As Armory Week kicks off, it seems like every corner of Manhattan is home to one art fair or another, and it’s hard to keep track of everything on offer. We count no less than 14 fairs of varying sizes, and if you don’t plan ahead, it’s all-too easy to get caught in the art landslide. In addition to our helpful round-up of the week’s can’t-miss parties and events (see Your Art Agenda: 12 VIP Events During Armory Week), artnet News has the breakdown of all that Armory Week has on tap.
The Armory Show
March 5–8
Thursday–Sunday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.
Pier 94 and Pier 92, 711 12th Avenue between West 54th Street and West 52nd Street
$45 general admission, or $60 with VOLTA admission
With 199 galleries from 28 countries, the Armory is without a doubt the main event this week, taking over two piers with selections of both modern and contemporary art. It can all be more than a little bit overwhelming, which is why artnet New put together a helpful guide to its can’t miss offerings (see Plan Your Armory Week 2015 With Our Guide to the Best Art on Show).
VOLTA NY
March 5–8
Thursday 6 p.m.–8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.
Pier 90, 711 12th Avenue at West 48th Street
$25 general admission, or $60 with Armory Show admission
The Basel-born fair invitational project fair is now closer to sister fair the Armory than ever before thanks to a new home on Pier 90 (see VOLTA Announces Exhibitor List, New Venue). In addition to 93 participating galleries offering single artist presentations, the fair also boasts an impressive slate of panel discussions presented by artnet (see The VOLTA Salon 2015 with artnet).
Park Avenue Armory. Photo: Oh How Civilized.
ADAA Art Show
March 4–8
Wednesday–Friday 12 p.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Park Avenue Armory, Park Avenue at East 67th Street
$25 general admission
The Art Dealers Association of America‘s stalwart art fair is back at the Park Avenue Armory for its 27th edition (see The 2015 ADAA Art Show Will Have 72 Galleries and What Top Dealers are Bringing to the ADAA Art Show). Keynote speaker Tom Finkelpearl, the city’s cultural affairs commissioner (see Tom Finkelpearl Wants To Diversify Leadership at New York’s Culture Hubs), will discuss his new diversity initiative for the city’s cultural organizations in an address on Friday.
Independent
March 5–8
Friday–Saturday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street
$20 general admission
This year’s Independent will be the last art fair to be held at its original location, the venerable Dia building, before it is renovated by its new owner (see Owner of Former Dia Building Ousts Independent Fair and Zach Feuer). Expect a heavy dose of nostalgia along with the fair’s slate of over 50 cutting-edge galleries. While Independent has yet to announce its next New York venue, the fair recently revealed plans for an expansion to Belgium (see Independent Art Fair Heads to Brussels).
PULSE
March 5–8
Thursday 1 p.m.–6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street
$25 general admission
After trying out Frieze Week in May, PULSE New York is back in its original Armory Week slot. Founded in 2005, PULSE has carved out a fairly distinct identity for itself among New York’s satellite fairs, thanks to its carefully curated booths (see PULSE New York Will Host 55 Galleries During Armory Week), with 80 percent of dealers showing work from no more than three artists.
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair.
SCOPE
March 6–8
Friday 6 p.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
Metropolitan Pavilion West 60 galleries, 639 W 46th Street
$30 general admission
For its 15th year, SCOPE has moved to a new venue just a stone’s throw from the Armory Show piers. The fair is promising an “open plan design” that rejects the staid booth convention, allowing gallery spaces to “flow beautifully into one another, creating curatorial narratives.”
SPRING/BREAK Art Show
March 3–8
Skylight at Moynihan Station, West 31st Street and 8th Avenue
Wednesday–Sunday 12 p.m.–8 p.m.
$10 general admission
The curator-driven SPRING/BREAK fair bids adieu to the SoHo location for its fourth edition (see Here Are SPRING/BREAK Art Show’s 2015 Curators). This year’s “Transaction” theme is already proving enticing, with Dustin Yellin bringing a suite of paintings covered in $10,000 in shredded cash, being sold to benefit the arts education of eight high school seniors (see Dustin Yellin Paints With $10,000 in Shredded Cash for Spring/Break Art Fair).
(un)SCENE Art Show
March 4–8
Wednesday–Sunday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
549 West 52nd Street
Free
Just a block away from the main event on the pier, this recent addition to the New York art fair scene, from Mikel Glass of the late (UN)FAIR, nevertheless hopes to challenge the status-quo by celebrating “passion not fashion.” With everything from Old Masters to contemporary art, the fair promises to eschew the conventional maze-like fair aesthetic (see I Got Lost in the Art at Art Basel in Miami Beach!) in favor of a presentation that is “part Happening and part museum installation.” If you need added incentive to attend, Ben & Jerry’s will be there with free ice cream.
Two works from Art on Paper. Left, Chris Ironside, Untitled #4 (2014), courtesy ClampArt. Right, Meg Hitchcock, Shema Deuteronomy 6:4 (2014).
Art on Paper
March 5–8
Friday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Pier 36, 299 South Street on the East River
$25 general admission
A newbie for 2015 (see A New Art Fair, Art On Paper, Comes to Tribeca During Armory Week), Art on Paper may sound like a print fair, but it is so much more: it explores the medium of paper through a whole range of works including sculpture, painting, photography, and drawing.
Moving Image New York
March 5–8
Thursday–Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Waterfront Tunnel, 269 11th Avenue at West 27th Street
Free
Now in its fifth year, Moving Image New York will offer work from 36 video artists, with a special focus on Brazilian and Finish art, artists, and galleries. The fair has also teamed up with Times Square Arts to pick the Midnight Moment for April, a video art piece that will play on Times Square billboards for three minutes before midnight during each night of the month. The winning work will be announced on the fair’s opening day.
Clio Art Fair
March 5–8
Thursday 6 p.m.–9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
508–526 West 26th St.
Free
Billing itself as “the anti-fair for independent artists” who aren’t exclusively managed by a New York gallery, Clio is showcasing the work of 50 artists for its 2015 edition. This attempt to break free from the art marketplace claims to offer a wider range of work and “ground-breaking content.”
Kenichi Asano, avatar 12, presented by hpgrp Gallery Tokyo, Tokyo and New York at the New City Art Fair.
Photo: courtesy New City Art Fair.
New City Art Fair
March 5–8
Thursday–Saturday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
529 West 20th St.
Free
Perhaps the most niche of all this week’s offerings, this Japanese contemporary art fair is now in its fourth New York edition (the fair is also held annually in Taipei, Taiwan). With just eight galleries from Tokyo, Sapporo, and Nagoya, New City will be fairly easy to add to your Armory Week itinerary, if you’re looking to squeeze in just one more event.
Fusion
March 2–6
daily 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
MIST, 46 West 116th Street
Free
Presented by the West Harlem Art Fund, Fusion, an official Armory Week partner, is not so much an art fair as a self-described “pop-up digi salon” featuring a selection of live art installations and digital films. Intriguingly, visitors are asked to bring their own smartphone or tablet device to view the artworks. If Harlem feels a bit far afield, Fusion is streaming all of its videos online.
Salon Zürcher
March 2–8
Monday 5 p.m.–8 p.m; Tuesday–Saturday 12 p.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Galerie Zürcher, 33 Bleecker Street
Free
This boutique fair has been around since 2011, but ambitiously plans to take part in both Frieze Week and Armory Week this go-around. This week, six galleries from New York, Beijing, and the UK will join forces to exhibit at the Lower East Side’s Galerie Zürcher.