All’s Not Fair at Independent Projects
New York does not need another art fair, but Independent Projects, a new spinoff from the Independent Art Fair held in March, is not just another art fair. Opening today in Chelsea’s former Dia building, it brings together 40 international galleries with focused, mostly monographic shows that will remain on view to the public through November 15. The result is a cleaner, less chaotic experience that does not so much strain the eye but train it.
1
Nicolas Deshayes Already a hot property in London, the young artist makes his New York debut at Jonathan Viner’s booth. His cropped depictions of transient Londoners waiting for the tube find beauty in the monotony of commuting.
2
Mark Barrow and Sarah Parke The sun sets disturbingly early this time of year in New York, so arrive early to catch the rays streaming through Mark Barrow and Sarah Parke’s digitized stained glass windows, installed at the booth of gallerist Elizabeth Dee, who cofounded Independent in 2010.
3
The artist’s drawings, with their cheeky sports references, cartoon characters and scenes of a sexual nature, cover every inch of wall space in David Zwirner’s booth. Much of the work was done directly on the plaster, but don’t fret—the works on paper are for sale.
4
Aura Rosenberg If Pettibon’s sex scenes are too PG for your taste, at Martos, Aura Rosenberg’s appropriations of vintage pornography—these alluring new works feature illicit images blown up or repeated—are sure to flag the attention of the Instagram censorship board.
5
Haroon Mirza Over at Lisson, Haroon Mirza’s abrasive installation, Das Boot, draws upon life aboard a submarine during World War II. Featuring neon, unsettling static and an impending sense of doom, it simulates the experience of visiting other art fairs.
6
Duane Hanson That shabby, overweight woman sitting at Karma is not a tourist who got lost, but one of Hanson’s hyperrealistic sculptures.
7
Mike Kelley The late artist’s sexualized felt banners at Skarstedt are like a grade-school art project gone devilishly wrong. Sidebar: Is porn the trending topic at Independent?
8
David Medella A scent of fresh laundry wafts from Venus Over Manhattan’s booth, where David Medella’s dreamy Cloud Gates, a machine that pumps bubbly suds at an almost imperceptible rate, stands as the first iteration of auto-creative art.
9
Graham Collins At Journal gallery, Collins’s vitrines constructed from car window tinting and other industrial materials exude a powerful simplicity.
10
Yves Klein Put your arm into Klein’s never-before-shown “Sculpture Tactile” at Dominique Levy. It’s a prototype, yes, but nevertheless an impressive one.
