At Fair of the future, which opened to VIPs on Wednesday May 10 for its third in-person edition, painting is unquestionably the dominant medium. But which way to paint – the bright, figurative style that dominated the contemporary art market for the better part of a decade, or the more process-oriented abstraction – is up for debate. There are strong examples of both, and plenty of sculpture too, but among booths filled with canvases featuring vivid portraits, irreverent domestic scenes and stylized allusions to art history, abstract works can invite closer inspection and more sustained interest.
“I’m thrilled that the pendulum is swinging back to abstraction,” says Joey Piziali, director and co-founder of the San Francisco-based company. Römer Young Gallery, whose booth showcases the works of an intergenerational cohort of “three women at the forefront of abstraction,” as he puts it. The presentation spans a fluid, gestural circular canvas by Pamela Jorden, bird eyes (2023), smaller untitled works by Nancy White with interlocking forms rendered in a more subdued palette, and a hard-edged geometric composition in blue and red pigmented plaster by Elise Ferguson priced at $24,000.
Elise Ferguson, Walsh L.2023 Courtesy of the artist and Romer Young Gallery
“Abstraction is so generous that it has nothing didactic about it,” says Piziali. “Everything you see in the work, you bring to it.”
On the stand of the Washington, DC-based gallery Morton’s Fine Arts, visitors might see ancient geometries or futuristic architectural schemes in the works of Eto Otitigbe. His pieces, exhibited alongside mixed works by Adia Millett, are in fact bas-relief sculptures in the guise of paintings. Each aluminum or Valchromat panel is etched with a precise geometric structure related to Otitigbe’s public art practice, onto which he then applies dyes or acrylic paint.
“I see them as experimental drawings”, says the artist. “It’s about the push and pull between the stiffness of the engraving and the way the ink moves across the panel, which I can’t completely control.” His works cost between $2,750 for the small panels and $16,500 for the large diptych anchoring the stand.
Eto Otitigbe, Dr. Nova (diptych)2022 Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art
A different kind of push and pull is at work in the dazzling acrylic, gouache and ink-on-paper works of Rafael Plaisant filling the walls of the New York home high noon gallery stand, which also features spellbinding ceramic busts of Elisa Soliven. Plaisant’s abstract compositions oscillate between ancient, contemporary and futuristic forms, evoking traditional scroll paintings and mandalas, Russian constructivism, psychedelic poster art and science fiction imagery, among other touchstones. .
“Rafael’s practice began as a fantasy of building the perfect skateboard ramp, which led him to study architecture,” says High Noon owner and manager Jared Linge, who learned about the work of High Noon. Brazilian artist at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic through the viral #ArtistSupportPledge campaign on social media. “At the time, his work was selling for $200, which seemed like the wrong price.” At Future Fair, Plaisant’s work is always affordably priced, between $1,800 and $3,500 depending on size.
Raphael Pleasant, Proposal2023 Courtesy of the artist and High Noon, New York
“For a younger fair, Rebeca [Laliberte] and Rachel [Mijares Fick] really care about supporting galleries and showing works at accessible prices,” adds Linge, referring to the co-founders of Future Fair, who made a favorable financial model and a cooperative spirit cornerstones of the fair.
The fair certainly seemed to benefit from being the first out the door in the middle of New York spring art market marathonhosting a lively preview the day before Tefaf New York And Independentand before the auction houses launch their big seasonal sales. With 56 exhibitors, some sharing communal booths and others showing in lounge-like spaces or open thoroughfares, the fair has an inviting, unpretentious atmosphere that feels all the more welcoming given its location in the heart of Chelsea, an increasingly dominated gallery district. by some twenty impressive international concessions.
Or, as one VIP online for the bar heard during Wednesday’s preview: “I feel like No, Independent And Untitled had an orgy, and Future Fair is their love child.
- Fair of the futureuntil May 13, Chelsea Industrial, New York
