Back to School in the Art World: The Fall Season Unveils New Exhibitions
The art world is once again bustling with activity as the fall season kicks off, traditionally marked by a surge of new exhibitions. This year, the landscape has evolved to include art fairs that have strategically aligned their schedules with the inaugural wave of gallery and museum openings. One of the standout events is The Armory Show, now in its third fall iteration at the Javits Center. This mega-fair showcases an impressive 225 galleries from 35 different countries, a significant evolution from its modest beginnings in 1994 when artworks were displayed atop beds at the Gramercy Hotel. Remarkably, even mega-fairs are now subject to larger market dynamics; in July, London-based Frieze acquired both The Armory Show and Expo Chicago.
This year’s Armory Show offers more than just art for sale; it features a curriculum of live talks, offsite installations, and a curatorial leadership summit, giving it the feel of an academic conference. Yet, at its core, the fairs continue to prioritize commerce and the enhancement of market values. As a result, there is no shortage of paintings, a consistently popular commodity in the art market. This year’s fair draws on the rich influences of Surrealism and Cubism, with figurative painting taking center stage. Amidst the plethora of artworks available for purchase, some booths tell extraordinary stories and provide deep insights into the artists’ backgrounds. While last year leaned heavily towards Latin American artists, this year’s exhibition features a strong presence of Indigenous artists, providing a truly global overview of contemporary art. Here are several noteworthy booths that deserve attention, whether you’re a serious collector or just browsing.
Noteworthy Booths and Artists
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Jean Shin (Platform, 11)
Jean Shin’s installation titled “Huddled Masses” (2020), presented by Boston’s Praise Shadows Art Gallery, features three striking outcroppings inspired by scholar’s rocks found in Zen gardens. However, upon closer inspection, the rock formations are encrusted with mobile phones from the last two decades, intertwined with a tangle of computer cables. While traditional scholar’s rocks and Zen gardens are associated with mental and spiritual clarity, Shin prompts viewers to reflect on the issue of e-waste and the challenges of finding mindfulness in an age dominated by constant distraction.
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Artists Space (Booth N10)
At the nonprofit Artists Space, Drake Carr creates an inviting atmosphere with a booth designed to resemble a cozy, capsule-sized New York apartment. Carr’s artistic practice typically revolves around what he calls “Housecalls,” where he draws and paints his subjects within their personal spaces. Invited portrait sitters bring items that hold personal significance, enriching the narrative of each piece. Carr’s inspiration often stems from the fashion industry, exploring how clothing choices shape identity and community.
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56 Henry (Booth P36)
Nearby, LaKela Brown’s work at 56 Henry Gallery employs sly humor to honor and memorialize African American history and hip-hop culture. Her sculptures and wall reliefs, crafted from stark white plaster and resin, depict corn, okra, collard greens, and jewelry such as chunky “door knocker” earrings. By titling her pieces “African/American Still Life,” Brown cleverly references art history while also delivering a deadpan commentary, as if the vibrancy of life has been drained from the vegetables.
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Patel Brown (Booth F12)
A striking humanoid figure crawls out of the Canadian gallery Patel Brown’s booth, created by artists Marigold Santos and Rajni Perera. Made from polymer clay, synthetic hair, and other materials, this giant earth-toned creature wears a mask, or perhaps its face is a mask itself. The sculpture evokes deities and mythological figures from the artists’ respective cultures (Santos hails from the Philippines while Perera is from Sri Lanka) and reflects transformative experiences such as motherhood. Through their work, the artists create new, hybrid “Indigenous” sprites and spirits, drawing inspiration from both imagined and real histories.
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Zielinsky (Booth F28)
Among the impressive historical presentations is a series of performance photographs by Brazilian artist Vera Chaves Barcellos, showcased at the Barcelona gallery Zielinsky within the Focus section curated by Candice Hopkins. Barcellos’s “On Ice” (1978) captures artists Flávio Pons and Cláudio Goulart gracefully gliding on a frozen lake in Amsterdam, while her “Keep Smiling” (1977) features a grid of photographs of the artist and her friends adorned with identification tags. This project serves as a poignant commentary on survival during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
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Nature Morte (Booth 218)
Nature Morte, a respected New Delhi gallery founded by American artist Peter Nagy, presents a well-curated selection of artists that showcases the burgeoning scene in India. Of particular note is Sagarika Sundaram’s exquisite wall hanging, “Iris” (2023), made from wool, silk, and bamboo silk. As fiber arts gain recognition alongside ceramics and other traditionally labeled “craft” media, Sundaram’s lush composition mimics the delicate folds of a flower. This piece exemplifies why handcrafted textile works resonate in a time when “software” is often associated with cold and digital aesthetics.
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Fridman Gallery (Booth F15)
As a self-proclaimed fan of Milford Graves, I must highlight his work at Fridman Gallery. The late jazz percussionist and artist, who also taught at Bennington, was a visionary who developed his own martial art called Yara, combining elements of African dance, the Lindy Hop, and the movements of the praying mantis. His assemblage piece, “Bikongo-Ifá: Spirit of the Being” (2020), features tabla drums, an acupuncture model, an African Nkondi figure, and computer monitors displaying heart readings, among other intriguing elements. Graves’s work is paired with that of Remy Jungerman, whose collage-paintings intertwine patterns from Surinamese Maroon culture with modernist designs.
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Ingleby Gallery (Booth 419)
Ingleby Gallery of Edinburgh presents vibrant paintings by Lorna Robertson, which stand out for their boldness and playfulness. These large canvases blend a century and a half of revolutionary art movements, incorporating elements of Impressionism, Expressionism, Symbolism, and feminist perspectives. The result is an engaging, colorful experience that invites viewers in while also presenting a dynamic artistic dialogue.
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Maruani Mercier (Booth 401)
The representation of Black figures in figurative painting has surged in recent years, with Kwesi Botchway’s dramatic “Flower Boy” (2023) series exemplifying this trend. Displayed at the Belgian gallery Maruani Mercier, Botchway’s paintings juxtapose dark skin tones against deep red backgrounds, with the subject holding delicate sprays of flowers. The young man in the artwork exudes a sense of peace while also conveying a more intense emotional complexity, reflecting the paradoxes of youth and the broader discourse on race and representation.
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Charlie James Gallery (Booth S8)
Narsiso Martinez, an artist born in Oaxaca and now based in California, presents his poignant paintings on cardboard boxes at Charlie James Gallery. Focusing on farmworkers, his work highlights their humanity and individuality. Martinez intertwines art-historical references, such as the halos seen in religious paintings, with golden barcodes framing his subjects’ heads. His still-life compositions, which often serve as a tribute to the laborers, are painted on shipping boxes for bananas, adding an element of absurdity to his heartfelt activism.
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Martin Art Projects (Booth P27)
Sudan-born, Cairo-based artist Salah Elmur captivates with his haunting Cubo-Surrealist paintings displayed at Martin Art Projects in Cape Town. Drawing from an extensive family archive of approximately 20,000 photographs collected by his father, a photographer in Khartoum, Elmur often utilizes “degraded” photos characterized by double exposures and imperfections. His painting “Red and White Rose” (2023) is accompanied by a corresponding photograph of two women, creating an oasis of calm and connection amidst the tumult of both personal and global narratives.
The Armory Show Details
The Armory Show opens to the public from Friday through Sunday at the Javits Center, located at 429 11th Avenue, Manhattan. For more information, visit thearmoryshow.com.