Scope NYC 2007 Art Fair

This year Scope NYC had a much improved location at Lincoln Center, and some impressive featured artist installations. While we enjoyed the fair, we found many of the booths a bit dull and lacking that feeling of cutting edge young art..which we've come to associate with Scope. The fair just didn't have the same creative energy as last year in NYC or Miami.

Two artist installations, Brose Partington (Tide) and Ambrose Martos (photo #1 from ArtFagCity, of Mr. Martos) just rocked our world..

In fact both the Quizling and I found ourselves stopped dead in our tracks wondering if Mr. Martos was even alive, drunk, homeless, stupid, or just a realistic stuffed doll. Both installations were a bit shocking.. and totally brilliant! Our congrats to both artists!

Sadly that's where most of the magic ended. The isles were too narrow, the tent too hot, they charged $10 for the catalog, and many of the galleries were showing exactly the same artists as the last two Scope fairs.  Our few standouts were..
- Artist Zadok Ben David's small sculpture groups at the Janet Oh Gallery from Seoul Korea. These almost looked like a sculptural incarnation of a Michael Kenna photograph.. both beautiful, chilling, and delicate. (photo #2, Zadok Ben David, Autumn Reflection, Stainless Steel, 2005)

- British Painter Natasha Kissell's Bauhaus inspired Utopian landscapes at the young NYC Gallery 10G. It's great to see an artist comfortable with the use of bright brilliant colored landscaped where she's managed to blend modernist architecture into magical hypothetical worlds without looking like cheesy sci-fi art. (photo #3, by Natasha Kissell, Rock of Ages, 2007 Oil on Canvas, 44x50")

- Photographer Kelli Connell portraits at the impressively successful Yossi Milo Gallery. We've talked about Kelli's work before.. We just love the sexual tension and gender bending beauty in these subtle double portraits.

- Nina Braun's skateboard punk meets fashion sheik meets Andreas Gursky installation art at Galerie Helium Cowboy Artspace. (photo #4.. Nina Braun's Sneakers)These hand knitted skateboarder sneakers were just so fun..We almost wanted to try a pair on!

And Lastly.. you may remember Lisa Kirk from her kick-ass amazing installation multi-artist curated booths at NADA Miami.. Well she's back!! But this time at Scope NYC, and it would seem even getting mugged and drunk propositioned by a band of NYC cops Friday night couldn't keep this artistic powerhouse of a curator from "manning" her booth this Saturday morning. So with works by Robert Melee and Michael Bilsborough, The LEGION Project 10 was certainly a  welcome breath of fresh air.

And with this, we'll end our NYC Art Fair coverage...

Oh.. FYI.. We were going to write about the Armory show.. but given everyone on with entire east coast seemed to attend this ridiculously over crowded event.. there's really no need to blog about it..  Or, you can Just read about it here.. and here.. (These bloggers write much better than MAO anyway.)
Actually it was just way too crowded for us to enjoy almost anything about the Armory Fair. The Art may have been great... but how could you appreciate it, when you're getting pushed around, by nasty UES botox art collectors. Plus the "people" manning the gallery booths were frazzled, frequently rude, and often inconsiderate to even the most polite questions...it just wasn't worth fighting the lines and mobs.

Next year.. they really need a bigger space, longer hours, perhaps an extra day, a bigger VIP area, and maybe they should consider selling tickets only in advance.  On Friday, by 2pm, the crowd was terrible.. and we heard Saturday and Sunday the lines were totally insane...but hey.. It's part of "enjoying" Contemporary Art! NO??

Comments

[Kenny T]

Quit your whining, MAO! YOU'VE GOT TO SUFFER FOR GREAT ART! Even at the Armory Show!

[Rick]

Hey MAO..
The Armory fair was just insane. You'd think they were giving the art away.

I love that Natasha Kissell Painting.. beautiful but yet mysterious. I'll have to check her out.
Thanks

[dcfa]

I liked those little trees!