Lunch Break: A Bite-Sized Tour of Future Fair
Artist Spotlight: Alex Stern, Steward Francis Easton
Impressions: Jenna Ferrey is a long time friend and collaborator of YCL, we even hosted a dinner inside the gallery in collaboration with Future Fair for the exhibition by Derek Weisberg with a massive pizza. As a result of this friendship, we first saw Alex’s work in Jenna’s bedroom as it is part of her personal collection and it’s one we’d certainly have in our own collections too. The work pairs in subtle and overt ways with Steward Francis Easton’s work at Melhop. Jenna and Francis took the ethos of the fair, a capstone place for dialogue between artists and galleries, in building out the booth to create a exceptional presentation that allows further exploration of each artists works in conversation to the other.
Artists Spotlight: Dittmar Viane, Colleen Barry
Impressions: One of our favorite ways to experience art fairs is by asking other galleries who are their favorites and Jenna Ferrey (Trotter & Sholer) instantly pointed us to Dittmar Viane’s work and we completely understand why. Compared to other works in the fair they feel more grounded, which makes sense as while they are deeply rooted in northern Renaissance painting (a region where the artist also lives), they also adeptly speak to the present moment - collapsing time and space - a hallmark of Flemish painters like Jan Van Eyck. We also love artist Colleen Barry.
Artists Spotlight: Urd J Pedersen, Mads Andreas Andreasen
Impressions: In full transparency we are doing a tour on Friday for the Norwegian Embassy which is how we were first introduced to the non-profit artist run space Elephant and it might not have first made our list, but after talking to artist-director Mads about the booth, the artwork and the mission of the space, it would have been our loss. The works can be looked over as just more painting, but they are the works that once you take a minute to look at them you keep discovering something new. There is definitely more than meets the eye - figuratively and literally. Urd is also a musician and cassettes and LPs are also for sale.
Artists: Amy Amalia
Impressions: Cierra is one of the panelists in our upcoming conversation on realizing gender parody within art. Last week we had a fantastic phone conversation in preparation where we learned more about the gallery’s mission to change how black women are represented in the art world. Cierra also kindly provided us with some of the resources that’s shaping how she approaches the art world, check them out yourself!
Artist Spotlight: Emily Weiner
Impressions: Weiner’s interest in theatricality and the mysterious nature of magicians and the farce of magic shows comes through in her works. We were immediately struck by her similarities to other artists we love- We also really appreciate Red Arrow’s thoughtful approach to Future Fair, creating a beautiful space for the works but more importantly, selling a few works in advance to only a handful of their VIP clients, and saving the rest of the works to be sold on-site, which is a rarity for dealers in art-fair situations who like to sell out booths beforehand. The gallerists wanted to intentionally make connections with NY clients and are shifting out works over the course of the fair, anchoring the show with one painting at center. this is such a refreshing take on art fair etiquette!
Artist Spotlight: Evan Halter
Impressions: Evan is such an impressive artist, we’re shocked that this is his first solo booth at an art fair, having previously seen his work at Spring Break in 2021. Halter engaged us in conversation about his practice right away, a charming combination of minimalism and renaissance mimicry, which shows off not only his skills as a master in composition planning and use of negative space, but also his talent in re-exploring the works of the old masters. Dare we call him a new master?
Artist Spotlight: Elisa Soliven, Rafael Plaisant
Impressions: Jarrod was recommending to us by Hall Rockefeller, with whom we planned our panel with on Saturday! The gallery shows three-quarter female artists, which is rare for a male dealer- High Noon is proving that you can be a change-maker and ally to communities through your connections with art.
Artist Spotlight: Pace Taylor
Impressions: We first discovered La Loma Projects through New York-based filmmaker, writer, curator, and art historian Linda Nochlin's granddaughter Julia Trotta’s Instagram for their exhibition Seeking Arrangements. When we got the Future Fair catalogue Pace Taylor immediate stuck out as a highlight and we’re thrilled to say they are even better in-person. The intimacy that they connote oozes off the page.
Artist Spotlight: Nick Farhi
Impressions: Last November we peeped Nick’s work at his Columbia MFA Open Studio and were so impressed- Farhi’s interest in reflective surfaces is mesmerizing as he deftly tackles every nuance in each part of the surface in his paintings. We fell in love with a work that wasn’t currently on view, but hope New Cube will show the work off mid-fair. New Cube’s attitude towards new collections and breaking up the monotony of the art-world is also, of course, interesting to us!