A view of one of the exhibitors at the 2011 Fountain Art Fair in Miami (photo by Hrag Vartanian for Hyperallergic)
There’s tons to look forward to this year in art, but the indie energy of the Fountain Art Fair in New York definitely tops our list. To sweeten the deal, Fountain has announced that this year’s fair will take place at the historic 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue and 25th Street. The fair will run from March 9 -11 to coincide with The Armory Show when artists, galleries, collectors, critics and curators from all over the world land in New York for one of the city’s largest and most anticipated art fairs.
The 69th Regiment Armory located on Lexington Ave & 25th St. (photo via wikipedia.org)
John Leo, co-creator of the Fountain Art Fair with David Kesting, told Hyperallergic that Fountain will now have much more room to unload their cutting-edge programming in the Armory’s immense 28,000 square foot space. “The 69th Regiment Armory marks a colossal shift for Fountain. We now have the space for nearly triple our usual gallery count, making this our most ambitious project yet,” said Leo.
Fountain’s move also marks the 99th anniversary of the original 1913 Armory Show, the first international exhibition of modern art in America that saw the likes of Marcel Duchamp and Kandinsky being introduced to the American public. Kesting pointed out that this connection speaks directly to what the Fountain Art Fair is all about — supporting emerging artists and smaller independent galleries in a fresh way:
The Armory as a space, with its historic context to the 1913 show, represents so much of who and what Fountain is: The concept that the artwork of our culture comes from here, from the first contemporary domestic art show to now, its born right among us. Our Armory exists in the Urban Gallery and the arts in which it presents. The studios in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Wynwood, Miami, Bucktown, Chicago and by the LA River produce the power to change and impact our culture.
So what can we expect for Fountain New York at the Armory? The fair always has an exciting and unexpected line-up of events, and we bet that this year’s fair will follow suit. To give some perspective on what’s in store, Fountain Miami has been more and more successful every year and the December 2011 incarnation sold over $150,000 in art and one artist sold out her booth on the first day.
You can also take a look at our brief review of last year’s Fountain fair in New York.
The 2012 Fountain Art Fair New York will run from March 9 – 11, 2012 at the 69th Regiment Armory (68 Lexington Avenue at 25 Street, Gramercy, Manhattan).
