Unlike TEFAF which covers 2 floors and beyond at the Park Avenue Armory, at The Art Show galleries are spread only on the first floor, over four aisles. It was an intimate and easy space to navigate, even more so, since a large number of booths were presenting solo exhibitions. This made my tour relaxed and harmonious. Many of these solo installations were artists’ new works. In the spirit of Art for good, that gave the sense of galleries uniting together, versus a standard art fair with a series of booths.

Right upon entry, Kasmin Gallery had a breathtaking show with the works of New York photographer Tina Barney, including a photo of actress Julianne Moore that illuminated the walkway. To the left, Suchitra Mattai’s weaved lady figure stood at Roberts Projects from Los Angeles, and to the right Pace Prints was there, with jigsaw reliefs with coffee grounds and ink by young Minnesota artist Chase Hall. Two Palms hosted a warm pink booth with works on paper by Katherine Bernhardt. Across Bernhardt’s depicted pink panthers and vibrant characters, in contrast, were the darker walls of Inman Gallery with monochrome works. The works on paper of African-American women figures, in baroque dresses surrounded by airy birds, by David McGee were truly arresting.

P.P.O.W was showcasing new oil on linen works by Joe Houston. His paintings seemed like photos at first glance, with many shades of blue skies. On closer look, the works refer to contemporary political and cultural issues in the USA. They created a buzz given the timing of the fair in the looming elections context. Sicardi Ayers Bacino, a gallery from Houston, Texas, was showing a cuban artist, Reynier Leyva Novo in a captivating presentation of alternating blue and purple half panels from his research about the history and ideology of Cuba, from colonialism to revolution and its relations with the countries around.

Sculptures, a medium poorly represented at the fair, were memorable at Peter Blum’s booth showing exquisite hand-blown glass by Joyce J. Scott. Galerie Lelong & Co. and Marc Selwyn Fine Art were jointly presenting works by Michelle Stuart, including a work with Earth samples (Sayreville) from 1997. At the other end of the Art Show space, Billie Zangewa’s hand-stitched and embroidered silk collages were my personal favorite at Lehmann Maupin, who presented new works by the Malawian artist as well as some older Zangewa works from the early 2000s. Nearby, new splashy paintings by Whitney Bedford were presented by Miles McEnery, a gallery whose artists never cease to impress me such as Inka Essenhigh, Fiona Rae, Beverly Fishman and Raffi Kalenderian.

Billie Zangewa at Lehmann Maupin, The Art Show 2024, NYC © Laura Lati

ACA Galleries had the most shiny booth with tall bright canvases by artist Leon Berkowitz from the mid 1970s. James Cohan exhibited a solo exhibition of treescapes by Alison Elizabeth Taylor. Nicelle Beauchene also had a successful booth with New York artist Quentin James McCaffrey and his absolutely optically bewitching nightscapes triptychs. A few galleries were representing modern art, such as Berry Campbell with a noticeable abstract painting Untitled, 1960, by Elaine de Kooning and the painting The Flame of the Banner of the Jaguar by Alice Baber from 1981. Forum Gallery brought Hospital Corridor (1961) by Bernard Perlin, a true gem in the booth and across the fair, as well as The Steerage (1907), a striking photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz. Jonathan Boos exhibited an exceptional collection of works including a stunning scene of West Village (c.1945-46) by Beauford Delaney. Michael Rosenfeld put forward delicate, yet intense oil wash and graphite on paper works by artist Charles White. Lastly Jill Newhouse Gallery presented a magnificent Pierre Bonnard interior staircase painting.

Leon Berkowitz at ACA Galleries, The Art Show 2024, NYC © Laura Lati for artfairmag

To end with some price ideas, at the fair you could find many contemporary artworks in the 20,000 to 60,000 USD range. Some modern art was, as expected, worth a couple millions. As a result, the fair was full with the energy of millennials, aspiring and starting collectors, as much as it was visited by more seasoned collectors and art dealers from across the USA.