returns in 2017 with presentations by leading international galleries, innovative artist commissions and dynamic public programmes. Since its establishment in 1994, the fair has served as an essential nexus for the art world. This year, The Armory Show introduces a new, fifth section to its line-up. Curated by Eric Shiner, Platform hosts a selection of large-scale artworks, installations and site-specific commissions. The inaugural edition of Platform is entitled An Incident and encompasses 13 works by internationally acclaimed artists.
Intended to offer an opportunity for galleries to showcase artworks and new commissions that extend beyond the traditional booth context, Platform’s esteemed line-up of practitioners is set to attract large crowds. Participating artists include Abel Barroso, Patricia Cronin, Douglas Coupland, Abigail DeVille, Sebastian Errazuriz, Dorian Gaudin, Jun Kaneko, Per Kirkeby, Yayoi Kusama, Iv谩n Navarro, Evan Roth, Fiete Stolte, Lawrence Weiner and Ai Weiwei.
Notable galleries include Victoria Miro and its presentation of an 11-piece installation by Yayoi Kusama. Guidepost to the New World (2016) coincides with Infinity Mirrors at The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. and celebrates the beginning of a national tour of Kusama鈥檚 multi-reflective installations. Elsewhere, Paul Kasmin Gallery brings Chilean artist Iv谩n Navarro’s Chant, a text-based light and sound sculpture made specifically for The Armory Show. The loud and soft noises made by attendees will be captured by sensitive microphones and then represented in light.
Douglas Coupland鈥檚 installation Towers, created for the artist鈥檚 2014 survey exhibition everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything at Vancouver Art Gallery, will be presented by Daniel Faria Gallery, while a multi-screen installation by Eva Roth will be brought to the fair by Caroll / Fletcher. Presented by Pan American Art Projects, Cuban artist Abel Barroso鈥檚 seven part interactive installation, Emigrant’s Pinball (2012) will also activate the Pier 92 Mezzanine Lounge where visitors can play a fictional pinball game, which employs New York iconography to ask questions about migration and cultural identity.
鈥淲ith my selection of artists, I endeavor to present a series of incidents that start to change our relationship with the art fair 鈥 a series of happenings, interactive works, objects and images that make the viewer take pause, think, refresh, smile, and remember that art, by its very nature, is meant to provoke, incite and challenge,鈥 says Shiner. 鈥淚t is my hope that the artists and works included in An Incident will bring a new energy to the art fair model.鈥
The Armory Show, 2-5 March,听Piers 92 and 94, 711 12th Avenue at 55th Street.
For details of the full programme, visit听.
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Credits
1. Yayoi Kusama,听Guidepost to the New World,听2016. Victoria Miro.
