Armory Show: New York

This year I spent $100 to get into the Armory Show's Vernissage thanks to an upcoming flight to Los Angeles (look out for an upcoming report - very excited to catch James Welling at Regen Projects before it closes).  The Vernissage is the official private opening of the fair and I assumed it would be quieter than other nights. To my surprise and dismay it really was the worst of New York: culturati who go to be seen and probably don't know who Doug Aitken is - not to sound pretentious but just seriously annoyed! If I wasn't feeling so horrible, thanks to a seasonal cold,  I might have been able to fight off the crowds and actually look more closely at the art
There were a couple of highlights that did grab my attention through my frustration and body aches. The first was Joachim Schonfeldt's sculptural piece at Goodman Gallery out of Johannesburg - a little creepy that it was taxadermy but no less moving:

 

Another highlight were all the works at Galeria Filomena Soares.  Red sequence sneakers hanging from a rope - like a gay ghetto where we would through shoes over a powerline. Also, an animated chicken surrounded by golden eggs in egg creates. 

I also stopped at Anthony James' light box from Nicolas Robinson Gallery. Of course there were tons of light boxes in Miami in December, so I wasn't suprised to see it, but always a fan of aspen trees, loved the mixture of nature/glass/mirror/light. 

 

And again, not to sound pretenious or jaded, but it really was more of the same and I cannot stress how crowded it was even for a New Yorker who lives in Midtown. I was seriously tripping over people on every step. This is the second year in a row that travel plans limited my time at the Armory Show. For next year I will have to schedule a day off work to really experience the art and decide if the show competes with Miami; beacuse after today the Armory show cannot hold a candle to the level of work and the inspriation found at Art Basel Miami Beach. Hitting the Pulse and Scope shows tomorrow and Friday, respectively - hopefully they will change my feelings about this fair.