As the first major art fair in the U.S., the Armory Show has long been a key yardstick for assessing the American art scene and market. Strategically positioned at the start of the season, it was once one of the most anticipated events in the art world. However, in recent years, sentiment has shifted, and even the fair being brought under the Frieze umbrella hasn’t made much of a difference in terms of people’s perception of the event.
The major art fairs of New York Art Week wrapped on Sunday, and the biggest takeaway is that there is a growing sense of fatigue in cultural production, exacerbated by the pandemic’s oversaturation. Despite this, dealers were able to breathe a sigh of relief after a tough summer, with many reporting renewed interest and strong sales early in the fair. This provided much-needed support for several galleries, as multiple sources confirmed to Observer that more than one small- to mid-level showroom in the city had been considering shutting its doors.
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The Armory Show, which opened on Thursday, saw steady attendance and sales throughout the weekend, with additional transactions taking place after the first day. “As opposed to years passed, where the lion’s share of sales to new collectors took place during the preview, the bulk of our commerce happened on Saturday and Sunday with folks who ventured into the booth to discuss the work many times throughout the fair,” Mihai Nicodim, owner of Nicodim, told press. The gallery placed major pieces by Angeles Agrela, Isabelle Albuquerque, Nicola Samori and Moffat Takadiwa late in the fair, and Nicodim added that buyers were thoughtful and deliberate, seeking art they truly appreciated and wanted to live with.
By the time the show closed, sales had been made at various levels, including of significant museum pieces. Victoria Miró sold five of six video installations by Isaac Julien, priced between $350,000 and $450,000, along with several of Julien’s photos ranging from $40,000 to $80,000. The video had recently been featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial, and both the installation and photographs were part of Julien’s major moving-image works currently on view at MoMA. Additionally, the gallery placed a primary market painting by Yayoi Kusama for $800,000.
Kasmin also achieved strong results, selling Robert Motherwell’s Apse (1980-1984) for $825,000, Walton Ford’s The Singer Tract (2023) for $750,000 and works by rising stars Sara Anstis, Jan-Ole Schiemann and Emil Sands, priced between $16,000 and $35,000. Lurdoff placed a Gerhard Richter oil-on-book-cover work for $420,000, while Tang Contemporary Art sold an Ai Weiwei bronze casting for $450,000 and one of his Lego Brickworks for somewhere in the range of $140,000 to $160,000.
Emerging art under $10,000 also saw success. Half Gallery sold eleven of fifteen works on show in the $10,000 to $30,000 range, while Spinello Projects sold out of Puerto Rican painter Esaí Alfredo’s solo booth, with works priced between $9,000 and $35,000. Mrs. Gallery reported selling eleven paintings by Alexandra Barth, priced between $3,500 and $13,000, with Barth also winning the TPC Art Finance Presents Prize.
By Sunday, James Cohan had sold three oil paintings and two acrylics by Naudline Pierre for $109,000, alongside two paintings by Eamon Ore-Giron for $50,000 each, two embroidered works by Jordan Nassar for $34,000 each and an Alison Elizabeth Taylor piece for $22,000. Night Gallery continued to see demand for Sarah Miska’s close-up paintings, selling two pieces for $48,000 each and two more for $32,000 and $16,000, along with works by Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola for $40,000, Claire Tabouret pieces for $10,000 to $30,000 and a work by Sarah Awad for $22,000. They also placed a ceramic by Grant Levy-Lucero for $16,000 and an Elaine Stocki work for $10,000. 303 Gallery sold three works by Jeppe Hein for $45,000 each and a sculpture by Alicja Kwade for about $33,000.
Several gallerists reported that most buyers at the Armory were Americans, primarily from New York. While this offers some hope for recovery in the U.S. market, collectors remain cautious and much more selective in their purchases. Several dealers told Observer that the days of selling out via PDF are over, as transactions now take more time because sales are more likely to be completed after buyers see a piece in person at the fair or gallery, requiring more conversations, time and patience. As for collectors and advisors, many found the fair conservative, with few new names to discover, and were in some cases disappointed by the quality of works by artists they were considering.
Few shows opening during New York Art Week sold out. Among the exceptions, David Kordansky sold out Hilary Pecis’s entire show ahead of its opening, while Swivel Gallery had only two pieces left before Amy Bravo’s solo show opened on Saturday. However, pre-show sell-outs are becoming rare, as again, collectors take longer to decide and prefer to see the work in person before committing to buy.
SEE ALSO: The Must-See Gallery Shows Opening During Armory Week
Meanwhile, the curated boutique art fair Independent 20th Century opened on Thursday at the Battery Maritime Building in Downtown Manhattan. Although sales were slow, partly due to the higher price points and the historically sophisticated nature of the presentations, many dealers reported positive results by the end. This suggests that high-quality presentations and curation still pay off in today’s market, especially where collectors are more selective and attentive to the institutional significance of their acquisitions.
Almine Rech showcased CoBrA pioneer Karel Appel with several masterpieces from the 1960s and 1970s, priced between $200,000 and $550,000. Meanwhile, Galeria MaPa from São Paulo aimed for a museum acquisition by presenting the work of artist, writer, activist and politician Abdias do Nascimento. Although the artist spent his last decades in the U.S., his work has only just recently entered the collection of the MoMa. A gallery representative told Observer that the director was awaiting a visit from the Guggenheim Museum, which is searching for one of Nascimento’s pieces. Galeria MaPa showed four of his rare paintings, priced between $200,000 and $400,000—most are already in private or museum collections.
Alison Jacques out of London also reported strong sales to museum-caliber collections and major institutions, including a large-scale 1964 weaving by American artist Lenore Tawney, which sold for $400,000, alongside collages and assemblages from the 1960s through 1987 priced between $40,000 and $65,000 each. John Szoke Gallery sold two Picasso works, including La Femme à la Résille (Femme aux Cheveux verts) for $250,000 and a smaller piece for $67,000. Luxembourg + Co. sold three of four works by Rebecca Ward, priced between $25,000 and $45,000, while Ronchini sold another Ward piece for $40,000. Ippodo Gallery also had success with Japanese ceramic works by Mitsukuni Misaki, Tomoyuki Hoshino and Yukiya Izumita, priced between $1,800 and $8,000, as well as two works by Yoca Muta, priced at $7,800 and $8,000. Filippo De Pisis, an artist recently rediscovered through his inclusion in the Venice Biennale, found placements in U.S.-based private collections for three works priced between $18,000 and $30,000.
Both leading fairs this week attracted notable attendees, including curators like Cecilia Alemanni, Larry Ossei Mensah and David Breslin, along with major collectors such as Mera and Don Rubell, Yvonne Force Villareal, Steven Wilson, Debi Wisch, Evan Yurman, Tiffany Zabludowicz and Margot Ziegler. However, the attendee list shared by the fairs highlights how New York Art Week remained primarily an American affair. The general sense is that the Armory Show and other fairs are finding it tough to draw international visitors and exhibitors, especially as the art world’s calendar becomes increasingly crowded. The overlap with Frieze Seoul has only added to the challenge, making the city’s September art fairs feel more local and, for some, less exciting.