Let Me Entertain You
The death of the art fair
There was a time when I was excited to have a booth at an art fair. Early on, I would participate in several a year…AIPAD, Paris Photo, Scope, Volta, Aqua, Pulse (RIP), Photo New York (RIP), Photo LA (RIP), Photo SF (RIP), Tokyo 101 (RIP), Art Fair 212 (RIP)…and the list continues of those still around and those who have folded.
That’s me last week at the Volta art fair in New York, in need of a little hug. It didn’t always look like this. Way before there were 18 art fairs one year in Miami, I was an advocate of the art fair. This was an opportunity to get up off my chair, away from my computer, and represent the artists that I cared so much about in front of thousands of visitors who I could at least engage and inform even if they didn’t buy.
In 2022, it had been 2+ years since my last fair, and I was ready to hit the hard concrete again, dining on overpriced sandwiches, renting additional lights for my booth at $124 a pop, and pacing up and down my white walls.
In the past, I had prided myself on my simpatico wardrobe, matching the booth and its presentation with subtle nods to the art well hung. I nailed it a couple of times.
The first time was all perfectly white. It would be hard to top this ensemble’s conceptual preoccupation with the art. White rug, white papered table and walls supporting Simon Schubert’s white paper art. Seven years have gone by, and I am still reminded of the white suit at every Volta art fair I attend.
The following year, it was all silver. One might call it sharkskin, but I know it was silky polyester. Innocently gazing at someone else’s art in someone else’s booth, an ArtInfo photographer captured me. One might think I am engaged, perhaps about to buy, but it was just me running around The Armory Fair before VOLTA began.
The Art Newspaper (which I love) was on this picture in a hot second. These mini papers were made new every day to keep up with the goings-on at the fairs (plural) that week. The headline would have been great if my booth was actually one of the 10 Must-See booths at the fair. But it’s just the back of me with my shiny suit as a placeholder for others to profit. I didn’t mind. My silver suit was on the runways that fall.
THIS YEAR, all I could muster at Volta was a flower print shirt, lacy Pro-Keds, and a thin blue-striped Seersucker suit. I look tired in that photo, although I was happy to be there.
At the end of the fair on Sunday, when all of the work was packed and the van loaded up destined for the gallery and a client or two, I realized that this was likely my last fair. I’ve said this before, but until I see changes in the way fairs are run and presented, I will stay on the sidelines and do like most of you, go to the fairs, look at the art and then go home.
How can we (galleries and artists) do this differently? After 17 years on my own, 14 years prior, and dozens of art fairs done, I know there has to be another way.
For the artist, there may be one thing to consider here. Well, two things. The first is to know when to get out. This could be your gallery, style of working, studio, or even your medium! If you’re tired and not getting the same thrill of it all, take a break and reevaluate.
The second is to think about how you can support your art by altering your presentation. I’m not saying you need to wear the pants you paint in or several cameras around your neck, but what can you wear that is an extension of your art?
I found a way to stand out while integrating and supporting the work I was showing. You didn’t see my booth in the year of the shiny suit, but the photographs in it by Joseph Desler Costa were printed on aluminum with the dye sublimation process and left a lot of shine bouncing around the booth. I don’t think I was getting in the works way as much as I was representing it.
This could also apply to your presentation of the work, how you frame it and how it sits on the wall. Try a new approach, and dare to stand out while supporting what you do and what you are saying…and have fun doing it. I did.
Classes & Notes
The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund is now accepting grant applications.
For 2022, the amount of the W. Eugene Smith Grant is $40,000. An additional $5,000 grant will be awarded as a Fellowship, and two finalists deemed worthy of special recognition will each be given a grant of $2,500.
Deadline: May 31st
Michael Foley opened his gallery in the fall of 2004 after fourteen years of working with notable photography galleries, including Fraenkel Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Yancey Richardson Gallery.
In 2002, Foley continued his interest in educating and working with artists by serving on the School of Visual Arts and International Center of Photography faculty. He currently teaches and lectures on contemporary photography issues at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
In 2020, he founded The Photo Community, which offers classes and commentary on contemporary photography.
Foley lives and works on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his wife, Maya.
these little insightful posts on here are really delightful and interesting. Your newsletter is one of the few i actually look forward to seeing in my email. Do you think the pandemic has further taken the mystique out of the art fairs for you?
Thank you for this introspective lens of your experience as an Artist and Gallerist...beautifully expressed.