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frieze art fair new york

Posted in art, art collecting, art fair, installation, london, painting, photography, sculpture by cheapandplastique on May 15, 2012

Went to the Frieze Art Fair NY last Monday and have just finally had the time to go through the images that I shot and think more about what I saw.

A lot of folk like to hate on the art fair but I honestly enjoy them. Yes, they are usually situated in a pretty sterile environment for art viewing (but aren’t most galleries in a similar situation too?), they are generally overcrowded (but not on an off day like Monday!!!), & too hot, with a lack of refreshments. But, despite these negative aspects, it is pretty great to see such a variety of artwork, from an international roster of artistes, and only have to devote a few hours of my life to the effort—no need to fly to Switzerland, Germany, China, or Estonia (although if I had the time and money I would do that as well)!

It was fantastic to see my favorite galleries from London right here in NYC (and much easier to navigate here, in the tent, than in Londontown!) Every year I discover many galleries from Berlin and elsewhere that I have never heard of before, who end up on my list of galleries to monitor on the web. These discoveries help me when gathering information and looking for new artists for future issues of Cheap & Plastique. Seeing all of these non-NYC galleries also helps me to keep an open mind and gain a broader perspective on what is happening in the art world internationally, not just here in New York City. And I do tend to prefer what the international galleries have on offer.

So, yes, I was pretty psyched about the addition of Frieze to the art fair frenzy in NYC.
And I was especially glad that they decided to throw the art party on a weekend other than Armory Week, which is always too crazy, with too much to do and too many fairs to try to get oneself to! Frieze, please come back next year!

Here are some of the works that stood out to me:

Going on Monday versus the weekend was a really good idea, minus that waiting for the ferry was kinda crappy with lots of rain and wind.