Art

At Pier 94 on the West Side Highway last weekend, artists from NYC and beyond displayed their work at the 38th annual New York Artexpo.

The event gives both established and emerging artists the chance to mingle with other industry experts, and to show their work to interested gallery owners and members of the public.

The events kicked off on Thursday night with an opening party and continued throughout the weekend.  Several shows were hosted at once.  Artexpo New York showcased well-established fine art while the [SOLO] show featured emerging and innovative new talent, which made for an intriguing mix.

The expo was housed in a large warehouse.  Booths were arranged into long rows featuring various styles of art, manned by artist and gallery representatives, and in some cases the artists themselves.

In one booth, a representative for three established Spanish artists explained their traditional style landscapes and portraits while across the way, a gallery rep for Sugarlift introduced bright, abstract modern art by Brooklyn-based artist Svetlana Rabey.

At one booth, Japanese calligraphic artist Reibu stood proudly next to a small display of delicate, striking pieces.  He revealed that it was his first time displaying his art in the U.S. “New York has so many artists,” he said. “It’s inspiring.”

Some of the artists created pieces while showgoers looked on.  One artist painted a portrait for an attendee, working on an aisle while she sat, relaxed, on a folding chair. A few stalls down, a musician played while a modern artist silently worked.  A canvas lay on the table, covered in plastic fishing line.  She carefully dipped her brush into a deep grey paint and layered it over the line, letting it drip down onto the canvas, resulting in a delicate and somber piece that onlookers couldn’t peel themselves away from.

The annual event goes on for four days, and will return in 2017 with the added [FOTO SOLO] exhibition, a new fine art photography exhibition previewed this year with plans to fully launch in 2017.  The expo takes is an accessible approach to artists and art admirers alike interested in mingling with one another and purchasing unique pieces.

-Hilary Ribons

Photo Credit: Hilary Ribons

Additional sighting: Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Adam Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, were onstage together at The Met Fifth Avenue location on Thursday, April 14, at 6:30 pm for a conversation about their landmark collaboration: Marcel Breuer’s architectural masterpiece on Madison Avenue, formerly the home of the Whitney Museum, recently reopened as The Met Breuer.

Their program, Directors in Dialogue, took place in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at The Met. The Moderator was Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem. You can watch it here.