Armory Highlights 2014

Inadvertent 'selfie' at the Armory Show 2014

This year, for the first time, I went to the Armory Show.  It wasn't due to any particular reason that I haven't ever been.  I've had curiosity in years past but it was always tempered with a bit of anxiety from the stories I'd heard from other people.  I generally avoid situations where people go to 'be seen'.  

But this year a wonderful curator friend invited me to go with her and figuring I could be a tag along, guided by her knowledge, I thought why not.

Below are some of the things I was excited to see.  I apologize in advance for the picture quality and incomplete info on the works/galleries.  You can see the pictures get worse as I go, as it became pretty mayhemic (should be a word) by the time we left.  I hate to get in the way of people looking with their eyes for a photograph so I became quite passive and quick by the end.

Leslie Wayne (this piece is all oil paint on a thin support of wood), Jack Shainman Gallery

Susan Hefuna, Pi Artworks

Hayal Pozanti, Jessica Silverman Gallery

James Krone, Kavi Gupta Gallery

Wall of Peter Doig 

Peter Doig

Morandi (never saw this one before, love love love)

Joan Brown Ink Drawing

Alex Katz  

Kenzo Okada

Milton Avery

John Walker (such a great wall and display)

John Walker

Donald Baechler  

  

I said to my friend at one point, it feels easier in some capacity to look at the work in an evaluative way in this context.  You have ugly gray carpet, walls with cracks to the next stall and artwork and art viewers all trying desperately to be more of the moment than the next.  This strange juxtaposition makes the authentic voices sing louder somehow.  

There was vastly more work that I felt was bad and forgettable but there were quite a few gems.  For convenience sake it was an interesting way to see some new galleries and works in person that I wouldn't otherwise have access to.  So for its purpose I would say it was worth the visit, and a show I would go to again.