Frieze Art Fair Week has returned to New York City for its eight year. For 2018, expect an expanded week with no fewer than nine art fairs to choose from. Frieze New York itself is also expanded and features new programs and a brand new layout. To make your journeys easier, Hamptons Art Hub has assembled 10 things to know to help craft your best experience in NYC.

1.  Frieze New York is the Centerpiece of the NYC Art Fair Week

This year's Frieze New York draws a bit of extra excitement in light of Frieze's announcement to launch a LA fair in February 2019, offering bi-coastal fairs for its American presentation of contemporary art. Frieze New York opened its 2018 edition with two previews for the invited before opening to the public on May 4, 2018. The fair remains in town through May 6, 2018.

Experienced Frieze New York goers realize there is a ferry trip required to attend Frieze (in most cases) and tickets should be purchased online and in advance before boarding. Frieze differs from nearly all art fairs due to the fact it does "sell out" and people will be turned away at the door without a ticket. Make sure you're not one of them. Click here for details.

2.  What's New at Frieze 2018

Frieze New York 2018 presents over 190 galleries from 30 countries featuring artists from across the world from artists just starting to make waves to influential artists from the 20th Century. For the seventh edition, expect to find a new layout, a themed section, curated by Matthew Higgs of White Columns in New York as homage to Hudson's Feature Inc. gallery which supported pioneering artists in the 1980s and 1990s.

There will be solo shows by 19 emerging galleries in Frame and Toby Kamps of Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston, curates Spotlight, which focuses on 20-century pioneers.

To explore Frieze New York before heading to the fair, click here.

3.  Taking a page from Frieze London, Performance Art Premieres at Frieze New York

Frieze New York 2018 unveils Live, a new program of performances and installations presented by galleries at its art fair. Live will feature eight works that encourage participation and, at least, contemplation. Curated by Adrienne Edwards, the new Performance Curator at the Whitney, her performance exhibition is titled "ASSEMBLY” and doesn't shy away from politics. Expect processions, ritualistic and conceptual performance, sound installation and a longer-term art flag installation that continues on view after the art fair becomes history. Click here to read more.

4.  VIP Openings Unfold Wednesday and Thursday with Surprise Events on Friday & Saturday

Most likely, all of the VIP previews and art fair openings for Frieze Week would have passed by the time this column is read. If you're heading to fairs on Friday and Saturday are looking for a party to adopt a festive mood, head to Superfine! They are hosting two special events to make sure fun flows liberally among the collectible art.

On Friday, the "Young" Collectors: Ice Cream + Cocktail Social takes place from 8 to 11 p.m. that includes drinks, "snow cream" and an immersive performance art by Dream Caverns. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by clicking here. Earlier in the day, catch their Art-paired wine happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m.

On Saturday, the Girls' Night Out (For Art!) takes place from 8 to 11 p.m. The evening includes drinks, an all-girl DJ set and performance art with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by clicking here. Earlier in the day, a Sake sampling hour with live Japanese art demonstrations by Tomoya Tsuruta of TOMOYAARTS unfolds from 3 to 5 p.m.

For details on the fair, read "SUPERFINE! Opens Expanded NYC Fair for Frieze Week."

5. Where are the Fairs Located?

Brooklyn: 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Moniker Art Fair, Fridge Art Fair, The Other Art Fair

Downtown Areas:  Salon Zürcher, Superfine!

Randall's Island: Frieze New York

Midtown & Uptown: Art New York, TEFAF New York Spring

6.  First Appearances & Disappearances

One hit wonders Conception Art Fair, Cultural Traffic, and Spring / Break: BKLYN IMMERSIVE won't be returning in 2018. Neither will the well-established Moving Image Art Fair. Originally delayed from Armory Week to Frieze Week, the art fair is taking a hiatus as it reconfigures.

Context New York art fair disappears and becomes folded into Art New York as a special contemporary section. The pair of sister fairs had been presented as equals at Pier 94 since inception a few years ago. Collective Design moved to Armory Week and was presented in March instead of May.

Moniker Art Fair presents its first New York edition, hosting 27 international exhibitors with booths that feature emerging and established urban and contemporary artists from across the world.

7.  Special Projects & Artist Talks Enhance the Art Experience at 1-54 Contemporary African Fair

Now in its seventh edition, 1-54 New York is a must-see fair of Frieze New York Week. The contemporary art fair focuses on contemporary art from a diverse set of African perspectives. This year's edition features 60 artists presented by 21 galleries from the United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana, Tunisia, France, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. The art can be previewed at Artsy by clicking here.

