The Armory Show

And we’re off! The 2007 art fairs extravaganza has begun. So much to see and so little time for sure. The press preview at the Armory Show was delayed at least an hour, waiting for Mayor Bloomberg. After a few short introductions there was a question and answer period, but few if any of the questions were about art. They were all for the mayor, about taxes, national politics, and such. Not one question for Glenn Lowry concerning his latest scandal at MoMA -- no fun at all.

Finally we were allowed in to see the show, and this year's Armory Show is pretty good. Galleries from all around the world, several from Asia, mostly the U.S. and Europe. Lots and lots of money being spent, even at the preview, meaning lots of new tax revenue for the mayor.

Several galleries were exhibiting only one artist: that's a lot of pressure. How do they sleep? Why are there so many paintings of anime characters? And let's have a moratorium on adding verse to your artwork: those who already do so may continue.

Kiki Smith has had a lot of attention this year because of her Whitney retrospective. Carolina Nitsch had a fabulous print of hers, Europa. I've seen a few embroidered pieces lately, like this Chuck Close: it reminds me of painting on velvet.

I liked Sophie von Hellerman's paintings at Green Naftali, which tell a story of a London jewelery designer who stalks his clients and kills them. Just think, a gift for someone you truly despise.

I'll have more comments later. In the meantime go to my Flickr site to see pictures from the Armory Show preview. I’ll have more to say later.