors, including the show-stopping massive painting Of Numberless Pleasures ($17,000 approximately) and four canvases within the first two hours of the fair. Longtime exhibitor Pierre-François Ouellette (of his namesake Montreal gallery) was encouraged by response to John Player's bird's-eye-view paintings as well, selling seven works to a Costa Rican collector and a New York gallerist. "It is a compliment to me when a dealer buys from another dealer," Ouellette professed. "They have the selection of the whole world." Upstairs, FOLEY (New York) had an "excellent!" first day, selling 11 of Casey Ruble's petite cut-paper collaged scenes to three different private collectors, while Peter Hionas (of Hionas Gallery, New York) noted strong sales for Siri Berg's sublime tonal compositions. From the veteran color theorist'sRed Series, seven of nine of the panels had sold ($8,000 each), plus her classic 1974 canvas Phase 1 (Shadow) garnered major interest. "These are not easy pieces but the reaction has been amazing," enthused Jean-Michel Bourgeois ofGalerie Trois Points (Montreal) about Natalie Reis' viscous and intensely physical suite of works on canvas and paper. The gallery sold one rondo painting and clocked strong interest in Reis' massive diptych Happy Ending. Next door, MA2 Gallery (Tokyo) sold a range of Akihiro Higuchi's meticulous sculptures, both from his delicately painted entomological specimens to Higuchi's potent Buddha/Statue of Liberty antique hybrid Restore - Syncrestic Fusion of Shintoism and Buddhism ($12,000 approx.). Further down the corridor, LYNCH THAM noted great interest in their curated booth idea around Venice-based Argentinian artist Carolina Raquel Antich's storybook narrative, replete with a moss-edged floor. The gallery sold the porcelain sculpture Tent to "an amazing institutional collection" while fielding interest in Antich's acrylic on linen paintings, particularly the petite Drowsiness and the monumental Alla Deriva. Across the floor at MARC STRAUS (New York), all three of Jeffrey Gibson's mixed-media punching bags and both of his teddy-bear-sized figures sold ($62,000 - $72,000 each), while dealer Tim Hawkinson and team fielded strong interest from several public installation art advisers. First-time VOLTA NY participant Marianne Ibrahim-Lenhardt of M.I.A Gallery (Seattle) was both enchanted and sobered by collectors' reactions to her potent assembly of Senegalese master-artist Soly Cissé´s large-scale, deliriously colorful paintings. "People are very happy about this large painting, and its unusual size for an art fair. I'm like in Wonderland, so small in front of this big painting. But the important thing isn't about the size," of Cissé's works, "it is about creating more awareness on the creativity in Africa - in the end, size doesn't matter." Considering Cissé's career post-participating in the acclaimed international traveling group exhibition Africa Remix, the greater world is taking notice. In another artist´s New York City debut, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery (New Orleans) clocked over $70,000 in sales in Adam Mysock's amazing miniature paintings, with over half their booth sold in day one to the 21c Museum (Louisville, KY) and private collections locally and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Guido Mausof beta pictoris gallery (Birmingham, AL) reemphasized the caliber of visitors to VOLTA NY's seventh edition preview: "There are so many angles to the discussions," said Maus of his booth-sized mini-retrospective on seminal assemblage artist Willie Cole. "With these 25 years of Willie's work's on view, people want to interact with them and see both art-historic and the historic themes." He enthused about the "great, great interactions with many international curators, and with both young and very established collectors." Special projects at this year's fair added a deeper degree of excitement for SoHo guests. In addition toCONNERSMITH.'s (Washington D.C.) significant presentation of Zoë Charlton's new works in collage and gouache, the gallery featured the first of two durational performances by young D.C.