New York may be the centre of the art market, but the Armory Show art fair (named after the much more famous modernist exhibition of 1913) has tended to struggle against the more glamorous fairs and biennials.
This year's event opened barely 10 days after the collapse of Bear Stearns bank. It is hard to overestimate the impact this had on the New York psyche or the fear that thousands of lay-offs in the banking sector engendered among the Manhattan elite. Dealers openly admitted they were nervous before the fair.
Their worries seemed premature. The trade reacted by bringing relatively safe, elegant works - less expensive ones by big names (White Cube had a Gursky priced at $400,000), and plenty by middling-famous, mid-career artists.
There were hardly any of the massive, museum-and-private collection pieces that had graced Art Basel in Miami or Switzerland last year.
Museum curators and patrons were present, as were hosts of Europeans attracted by the weak dollar. Alain Seban, director of the Pompidou, was spotted, though he confessed that tightening budgets and France's economic woes were making everyone nervous. His friends, the collectors Florence and Daniel Guerlain, showed no such restraint, particularly focusing on works by Indian artists.
But the show that had the museums talking was the first edition of Volta, which featured large experimental works. The organiser's selection was made by artist not by gallery, and it was the artist's name, not the dealer's, that featured on the stand. It was the show that won the critical plaudits, and also had the big collectors scurrying along the aisles.
Jane Morris is an arts journalist and editor
This year's event opened barely 10 days after the collapse of Bear Stearns bank. It is hard to overestimate the impact this had on the New York psyche or the fear that thousands of lay-offs in the banking sector engendered among the Manhattan elite. Dealers openly admitted they were nervous before the fair.
Their worries seemed premature. The trade reacted by bringing relatively safe, elegant works - less expensive ones by big names (White Cube had a Gursky priced at $400,000), and plenty by middling-famous, mid-career artists.
There were hardly any of the massive, museum-and-private collection pieces that had graced Art Basel in Miami or Switzerland last year.
Museum curators and patrons were present, as were hosts of Europeans attracted by the weak dollar. Alain Seban, director of the Pompidou, was spotted, though he confessed that tightening budgets and France's economic woes were making everyone nervous. His friends, the collectors Florence and Daniel Guerlain, showed no such restraint, particularly focusing on works by Indian artists.
But the show that had the museums talking was the first edition of Volta, which featured large experimental works. The organiser's selection was made by artist not by gallery, and it was the artist's name, not the dealer's, that featured on the stand. It was the show that won the critical plaudits, and also had the big collectors scurrying along the aisles.
Jane Morris is an arts journalist and editor
