Artists Unite Issue

There’s something to dread about art fairs — the crowds, the heat, the plain overwhelmingness of so much to look at — but ART(212) at the 69th Regiment Armory (26th and Lex) provided plenty of solid work, and a few standout pieces that make it well worth the trip. Suprisingly, some of the best pieces were shown at galleries from outside of New York, all the way from Greece, Italy, Canada, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. I will post more after today’s gallery crawl, but here’s a quick sampler (info on images below):

1) Photo by Malick Sidibe, who won the Hasselblad Award in 2003, is one of two you’ll find tucked around a corner at BrancoliniGrimaldi’s booth.

2) Jonathan Callan makes incredible things with books and paper. His work is at The Apartment (from Athens, Greece), and say hello to Vassilios Doupas because you’ll be glad you did.

3) Please excuse this terrible photo of two fine paintings by John Brown, at Olga Korper Gallery from Toronto, Canada. Korper also has a pair of Robert Mapplethorpe photos that still have the power to stop you in your tracks. (A lot of excellent photography at this fair, overall.)

4) This small reflective piece of copper and charcoal by Constance Dejong, based on the golden mean and perfect rectangle, is one of a pair on view at Richard Levy Gallery, from New Mexico.

Here’s a more complete write-up of the show. It’s up until the 1st, so try to get there. For $15 you’ll get an eyeful. We can compare notes!