Paola Citterio, “Do Not Disturb” (image courtesy 4heads and the artist)
The annual Governors Island Art Fair (GIAF) always comes at a good time — just before my list of art to see begins to grow at overwhelming speed. Hosted by the artist-run nonprofit 4heads, the monthlong event is often an opportunity to discover lesser-known artists in the creaky houses that once belonged to army officers. This year is also a special one, with the fair celebrating its 10th anniversary and expanding its exhibition space to the ground floor of Liggett Hall, a former military barrack and training center built by McKim, Mead and White that measures 1,000 feet wide. GIAF has evidently grown since it began in 2008, when it exhibited just 52 artists in one building, a former nurses’ residence.
You can expect a range of art — in both quality and type — at this sprawling fair that includes sound installations, outdoor sculptures, video, and two-dimensional work. After sifting through 800 applications, 4heads is promising a diverse selection of artists from across the US, as well as from abroad, including Ecuador, Helsinki, and Lithuania. Some highlights include Margaret Roleke’s dense sculptures made from shotgun shells, alluding to this country’s intensifying gun violence; work by German artist Sonia Barrett, who makes uncanny assemblages of furniture evoking dismembered bodies; and Paola Citterio’s feminist pieces that often combine soft felt with iron forms.
When: Saturday, September 2–Sunday, October 1; open Saturdays and Sundays, 11am–6pm
Where: Governors Island (New York Harbor)
More info here.
