Art Fairs Galore!

Today we went to two art fairs, Pulse and Pool. The art fair experience was new to me, as well as the rest of our group, and it was an exciting one. The first show, Pulse, covered two floors of a large building in Manhattan, with each gallery represented in an almost studio space-like setup, in size and shape. Viewers were free to wander the multitudes of exhibits at their own leisure, in a pleasant and relaxed environment. The low rumble of show goers provided a fitting soundtrack to the wide expanse of space. There was an incredible amount of interesting and beautiful work to look through, from a technical drawing of a disassembled X-wing, to fabric sculptures based off of traditional (Japanese) folk tales, to one particularly fascinating piece composed of two flat topped pyramids protruding out of the wall, and expertly painted to look as if you were moving around the painted room as you moved in front of it. While those showing work were obviously hoping to sell their work as in a traditional gallery setting, this had a more relaxed atmosphere, and I did not feel as pressured as I often do elsewhere. 

After the polished and extensive Pulse, the slightly less “spectacular” Pool was quite a change. Rather than being in any sort of traditional exhibition setting one might expect, this took place in the Flatiron hotel with each artist  or gallery displaying their work in a hotel bedroom. Work was hung on mirrors and windows, propped on beds, placed in drawers, and some shows  even extended into the bathrooms. Taking over a good portion of three floors of the hotel, the styles of work again varied greatly. Though I have shows I was particularly drawn to, my favorite aspect of this fair is the intimacy of the whole event. In larger groups or even just in larger settings I often do my best to hide in the background and rarely ask questions or bring attention to myself which is unfortunate in the long run. However in this situation the spaces were for the most part quite small, and I was at most in a room with two other people at any one time, making blending into the background fairly impossible, thus forcing me to make conversation. I’m very glad for this overall. I learned some interesting facts about individuals work, as well as gained valuable insight into the minds of artists of all ages often confirming my own thoughts on things in the art world and life of an art student. For example, one artist and I agreed that abstract painting must always be done at ridiculous hours of the night after achieving a delirious exhaustion in order to achieve anything effective (when you lean towards representational art at least.) Overall, I had a fantastic time exploring these two extraordinary events, and possibly returning to visit again before the season ends. 
-Aubrie Nelson

Armando Romero

Miki Taira

Patrick Hughes- Miro in the Mirror (front view)

Patrick Hughes- Miro in the Mirror (side view)