In addition to the exhibited art, 1-54 New York has a robust schedule of special projects and artist talks. One highlight is South African artist Ralph Ziman's the Casspir Project with SPOEK1 where they exhibit at re-imagined military vehicle and transformed the symbol of oppression and violence by covering the vehicle in colorful beads woven in traditional techniques and colors by nearly 100 local artists and craftsman. An interview on the project was produced by 1-54 and can be read by clicking here.

Other Special Projects includes the First Iteration of an outdoor-themed New Davonhaime space by Azikiwe Mohammed for the fair's lounge plus five other projects. Click here for details.

For the full slate of Artist Talks and programming, visit the fair's website by clicking here. 

.

"SPOEK 1" by Ralph Ziman at Iziko National Gallery, Cape Town (2016). Courtesy Sulger-Buel Lovell.

.

8. Looking for Modern Art & Design? Head to TEFAF

TEFAF New York Spring presents its second edition at the Park Avenue Armory. The only art fair during Frieze Week to focus exclusively on modern art and design (along with contemporary art). So far, all TEFAF's New York editions have drawn attendance from the serious side of art collectors.

This year's Spring Edition features 90 galleries with 24 new exhibitors among them, including Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Marian Goodman Gallery, White Cube, Wildenstein & Co. Inc. and more. Artists exhibited include Josef Albers (David Zwirner); Ellsworth Kelly (Matthew Marks Gallery); Joan Miro, Andre Breon and Yves Tanguy (Di Donna Galleries) and others.

The fair is also strong on design. Expect ceramics by Michael Eden and Kate Malone (Adrian Sassoon); a Jacques Dumond credenza (Demisch Danant) and armchairs by architect, interior designer and painter Josef Urban that was executed by sculptor Sandor Jaray (Bel etage Kunsthandel GmbH).

Click here to browse all the exhibitors.

.

"A Pair of Icy Magma Pots" by Kate Malone, 2017. Crystalline-glazed stoneware, 13.8 x 11 x 9.5 inches. Exhibited with Adrian Sassoon. Courtesy of TEFAF.

.

9. Looking for all your art fair options?

There are at least nine art fairs that make up this year's Frieze Art Fair Week in New York City. To get the skinny, click to read our Ultimate Guide to the NYC Art Fairs of Frieze Week 2018.

10. I Need More Art. What else is On View in New York? 

New York City is a great place to be if you're looking for art. Art gallery concentrations can be found in the NYC neighborhoods of Chelsea, Tribeca, the Lower East Side, Brooklyn and the Upper East and Upper West Sides. To discover a selection of  noteworthy new gallery shows, click here for a curated list of new shows opening this week and here for those opening last week.

Cy Twombly's exhibition at Gagosian on West 21st Street, C“In Beauty it is finished: Drawings 1951-2008,” is garnering strong attention. Click here to read a review.

In NYC museums, both the New Museum and the Museum of Art and Design (MADD) open new exhibitions to notice. MADD opens a solo show by LA artist "Tanya Aguiñiga: Craft & Care” that examines art and activism. The New Museum opens a pair of shows:  one inside the museum and another outside. "Anna Boghiguian: The Loom of History” and “Aaron Fowler: Bigger Than Me” opened on May 2, 2018. Click here for details.

Public Art Fund unveils the first site-specific outdoor public sculpture ever commissioned for the United States by Anselm Kiefer at the top of Rockefeller Center's Channel Gardens facing Fifth Avenue. Titled Uraeus, the sculpture appears as a giant open book with eagle's wings that span 30 feet atop a stainless steel column. The work opened on May 2 and remains on view through July 22, 2018.

The new (and almost here) cultural and performance center The Shed presents a program of free performances during Frieze Week with almost all seats sold out. Click here to see what was possible and discover their plans for when they open next year.

If the May New York Auctions are of interest, Sotheby's, Christie's and Bonhams all hold auctions to watch the week of May 14 to 17, 2018. Click here to start previewing the auction's at Sotheby's and here for those offered by Christie's and browse Bonham's auctions by clicking here.

__________________

Copyright 2018 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. All rights reserved.

Don't miss a story!

We are on Social Networks

Comments are closed.

subscribe
error: Content is protected !!