-based artistWilson Wilson IV. His incredibly physical and intensely emotional performance From My Paper Bag Colored Heart attracted a crowd through its 90-plus-minute period, including Dorothy Moss (National Portrait Gallery), representatives from 21c Museum (Louisville, KY), Birmingham collectors, other exhibiting artists and many other guests. Wilson will restage this performance on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Upstairs, critically-acclaimed artist-run podcast Bad At Sports (Chicago/New York) experienced a thrilling first day, as co-founder Amanda Browder produced a color explosion of fabric and cushions that wrapped her own bed into the installation, a comfy staging ground for their ongoing Bedside Chats. Beyond the brief off-time routine, which Browder described as "people stopping by, jumping in bed, taking naps", the team spent the day interviewing VOLTA NY artists and gaining deeper impressions of their works at the fair. Browder was enamored by the scope of artists, "from Siri Berg (Hionas Gallery, New York) to Florian Heinke (Galerie Heike Strelow), we've been adding these ageless conversations to our archives." Wilmer Wilson IV (CONNERSMITH., Washington D.C.) performs From My Paper Bag Colored Heart to captivated preview guests, Photo by: David Willems, click on the image for full size A superlative contingent of collectors and critics attend VOLTA NY's 2014 preview, including: Dorothy Moss (Associate Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C.); Jonathan Shaughnessy(Curator of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa); Jeffreen M. Hayes, PhD. (Director of Theaster Gates' Rebuild Foundation, Chicago/St. Louis/Omaha); Janet Dees (Assistant Curator at SITE Santa Fe); Dawn Cain (Curator at the Bank of Montreal); Susan and Michael Hort (New York collectors); Russell Simmons (Co-founder of Def Jam and founder of Phat Farm, New York) Carole Server and Oliver Frankel (New York collectors); John Friedman (New York collector); Alain Servais(Belgian collector); Keri Christ and Justin Ockenden (New York collectors); Susan Goodman and Rod Lubeznik (New York collectors); Jarl and Pamela Mohn(Los Angeles collectors); Gail and Stanley Hollander (Los Angeles collectors); Sue Stoffel (New York art advisor and collector); Ann Fensterstock(New York art advisor and collector); JoAnn Gonzalez Hickey (New York collector); Steve Shane (New York collector); representatives from the 21c Museum (Louisville, KY); the entire creative team of David Yurman (New York luxury jeweler); plus members of the press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Hyperallergic, and CosmoArteTV, and other distinguished guests. A representative from Twitter toured during the afternoon, commenting that the ubiquitous social newsfeed entity was interested in emerging art and felt VOLTA NY was the best place to find it. The convivial vibe continued through the evening vernissage, as guests filtered between both floors,AVERNA cocktails in hand served expertly by local mixologist mainstay Tad Carducci of The Tippling Bros. A buying spirit accompanied the poured ones, as Peter Makebish (of his eponymous New York space) courted a marathon of late-hour action, selling one of Houstonian Geoff Hippenstiel's enormous oil and wax compositions while balancing four holds on another brilliant bluish canvas and multiple interest in Hippenstiel's two others. The ton of Instagram selfies in front of a particularly transfixing opalescent painting encapsulated the enlivened vernissage vibe. And while Bad At Sports co-founderRichard Holland's specially-made art fair defense kits (marshmallow guns) were at the ready in their installation just up the corridor, their deployment during the fair was all in good spirits. ### ESSENTIAL INFORMATION 2014: DATES: Thursday, March 6 - Sunday March 9, 2014 PUBLIC HOURS: Friday - Saturday, March 7-8, 10 am - 8 pm Sunday, March 9, 10 am - 5 pm LOCATION: 82MERCER / SoHo, New York between Spring & Broome Streets SHUTTLES: A complimentary shuttle bus will run between VOLTA NY and The Armory Show from Thursday through Sunday daily.  PUBLIC TRANSPORT: C and E trains to Spring Street 6 train to Spring Street N and R trains to Prince Street    ADMISSION: General Admission  $15 Students  $10 Groups (10+)  $10 VOLTA NY + The Armory Show Dual Pass  $50 www.voltashow.com

#fineartmagazine

The Armory Show 2014

Artsy is the exclusive host of The Armory Show 2014 online. Explore the fair, collect works, and save your favorite artists, artworks, and galleries at artsy.net/the-armory-show. New exhibitors and artworks are added daily. Before you stop by the fair, download the Artsy app for iPhone - your personalized guide to The Armory Show. It will map the fair, pinpointing your favorites, and suggest related artworks and information such as artist bios and price (where available). It will even show what's popular at the fair, updated in real-time. Artsy is the premier online platform for finding, learning about, and collecting art via cutting-edge technology, featuring over 100,000 works from over 1,500 renowned galleries and 200 museums and foundations around the world. It is the leading online destination for browsing artworks and exhibitions and offers comprehensive coverage of top international art fairs. Visit The Armory Show 2014 on Artsy at artsy.net/the-armory-show. #fineartmagazine