018. ART BREAK IS BACK.

But art never left!

After a 3-ish month hiatus, it feels like a natural time to resume the letter what with every gallery you’ve ever heard of (and many you haven’t) opening back up this/next week and a smattering of fairs taking place over the next week.

I’ve gallery-hopped and gone to some museum shows, but found myself focused on work most of the summer. Last week, talking to my therapist, I realized that I have been neglecting art and have to make cuts elsewhere in order to continue what I consider my life’s work, which is seeing and talking about seeing. Painting (or making any visual art) is a devoted form of seeing. This was the summer I hardly picked up a paintbrush, and that feels like a waste of so much sunlight.

If you can - go see the Hilma af Klint show at MoMA on a random day, take your time reading the symbology of everything.

Today’s letter is going to be a little bit different than usual as I get back into the swing of things. First off, a recap of Duet at WSA, and then I’m sharing a few openings and fairs I am planning to attend this weekend but haven’t yet been to (the rare speculative AB rec, to be confirmed after I have a chance to visit).

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy some art this weekend! xo

I didn’t know anything about Duet except for the fact that I received two emails about it in one day as a member of SAA. The first was letting me know it was happening, the second was offering an opportunity to attend the VIP preview day. Impressed by the list of galleries participating, I RSVPed for the preview and made sure to hold time for it.

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Confusingly (at least, for me), there is another fair taking place at a different WSA/Happier-Real-Estate-Empire building, called Collectible NYC. Duet is at 161 Water Street (intersection of Water and John streets), but it would be a great little plan to check out both in a day. I personally love FiDi and would have no problem living there someday—the seaport area is lovely, low, and open, but you also get the narrow streets and gleaming, looming Wall Street office buildings that close in around you in a not-unpleasant way.

This WSA property is called “The Mall” and Duet is their inaugural event in the space, which is sleek and spare, divided into little mall-like stalls and perfectly suited to this style of presentation.

We were ushered into the ground floor of the building, which was entirely draped in scarlet velvet and coated in wall-to-wall scarlet carpeting. A curatorial statement from co-curators Zoe Lukov (WSA’s curator at large) and gallerist Kyle DeWoody explains that the title is “inspired by conversations around duality” which tends to come across somewhat literally in the pieces selected from the 11 participating galleries.

The galleries themselves are quite varied and international—from mega Pace to crafty TIWA Select to the traveling Galerie Sardine (a fan favorite of the preview).

The details: September 4-8, free registration linked here.

My highlights:

Of The Cloth - very thankful to now be hip to this gallery/showroom.

Anthony Banks at Galerie Sardine. Valentina, the gallerist, said that Anthony creates these thickly layered works over the course of many years.

Ian Swordy at the James Fuentes booth. Always love seeing his work and think these pieces walk the fine line between “decorative” and interesting. AKA would look nice in a Restoration Hardware catalog but also something you could have a conversation about.

Brian Thoreen at MASA Galeria. Brian is a co-owner of the gallery but also made the paper and resin sculptures in their booth. I love an artist-run gallery! The other artist shown (not pictured) is a former jewelry designer turned sculptor so her pieces are very cool, like copper pendants on steriods.

From the group show on the fifth floor! Clockwise from upper left: Karon Davis, Laurent Grasso, Radcliffe Bailey.

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Cuban artist duo Elliot and Erick Jimenez were the stars of the show. Four large prints with frames that hold crimson taper candles were shown on the ground floor, and their piece Ibejí (shown above) was a standout in the group show. I love the mystery and beauty in their work—it’s hard to tell how it’s made, who its shadow subjects are, and what moment in time it represents. I find these questions lend a sort of creative carte blanche to the artist—they aren’t so beholden to any tradition or expectation, what they create is something entirely new, which could represent a forgotten or overlooked history.

• Independent Art Fair (September 5-7)

• UHaul Gallery Art Fair (September 5-7)

• Collectible NYC (September 4-6)

• Caleb Quintana at Anat Ebgi (opens September 5)

• Ohad Meromi at 56 Henry (open!)

• IRL Gallery group show titled “Gift” (opens September 5)

• Tomona Matsukawa at Long Story Short (open!)

• Lily Wong and Ren Light Pan at Lyles & King (open!)

That’s all for now!