Georg Karl Pfahler at Klaus Gerrit Friese. Photo: Henri Neuendorf.
The Siberian weather conditions that descended on New York on Wednesday did not prevent the art world from making it to the VIP preview of this year’s Armory Show—albeit for some, a little later than planned. Gallerists were in sales mode pushing their wares, while collectors, advisors, journalists and hangers-on busily scanned the booths eager to discover their next acquisition (or selfie opportunity).
Collectors Susan and Michael Hort, Bernard Lumpkin, and Beth Rudin de Woody were spotted in the early hours, as was London-based Anita Zabludowicz, who made it to New York before the blizzard. Critic Jerry Saltz was deep in conversation (as usual), while celebrities such as Paul Rudd, John Waters, Mike Meyers, and Sofia Coppola were also walking the aisles.
Some galleries were busy from the get-go, including Pace, which sold out its booth of Tara Donovan’s Composition (Cards)—made of styrene cards packed into frames—for prices ranging from $35,000–60,000. Sean Kelly sold a work by newly minted Obama portraitist Kehinde Wiley for $150,000, among other sales. And James Cohan sold two Fred Tomaselli paintings priced at $65,000 and $225,000.
If the weather prevented you from attending, or other commitments (such as the contemporary art auctions in London or TEFAF in Maastricht, also underway this week) prevented you from going to the show, we were on the scene with a camera to capture all of the action from opening day.