IFPDA Print Fair Is the Only Place to Buy Affordable Art in New York

New York Print Week is here.

Idris Khan, Tower Bridge from "London, 2015," a set of five platinum-palladium prints.
Photo: courtesy Alan Cristea.

Last night marked the opening of the annual print fair from the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA), the tentpole event of New York Print Week.

A wide range of work is on offer from the fair’s 89 exhibitors, from pricey prints by Old Masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn (take a peek at a copy of Albrecht DĂĽrer‘s iconic St. Jerome in His Study at David Tunick Art), to brand new pieces, like the giant, colorful print that Beatriz Milhazes turned out at Pennsylvania’s Durham Press just a few weeks ago, during a week-long visit to the print shop ahead of her recent opening at James Cohan gallery.

Beatriz Milhazes, <em>Dália Purpura (Purple Dahlia)</em> (2015). Photo: courtesy Durham Press.

Beatriz Milhazes, Dália Purpura (Purple Dahlia) (2015).
Photo: courtesy Durham Press.

There are mini exhibitions, such as “Japanese Masters of Landscape: Hiroshige, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Kawase Hasui” at California’s Egenolf Gallery, and a selection of works by Tal R at Carolina Nitsch featuring his striking new “Almanach 67” prints.

Utagawa Hiroshige, <em>Province Awa: Whirlpool at Naruto</em> (1853). Photo: Egenolf Gallery.

Utagawa Hiroshige, Province Awa: Whirlpool at Naruto (1853).
Photo: Egenolf Gallery.

There’s even the unexpected mash-up of old and new: At Ohio’s Thomas French Fine Art, a large selection of Old Master works and Japanese prints were joined by contemporary work by Don Joint. His “Ekphrasis” series incorporates prints from Renaissance artist Paolo Uccello, reinterpreting Uccello’s The Profanation of the Host paintings in new multimedia works of oil paint, marble, and collage.

Don Joint <em>After Uccello, The Profanation of the Host, A Woman Redeems Her Cloak</em> (2015). Photo: Courtesy Thomas French Fine Art.

Don Joint After Uccello, The Profanation of the Host, A Woman Redeems Her Cloak (2015).
Photo: Courtesy Thomas French Fine Art.

The opening also incorporated performance art, as unlikely as it might seem for a print fair, with Mike Bidlo making “Sculture viventi” (or living sculptures) at the World House Editions booth in a reenactment of Piero Manzoni‘s 1961–62 Carta d’autenticità performances.

For newbie art collectors with small budgets, there are bargains to be had. Big name artists such as John Baldessari, whose graphic prints of Karl Lagerfeld and scenes from New York Fashion Week are selling for $7,500 at Gemini G.E.L., and Shepard Fairey, with work at Pace Prints beginning at $13,000, can be bought at relatively low prices.

Shigeki Kuroda, Em>Deep Yellow</em>. Photo: Verne Gallery.

Shigeki Kuroda, Em>Deep Yellow.
Photo: Verne Gallery.

For true steals, don’t miss Cleveland’s Verne Collection, where Japanese prints start at just $45, for 20th century calendar pages by Keisuke Serizawa.

Jake and Dinos Chapman with Kate Moss, "Story of the Eye" (2015). Photo: courtesy Pauper Prints.

Jake and Dinos Chapman with Kate Moss, “Story of the Eye” (2015). Photo: courtesy Pauper Prints.

Other interesting works include “Story of the Eye” a collaborative series ($12,000) by Jake and Dinos Chapman and fashion model Kate Moss created during a one-day session at London’s Paupers Press. “She was given by the Chapman brothers on how to make eyes, and she sat and made eyes all day,” the studio’s Michael Taylor told artnet News.

Robert Motherwell, Black with No Way Out (1983). Photo: Bernard Jacobson Gallery.

Robert Motherwell, Black with No Way Out (1983).
Photo: Bernard Jacobson Gallery.

One thing you can’t get? Pace Prints’ new edition of Jean-Michel Basquiat prints. “It’s all sold out,” director Jeff Bergman told artnet News of the 60 copies of Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars released last month. The limited run was snapped up in just one day.

Watch some video highlights of the fair:

The IFPDA Print Fair is on view at the Park Avenue Armory at East 67th Street and Park Avenue, November 4–8, 2015. 


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