Reshuffling Its Roster, New York’s Independent Art Fair Will Have Nearly 40 Percent New Exhibitors in 2018

Half of the dealers are planning to show all-women booths.

Independent New York, showing the booth of Perrotin, Paris/New York. Photo: Henri Neuendorf.

The Independent has released the exhibitor list for its 2018 New York fair—and dedicated attendees will, as usual, be in for a surprise. While most fairs maintain a somewhat similar lineup each year, Independent prefers turnover. Next year, 19 of the 50 galleries will be showing at the fair for the very first time.

“The idea is just to keep the conversation animated,” Matthew Higgs, the fair’s curatorial adviser, told artnet News. Some 200 dealers have participated in Independent over the years, but the fair firmly believes that less is more and has committed to including just 50 galleries in each edition.

Some of the newcomers are participating this year because the ADAA Art Show, which normally conflicts with Independent, is opening a week earlier this year, ahead of other Armory Week stalwarts. For the first time, galleries including Cheim & Read and Leslie Tonkonow are able to take part in both fairs.

“I’ve tried to support artists who have unconventional backgrounds,” added Higgs, who is also director of New York’s White Columns. He’s carried that over to his work with Independent by including galleries specializing in outsider art, such as New York’s Ricco/Maresca.

As dealers began sharing their planned 2018 offerings with the fair, an interesting trend developed: So far, fully half of the booths will be dedicated entirely to women artists. Expected highlights include a site-specific installation by Cynthia Daignault at London’s Sunday Painter and new work by Hélène Delprat at Paris’s Galerie Christophe Gaillard.

A sign of how much the fair has grown since its founding in 2010, the upcoming edition will also feature a suite of panel discussions for the first time. The keynote event, discussing the sustainability of New York’s creative community, will include Higgs and Whitney Museum curator Chrissie Iles as well as local artists and gallerists.

See the full list of exhibitors below. Stars designate first-time participants.

Adams and Ollman, Portland, Oregon
Air de Paris, Paris*
Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm*
APALAZZOGALLERY, Brescia, Italy*
Hervé Bize, Nancy, France
CANADA, New York
Carlos/Ishikawa, London
Chapter NY, New York
Cheim & Read, New York*
C L E A R I N G, New York/Brussels
Elizabeth Dee, New York
Delmes & Zander, Cologne
Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York
Fleisher/Ollman, Philadelphia
Galerie Christophe Gaillard, Paris
François Ghebaly, Los Angeles
Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
Dan Gunn, Berlin*
Ibid Gallery, Los Angeles*
The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
INVISIBLE-EXPORTS, New York
JTT, New York
Jan Kaps, Cologne*
Karma, New York
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles
MAGENTA PLAINS, New York*
Marlborough Contemporary, New York/London*
Martos Gallery, New York
The Modern Institute, Glasgow
Galerie Nagel Draxler, Cologne/Berlin
Neue Alte Brücke, Frankfurt
Night Gallery, Los Angeles*
Maureen Paley, London
Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York*
Peres Projects, Berlin
Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich
Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York*
Kerry Schuss, New York
Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York*
Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London/Los Angeles
STANDARD (Oslo), Oslo*
The Sunday Painter, London*
Tilton Gallery, New York
Timothy Taylor, New York/London*
Travesía Cuatro, Madrid/Guadalajara*
Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York*
untilthen, Paris*
VI, VII, Oslo
White Columns, New York

Independent NY 2018 is on view at Spring Studios, 50 Varick Street, New York, March 8–11, 2018.

Article topics