With summer all but behind us, art-loving New Yorkers returning from their sojourns in the Hamptons, Aspen, and other tony destinations have a packed schedule this week thanks to the second September edition of the Armory Show and its assorted satellite fairs. And, for the first time since March 2020, these events will take place largely without mandatory health and safety requirements (although an N95 mask is still probably a good idea at crowded indoor events).

Without further ado, here’s what going on this week…

The Armory Show
September 8–11, 2022

The Armory Show at the Javits Center. Photo courtesy of the Armory Show.

Where: Javits Center, 429 11th Avenue

When: VIP Preview Day, Thursday, September 8, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; public opening Friday, September 9, 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, September 10, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, September 11, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Admission: $55 general admission

What to Know: Compared to many fairs, the Armory Show had a fairly easy time of it over the last two-and-a-half years, opening just before lockdown in 2020 with a plan already in place to delay the next edition for about 18 months. Now, for the event’s second outing at the Javits Center, European galleries are back in full force, after around a quarter of participants had to remain virtual in 2021 due to travel restrictions.

The 247 exhibitors will be split between six sections, including ones for solo artist presentations, nonprofit organizations, and emerging dealers who have been in business 10 years or less. Outside, Armory Off-Site will bring public art to various sites across the city, including the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, Queens. There will also be work by Juan Capistrán in Bella Abzug Park, Adam Parker Smith at Ruth Wittenberg Triangle, Tomokazu Matsuyama at Flatiron Plaza, and Carolina Caycedo on Times Square’s digital billboards for the nightly Midnight Moment.

This year’s fair also introduces Armory Spotlight, a new program giving one New York cultural institution a year a free booth at the fair. The inaugural honoree is beloved experimental art and performance nonprofit the Kitchen. Founded in 1971, the Kitchen will open its archives for the fair, revisiting important artist projects from across its five-decade-plus history.

Health and Safety: Neither proof of vaccination nor face masks are required.

Independent Art Fair
September 8–11, 2022

Paul Gardère, Giverny Revisited (1997). Courtesy of Soft Network, Estate of Paul Gardère, and Independent New York.

Where: Cipriani South Street at the Battery Maritime Building, 10 South Street

When: VIP preview, Thursday September 8, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; public opening Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, September 11: 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Admission: $60 general admission

What to Know: The Independent Art Fair is taking a stab at holding two New York fairs per year—one for contemporary work, and a new fall edition dedicated solely to 20th-century art, melding the overlooked and under-appreciated with the already-canonized names. (The latter is an attempt to try a similar model to TEFAF, which last year scrapped its fall fair for historical art and antiques in favor of focusing on Modern and contemporary art in the spring.)

Compared to the sprawling Armory Show, the new Independent should prove a manageable affair, with just 70 artists presented by 32 galleries. Among the unfamiliar names ripe for (re)discovery are the late Haitian-born American artist Paul Gardère, presented by New York nonprofit Soft Network; and feminist writer Kate Millett, who is showing drawings and furniture from the late ’70s with Salon 94 Design New York.

The fair is returning to its 2021 venue at the Cipriani South Street in the Battery Maritime Building ferry terminal, a historic Beaux-Arts building with gorgeous views of New York Harbor.

Health and Safety: Neither proof of vaccination nor face masks are required.

Spring/Break Art Show
September 7–12, 2022

“Buket Savci: Wrong Side of the River (Pink Room)” curated by Maria de Los Angeles at Spring/Break Art Show. Photo by Sammy Sachs, courtesy of Spring/Break Art Show.

Where: 625 Madison Avenue

When: Wednesday, September 7, collectors preview, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and VIP preview night, 5 p.m.–8 p.m.; Thursday, September 8–Monday, September 12, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.

Admission: $36 general admission

What to Know: A delightful upstart-turned Armory Week mainstay, this beloved fair founded and directed by artist couple Andrew Gori and Ambre Kelly turns 10 this year, believe it or not. In celebration of the anniversary edition, Spring/Break will work its magic at the former Ralph Lauren offices on Madison Avenue for the third straight year. Over 110 curated projects will transform dull cubicles into thoughtful displays, many of which will feature fantastical, over-the-top art installations.

Undoubtedly the best New York City fair at which to snap up emerging artists at reasonable price points before they hit it big, Spring/Break always has an overarching curatorial theme. This year it’s “Naked Lunch,” which Gori and Kelly envision as an exploration of the present moment as a kind of neo-Renaissance, with a return to nature and a focus on the body and figuration, contrasted with the ongoing forces of political and cultural struggle.

Health and Safety: Masks recommended regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination not required.

Art on Paper
 September 8–11, 2022

Art on Paper. Photo by Brandi Redd, courtesy of Art on Paper.

Where: Pier 36, 299 South Street

When: Thursday, September 8, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, September 11: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Admission: $25 general admission

What to Know: Experience Modern and contemporary paper-based art from 100 international galleries at the eighth edition of this medium-driven affair. In addition to traditional booths, the fair will include a suite of large-scale innovative public projects, all by women artists. Highlights will include Memory Tourist, an installation of paper-pulp mobiles by Yuko Nishikawa’s from New York’s Cynthia Corbett Gallery.

Other presentations speak to current events, like Ukrainian CCTV engineer and photographer Oleksii Kyrychenko’s photographs, taken on the eve of war, of his nine-year-old daughter armed with a rifle and lollipop, on view with San Francisco’s Electric Works. And for Accola Griefen Fine Art, Bang Geul Han has hand woven controversial legal documents such as Supreme Court opinions and state laws on immigration and reproductive rights into a series of tapestries titled “Warp and Weft.”

Health and Safety: Masks recommended regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination not required.

Clio Art Fair
September 8–11

Erika Ehrman, Mister Mister. Courtesy of Clio Art Fair.

Where: 550 West 29th Street

When: VIP preview, Thursday, September 8, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; public opening Friday, September 9, 12 p.m.–8 p.m., Saturday, September 10, networking brunch 12 p.m.–2 p.m., public hours 2 p.m.–8 p.m., and Sunday, September 11, networking brunch 12 p.m.–2 p.m., public hours 2 p.m.–6 p.m.

Admission: Free on Friday, $20 general admission over the weekend

What to Know: Back for its 13th edition, Clio bills itself as the “anti-fair for independent artists,” providing a much-needed showcase for artists from around the world who lack gallery representation. This time around, the fair is presenting a special program curated by Asya Rotella. Featuring artists Erika Ehrman, Formento and Formento, and Jay Martin, among others, it will explore our relationship to a dependency on screens.

Health and Safety: Neither proof of vaccination nor face masks are required.