With all the last-minute preparations in place, the second New York edition of cutlog contemporary art fair is ready for the big reveal. Three special previews—for invited press, VIPs and vernissage ticket holders—are slated for Wednesday (May 7), and the art fair proper gets underway on May 8, with a public preview from noon to 6 p.m. and an opening reception running from 6 to 9 p.m.
The art presented cuts across all platforms and mediums and is curated by the fair's directors, Guy Reziciner and Bruno Hadjadj. This year’s fair—the only French-owned fair offered during Frieze Week in New York City—includes “a wide and diverse body of work: performances, lots of video, sound installation, audio visual performances, a lot of work on paper, photography,” according to the organizers.
cutlog NY 2014 will also provide a platform for art pieces that require audience interaction and site specific installations. Special performances and events unfold through the fair's run. They include film screenings focusing on sexuality, an impromptu program of readings and performances, and an audiovisual performance featuring percussion, video and soundscape.
Around 45 galleries and curators will present art, installations, performances, talks, or films at The Clemente building at 107 Suffolk Street, a Dutch Neo-Gothic building. The space provides a suiting backdrop to present an "architecturally designed environment which allows each art project to have its own identity and a unique art interaction with the public,” according to the cutlog NY website.
This year's New York City fair is expanded to encompass two floors and a courtyard. The new layout further develops the concept of presentation as "scenography", according to the organizers.
“The idea of ‘scenography’ for an art fair is not new this year for cutlog but certainly makes it different from other fairs,” wrote Reziciner and Hadjadj in response to Hamptons Art Hub queries. Scenography is mainly used in theatrical productions.
The building selected for cutlog's Paris edition is also architecturally interesting--a Parisian “hôtel particulier” from the 17th century with a two-level layout that encourages dialogue between the galleries and visitors, according to cutlog.
cutlog has presented five contemporary art fairs in Paris. Their sixth edition will be held from Oct. 23 - 26, 2014 in l'Atlier Richelieu. Click here for details.
Besides selecting backdrops that allows for an artistic presentation, cutlog NY differs from the other nine art fairs alighting in New York City for Frieze Art Week by “...presenting the work of people in the art world not normally known for their artwork,” wrote Reziciner and Hadjadj.
For instance, Amstel Gallery presentation of “What Rules,” is a show that presents a variety of mediums by artist/curators including Gregory Delahaba, Kathy Grayson, Laura O’Reilly, and Lee Wells.
Another example is Whitebox Art Center offering readings and showing drawings, animations, and site-specific interventions by Anthony Haden-Guest. For each day of the fair, Haden-Guest will read his darkly comic rhymes, some being about the art world, while his cartoons roll by on screen. On the last day, Sunday, May 11, Whitebox and Haden-Guest will stage an impromptu four-hour program of readings and performances with surprise special guests.
Other performances at cutlog will include visual artist Bruno Levy teaming up with The Mars Volta drummer and producer Deantoni Parks in the evening on Friday, May 9, for a rare and intimate audiovisual performance in cutlog’s second floor little theater (capacity 55).
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Bruno Levy. Courtesy cutlog NY.
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Several site specific installations will be presented at the fair, including the Judith Charles Gallery’s “Hairdo for a Hallway” in the vestibule by Hrafnhildur Arnardottir, aka Shoplifter, that uses synthetic hair as its primary material. Robert Montgomery will also install his work “We are Just the Wrecked and Broken Trojan Horses of Our Dreams” for the first time in the U.S. at the entrance to the fair.
New York’s Video Art and Experimental Film Festival is showcasing a special selection at cutlog, with what organizers describe as “some of the most arresting, provocative and conceptually challenging videos from around the world, with a focus on Sexuality.”
The Asian Experimental Video Festival in Hong Kong will also present works by artists from Southeast and East Asia, including 17 videos of 3min 11sec each that explore the catastrophe at Fukushima power plant in Japan, followed by a Skype Q&A with the filmmakers.
Asked to offer examples of some of the highlights of cutlog NY 2014, organizers came up with the following:
—L’Inlassable Galerie will present a curated booth presenting 11 of “the newest and most inspiring emerging artists working between Paris and New York, focusing on the rebirth of a transatlantic avant-garde movement.”
Along with works by Giulia Andreani, Bianca Argimon, Marcella Barcelò, Caroline Corbasson, Gaspard Maîtrepierre, Simon Martin, Reinhard Voss and Anaïs Ysebaert, the gallery is highlighting the work of Brooklyn based artist and well-known illustrator Daniel Horowitz, who will present his latest mirror based works.
The artist duo of Edgar Sarin and Valeriano Ortiz were specially invited to New York to establish a performance program at the L’Inlassable booth, constantly creating in live stream and presenting their New York-inspired latest series Problematic Entities.
The pair recently drew widespread attention when releasing their third Humanoïd Machinery, using the flow of the public as an energetic source activating a human machinery composed of more than 30 human extras.
—Gallery Molly Krom will present work by Sanda Iliescu, who was selected for the Artsy exhibition at The Line.
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"#32 (FIRST AID)" by Elise P. Church, 2011. Found paper and pencil, 9 x 5.50 inches. Exhibited Gallery Molly Krom. Courtesy cutlog NY 2014. Photo: © Yana Bannikova
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—Ethan Cohen Fine Arts will be offering a solo presentation of collage paintings by contemporary African artist Aboudia, whose trademark “nouchi” style is drawn from the street culture of children in his home city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The artist’s works are also currently on view in the Saatchi London "Pangaea" exhibition, dedicated to showcasing works by internationally acknowledged artists from Africa and Latin America. The exhibition is on view from April 2 to Aug. 31, 2014.
—{TEMP} art space will present a solo booth of works by photographer Sandy Kim, whose works portray a personal and explicit look into the life of contemporary youth culture.
The gallery has had “an especially strong kinship” with Kim since first exhibiting her work in {TEMP}'s inaugural show, “Working On It,” in September 2012. The artist has become widely known for her spreads in various publications, including Fader, Dazed, Vogue Italia, and Purple, among others, as well as for photographing numerous celebrities.
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"Self Portrait - Window 2" by Sandy Kim, 2012. Exhibited {TEMP} Art Space. Courtesy cutlog NY 2014. Photo: © Yana Bannikova.
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A bit of the Hamptons will make its appearance at cutlog NY through the Watermill Center. They will present a screening by Center artists-in-residence Fanni Futterknecht and Marianne Vlaschits. The pair have expanded a previous project, “Garden of Lust,” which cutlog New York audiences will now have the chance to see.
When asked what the fair directors hoped visitors would come away with after experiencing cutlog NY 2014, the answers were fairly straightforward, with a twist. First, it was the organizers’ goal to have visitors appreciate the opportunity to see unexpected and exciting work and to appreciate the opportunity to acquire works by artists on the rise.
And the twist? The people who put together cutlog NY 2014 are especially hopeful that visitors will “go home feeling inspired, not drained.”
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cutlog contemporary art fair organizers Guy Reziciner and Bruno Hadjadj
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BASIC FACTS: cutlog New York 2014 will be presented May 8 to 11 at The Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002. www.cutlogny.org. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors and $30 for a multi-day pass. Admission for Vernissage is $50. Tickets for all can be purchased by clicking here.
A shuttle bus will run daily between cutlog NY and the Frieze ferry stop.
The fair is open Thursday (May 8) to Saturday (May 10) from noon to 9 p.m. and on Sunday (May 11) from noon to 6 p.m. Vernissage will be held Wednesday (May 7) from 5 to 10 p.m. by ticket or invitation only. An Opening Reception will be held Thursday (May 8) from 6 to 9 p.m.
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