The Armory Show

The Armory Show moved locations this year into the Javits Center. I thought would be a little strange at first given that’s where most of the city was vaccinated, but actually think they did a great job of transforming the space.

The fair was filled with natural light and just the amount of space where it didn’t feel empty, but it also wasn't overly crowded.

Video of the Fair

If you want to see my personal walkthrough of the fair, check out the video below.

Artist Spotlights

There were so many incredible booths, but I wanted to throw a spotlight on some incredible artists that really stood out to me at the fair.

Doron Langberg

Doron Langberg is an Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based painter. His style reminds me a lot of Jeniffer Packer because of his strong use of color and texture.

Jana Schröder

I'm OBSESSED with Jana Schröder. She's a German artist that studied under Albert Oehlen. Her pieces are so stunning, especially her neutral ones.

James Benjamin Franklin

James Benjamin Franklin lives and works in Detroit, Michigan. His works were featured at Proyectos Monclova Booth, and I love the combination of textures and colors.

Andrea Joyce Heimer

Half Gallery featured a solo booth of works by Andrea Joyce Heimer. Her paintings are "narrative-base work draws inspiration from a re-examination of her own life growing up as an adopted child in Great Falls, Montana (source)." 

Susumu Kamijo

Susumu Kamijo is a Japanese artist whose "paintings and drawings take an abstract approach to familiar subjects such as animals and human faces, playing with forms and colors with a concise handling of media (source)." 

Ryan Mosley

Ryan Mosley creates paintings that take "pictorial cues — from beards to brick walls and top hats — as triggers for art historical reference, class commentary, and pure formalism (source)." 

My Favorite Booths

Given that Armory is one of the larger art fairs, I saw a lot of incredible booths, but the ones listed below are a collection of my favorites.

Yavuz Gallery - Alvin Ong

Yavuz Gallery had an incredible installation of works by Singapore artist Alvin Ong.

Nino Mier Gallery - Jana Schröder

Thank you Nino Mier for introducing me to this incredible artist - Jana Schröder. They obviously think she's pretty great too since they devoted an entire booth to her works.

Lyles & King Gallery - Jessie Makinson

I salute Lyles & King Gallery for the creativity with their installation of works by Jessie Makinson. It reminds me of an 80's prom hybrid of the Beverly Hills Hotel...and somehow it just works perfectly.

Steve Turner Gallery

I love Steve Turner Gallery's devotion to fostering emerging artist's careers. I was so excited to see so many works by David Leggett.

1969 Gallery - Caleb Hahne

Caleb Hahne's work at 1969 Gallery's booth took my breath away. They are so calming, and remind me a lot of Ridley Howard's works.

Victoria Miro Gallery

I loved the unique combination of artists that Victoria Miro Gallery brought together in their booth.

Albertz Benda Gallery

Another incredible booth - I love that Albertz Benda featured so many works by Ghana based artist, Patrick Quarm.

Ulterior Gallery

Ulterior Gallery's booth put to bed any question that tapestry is an 'antiquated' art form. So many artist are using this medium now and I think it's great.

Simon Lee Gallery

I was so happy to see a large scale Clare woods painting at Simon Lee Gallery's booth, as well as this gorgeous work by Chris Huen Sin Kan below.

Carl Kostyál Gallery

Carl Kostyál Gallery brought an inspiring group of artists - including two Gina Beavers (one not pictured), which are always nice to see up close because of their texture.

Rachel Uffner Gallery

Rachel Uffner Gallery has one of the most impressive programs in the "real world" so it was no surprise that her booth reflected her incredible artist roster.

Nicodim Gallery

Nicodim Gallery's booth was shocking but in a great way. The surrealist world they created with combination of these sculptures by Isabelle Albuquerque and paintings by Katherina Olschbaur was really enjoyable.

Pierogi Gallery

Pierogi Gallery had a booth dedicated to Hugo Crosthwaite’s work. The mural below is made of 21 individual panels with Pencil, charcoal, and acrylic paint on Museum Board.

Charlie James Gallery

Charlie James Gallery had a solo booth of works by Patrick Martinez. Martinez is an LA based artist and "his neon works  are fabricated to mirror street level commercial signage, but are remixed to present words and phrases drawn from literary and oratorical sources (source)." 

Sadie Coles HQ

Sadie Coles HQ brought out an exciting combination of their artist roster with works by Kati Heck, Alex Da Corte and Urs Fischer (from his latest show in London).

Josh Lilley Gallery

I've decided I love nothing more than a painting + sculpture combination, and the way that Josh Lilley has combined these textures and colors is genius.

Jack Barrett

Speaking of a great sculpture/painting pairing...Jack Barrett also executed on this trend well with works by Amy Brener and Blair Whiteford.

Marinaro Gallery

Marinaro Gallery didn't disappoint with their signature move of bringing sleek and almost surrealist artworks to the fair.

Platform

Platform is a part of the Armory Show that features sculptures from various galleries that live outside of a galleries booth. The reasoning for this is because they're often super large in scale.

Diana Al-Hadid

It was great to see this sculpture by DIANA AL-HADID, presented by Galleri Brandstrup. Diana is a Brooklyn based artist who’s known for her sculptures that appear to be in a state of ruin, a place between creation and destruction. I love the subtle nod to art history with the bust at the top of the sculpture.

Tau Lewis

This work by TAU LEWIS is presented by Night Gallery. She uses hand sewing, carving, and assemblage to build these sculptures as a way to heal personal, collective, and historical traumas through labor.

I hope you enjoyed this insight into the 2021 Armory Show!