Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend theartnewspaper.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theartnewspaper.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
William Kentridge, Drawing from Waiting for Sibyl (Comrade Tree, I report to you), (2020) Courtesy: Goodman Gallery
The success or failure of Frieze New York could have consequences throughout not only the art fair circuit in the US and abroad, but very likely for other cultural institutions that plan to hold events and are looking at the city s first major cultural gathering in more than a year as a barometer for post-vaccination attendance. Will it work? If the opening day of the fair is any indication, the answer is a flat out yes.
Similar to the way elite athletes, pro-tennis players or boxers train in privacy for months prior to a tournament or championship bout, Frieze’s organisers spent months planning their relocation to the Shed. The announcement of the move to Manhattan from Randall’s Island was made in late October last year, but
Frieze New York at The Shed will bring together over 60 leading galleries (mostly US-based). Photo: AFP
Much has been made over the last 14 months of pop-up” art galleries in Palm Beach, Florida, Aspen, Colorado, and the Hamptons, New York, with dealers and collectors gushing about the wealthy provinces’ sales, attendance, and exposure.
Yes, New York’s galleries have been open (and selling art!) since at least last fall, and yes, there’s evidence that the trend of rich New Yorkers fleeing” the city has been exaggerated-and is already in reverse.
But there hasn’t been anything in the art world to actually bring people, particularly out-of-towners, back to the city. There’s been nothing to coalesce around-nothing, dealers say, to bring energy back to a place that remains the contemporary art capital of the world.