Photography at the 2012 Frieze New York Art Fair, Part 1 of 3

In a single audacious shot across the bow, Frieze New York has decisively, at least in my mind, challenged the Armory as the king of the local contemporary art fairs. There is no changing the visual overload or the wearying onslaught of “merch” inherent at such a place, but the organizers have at least made a real attempt to get the surrounding details right. The overall art-seeing experience in meaningfully better: the halls are wider and less cramped, the booths are roomier and more open, and the light is bright and airy. Even when the fair got more crowded and the sun came out to raise the temperature and cook the occupants during my visit Friday, every few yards a blast of arctic air conditioning would whoosh up from a grate under my feet for a shuddering moment of relief.

Photography-wise, the key thing to note about this fair is that there are NO photography specialist galleries included. Not one. So the available photography is broadcast throughout the fair population like tiny seeds, to be searched out and discovered amidst the rest of the contemporary art. There are also very few secondary market photographic trophies on offer (unlike the parade of Shermans in seemingly every booth at the Armory). This is first and foremost a primary market show, with galleries and dealers showing (for the most part) the work they represent.

For each gallery below (grouped by color coded section, starting near the North entrance), I’ve listed the photographers/artists with work on view, with the number of images on display in parentheses. In some specific cases where something caught my eye, I’ve added additional information, pricing (watch for different currencies), and installation shots (found in the slideshow).

Simon Lee Gallery (here): Hans-Peter Feldmann (1 set of 70). A classic of 1970s conceptual ordering, showing the entire wardrobe of a woman, from shirts on hangers to pairs of shoes. Priced at €35000.

Team Gallery (here): Sam Samore (2), Cory Arcangel (1), Ryan McGinley (6). Death at the foot of a playground slide never looked so wacky and offbeat (Samore’s 1973 image from The Suicidist, priced at $20000.)

Team Gallery (here): Sam Samore (2), Cory Arcangel (1), Ryan McGinley (6). In a side room painted yellow/orange, a series of new cut photo collages by McGinley has a small solo show. The works are densely covered in his signature young men and women, Xacto knifed into a exuberant sea of tiny faces and bodies; this one was priced at $35000 and already sold.

Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle (here): Thomas Ruff (2), Thomas Struth (2), Candida Hofer (1), Goshka Macuga (1). A all-over composition of pipes and pumps by Struth, from his recent series of scientific labs and facilities, priced at €85000.

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (here): Uta Barth (1), Gillian Wearing (1), Phil Collins (1 set of 32). Wearing as a creepy rubber masked August Sander, priced at £35000.

Tomio Koyama Gallery (here): Mika Ninagawa (4). Ninagawa’s unorthodox use of vibrant color continues to astonish. From her recent series Noir, priced at $1200.

Harris Lieberman (here): Matt Saunders (2), Lisa Oppenheim (3). The delicate lace photogram gets an update by Oppenheim, folded over again and again into a layered progression of increasing complexity. One from the recent series of five, priced at $6500.

Galerie Sfeir-Semler (here): Wael Shawky (8), Akram Zaatari (1), Yto Barrada (1). A haunting set of portraits of crusader puppets by Shawky, priced at €6000 each.

Almine Rech Gallery (here): Taryn Simon (3), Curtis Mann (1). Unlike Mann’s previous bleached images, in this recent work, he has scraped thin wavy lines across the surface of the emulsion in a completely abstract striped design, a bit reminiscent of Marco Breuer. Priced at $8800.

Lehmann Maupin (here): Robin Rhode (1 set of 12). I’m a big fan of Rhode’s set piece wall drawings. Here cartoon chairs and a curled piece of white tubing provide the raw materials for a flip book story. Priced at $70000, with a solo show at the gallery coming in 2013.

Altman Siegel (here): Trevor Paglen (3). A long exposure image of the striated trails of dead satellites and space junk flying across the nighttime sky. Priced at $12000.

Galerie Lelong (here): Alfredo Jaar (1 set of 5, 1 set of 3), Helio Oiticica (3), Cildo Meireles (1), Ana Mendieta (2). A Mendieta mud sculpture, printed large and priced at $75000.

Blue Section

Wilkinson Gallery (here): Anna Parkina (3), Laurie Simmons (1), Jimmy DeSana (1)

Anton Kern Gallery (here): Anne Collier (1)

Art:Concept (here): Jeremy Deller (1)

Galerija Gregor Podnar (here): Ion Grigorescu (1), B. Wurtz (1, with paired sculptural object)

Friedrich Petzel Gallery (here): Robert Heinecken (9)

Anthony Reynolds Gallery (here): Paul Graham (1 diptych, 3)

Green Section

Hauser & Wirth (here): Roni Horn (1), Rodney Graham (1 diptych)

Galleri Nicolai Wallner (here): Joachim Koester (6)

The Approach (here): Lisa Oppenheim (4), John Stezaker (1 set of 3 collages, 3 collages)

Timothy Taylor Gallery (here): Susan Hiller (1 set of 9)

Galerie Jocelyn Wolff (here): Guillaume Leblon (1)

Broadway 1602 (here): Penny Slinger (2 collages)

Air de Paris (here): Sturtevant (5), Jospeh Grigley (3)

Galerie Thaddeus Ropac (here): Robert Mapplethorpe (2), Gilbert & George (1 set of 9)

Taka Ishii Gallery (here): Yuki Kimura (1)

Annet Gelink Gallery (here): Wilfredo Prieto (1), Yael Bartana (1 diptych), Ryan Gander (1)

Sies+Höke (here): Kris Martin (1 set of 10), Etienne Chambaud (1 set of 3)

Andrew Kreps Gallery (here): Goshka Macuga (1), Roe Ethridge (4)

Miguel Abreu Gallery (here): Liz Deschenes (2), Eileen Quinlan (3), Pamela Rosenkranz (1)

Continue to Part 2 here.

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Read more about: Ana Mendieta, Curtis Mann, Gillian Wearing, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Lisa Oppenheim, Mika Ninagawa, Robin Rhode, Ryan McGinley, Sam Samore, Thomas Struth, Trevor Paglen, Wael Shawky, Air de Paris, Almine Rech Gallery, Altman Siegel Gallery, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Annet Gelink Gallery, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, Anton Kern Gallery, Art: Concept, Broadway 1602, Petzel Gallery ~ 456 West 18th, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Galerie Lelong, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Galerija Gregor Podnar, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Harris Lieberman, Hauser & Wirth, Lehmann Maupin, Miguel Abreu Gallery, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Sies + Höke Galerie, Simon Lee Gallery, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Team Gallery, The Approach, Timothy Taylor Gallery, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Wilkinson Gallery, Frieze New York

One comment

  1. dick edmond /

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