Start here for Part 1 of this series. It provides some background and explanation for what’s going on in these lists.
Weinstein Gallery (here): Vera Lutter, $12000. This image (and the others in the series on the wall nearby) has some visual kinship with Kertész’ famous picture, but introduces Lutter’s own signature reversed out aesthetic to the composition.
David Zwirner (here): James Welling, $20000. Welling was fortunate to receive a solo show in such a prominently placed booth, right in front of the fair entrance. A pair of these stark black and white abstractions (that look almost like industrial girders) hung on the outside wall.
Catherine Edelman Gallery (here): Keliy Anderson-Staley, $1000-4400 each. This installation of modern tintype portraits was striking and personal. Proof that the use of an antique process need not seem old timey or preciously retro.
Weston Gallery (here): Paul Strand, $65000. Down in the weeds Strand is always worth a deliberate inspection.
Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc. (here): Julia Margaret Cameron, POR. An iconic portrait, one of the true greats in the history of the medium. Rich, haunting, and penetrating. I didn’t need to ask the price.
Laurence Miller Gallery (here): Ray K. Metzker, $125000. While nearly all of Metzker’s composites are astonishing, this car and lamp image layers light and shadow into a gentle rhythm.
Gallery 19/21 (here): Mario Giacomelli, $9000. This looking straight down image by Giacomelli recalls Moholy-Nagy, with buildings flattened into tiny squares.
Paul M. Hertzmann Inc. (here): Imogen Cunningham, $150000. This was the best Cunningham floral at the fair. Irises aren’t always exciting, but this one has a richness and luminosity that is extraordinary.
Staley-Wise Gallery (here): Richard Avedon, $30000. How to add motion to an otherwise static composition – the lively poof of Jean Shrimpton’s hair.
Contemporary Works/Vintage Works (here): Raoul Ubac, POR. I haven’t seen many Ubac prints so it was a treat to see this clashing, overlapped, solarized nude, the bodies seemingly all cut up and smashed together in a chaotic muddle.
Stephen Bulger Gallery (here): André Kertész, $4800, $35000, and $4800. An important reminder to keep those artist greeting cards.
Brancolini Grimaldi (here): Heidi Specker, £10000. Rough rock walls, flattened into texture and edges, or a hint of Siskind in a modern form.
ClampArt (here): Mark Morrisroe, $27500. Morrisroe’s sandwich negative tribute to Diane Arbus, a lonely bird in a murky fog.
Robert Mann Gallery (here): Mike Mandel, $4000 each. A fun series of car window portraits, full of goofy faces and genuine warmth.
Continue to Part 5 here.
