How To See the Armory Show in One Hour Flat Inline

March 5, 2015

Photo: Christophe Tedjasukmana/Courtesy of McClelland and Co.
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Hank Willis Thomas, #ArtsyTakeover, 2015
The #ArtsyTakeover of the Armory Show is as overtly corporate as any sponsorship can be, which is why it’s refreshing to see Hank Willis Thomas’s installation, commissioned by Artsy, positioned front and center at Pier 94. It displays the words Life, Ads, and Art, which, when seen via an iPhone photograph, reveal a repeating string of connected words: “Life Imitates Ads Imitate Art Imitates Life . . .” A spade’s a spade.
Photo: © El Anatsui/Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
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El Anatsui, Adinkra Sasa, 2003
To see more Hank Willis Thomas, head down the hall to the right of the main entrance to Jack Shainman’s enormous booth. There, he has brought not only a 2015 Willis Thomas fiberglass sculpture called Liberty, but also two monumental tapestries by Ghananian artist El Anatsui. The larger of the two, a massive quilt of black metal liquor wrappers, copper wire, and other found objects, is a highlight.

Photo: Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London
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Karla Black, Invasive Phase, 2015
Head back down the hall to David Zwirner’s central booth, where two Karla Black sculptures are beautifully suspended. Seen just after El Anatsui’s work, they are a feminine answer to his masculine heft, and equally effective.
Photo: © William J. O'Brien/Courtesy of the Artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
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William J. O'Brien, Untitled, 2013
Next door is Marianne Boesky, where, in addition to three museum-quality Frank Stella wall sculptures, there are more than a dozen glazed ceramics by William J. O’Brien, all of which are fabulous. It’s a shame they’re sold separately; taken together, they evoke a ragtags army.
Photo: Courtesy of the Artist and OHWOW, Los Angeles
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Nick van Woert, Journey to the Surface of the Earth (Boyle Family), 2014
Head down the main aisle to OHWOW, where Nick van Woert has put sheets of American pine bark, steamed flat, in shiny steel frames that look a whole lot more interesting than most of the abstract, process-obsessed paintings that sell so well right now. Even better are the pieces of Lucite furniture he made for OHWOW’s booth. They are filled with synthetic and chemical materials (cat litter, aquarium gravel, detergent, et cetera), great foils to the tree bark hanging just above.

Photo: Courtesy of Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles
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Brian Bress, 370 Cover, 2015
A few booths back, Los Angeles gallery Cherry and Martin has hung two single-channel video pieces by L.A.–based artist Brian Bress. Gentle and visually seductive in the way that children’s television programs tend to be, they are both mesmerizing.
Photo: © Estate of André Kertész/Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
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André Kertész, Distortion #91 with Self Portrait, 1933
Nearby, at Bruce Silverstein’s booth, there is a fascinating print of an André Kertész photograph from 1933 called Distortion #91 with Self Portrait. It’s small and hard to find—on Wednesday, it was tucked around the corner in an ancillary room—but worth sleuthing out.
Photo: Courtesy of The Breeder, Athens
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Socratis Socratous, Incarnation, 2004/2015
At the other end of the fair, opposite from Jack Shainman’s booth, is the curated Focus section of the fair, which this year has MENAM (Middle East, North Africa, Mediterranean) in its sights. Most of the works here fall flat, making Incarnation, a work of real red carnations stuffed like hay bales by Cypriot artist Socratis Socratous, stand out all the more.