NEW YORK, January 24, 2013 - For its fourth edition of the curated section Armory Focus, The Armory Show shifts its gaze to the United States. Under the curatorial vision of Eric Shiner, Director of The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Armory Focus: USA will present 17 established and emerging galleries. In a series of unusual juxtapositions, the work of artists both from within the United States and beyond provide commentary on the current state of the union.
Eric Shiner remarks, “The Armory Focus section will approach the very broad topic of ‘America’ through the eyes of over 20 artists who make it the subject of their work. They do so directly or discreetly, humorously or with a bone to pick. They are insiders and outsiders, Americans or not. Some might critique America, while others celebrate its history, legacy or absurdity. One hundred years after the avant-garde made its American debut at the 1913 Armory, today we must ask what, if anything, is new, shocking, or revolutionary. Can such things exist, or has our world of social media created a condition where shock is fleeting, soon forgotten, and unable to take hold as the next bit of data quickly replaces it? The artists and galleries in the section represent the diversity that is America, geographically and otherwise. Through a variety of simple actions and installations, I hope that visitors to the fair will begin to question what exactly it is that defines America, the art world's role within it, and ultimately, artists' reactions to it, for it, and against it."
Noah Horowitz, Executive Director of The Armory Show comments, “In our continued celebration of the original Armory of 1913 and the mixture of ambivalence, anxiety, and excitement the introduction of modernism brought to the United States, we are delighted to present an exhibition emphasizing both the shock of the new and the shock of the old. To fully take the pulse of contemporary practice here in America we were required to cast a wide net. Eric has brought an incredible intuitiveness to this process, both exposing and celebrating the networks and cultural matrices that have built the experience of art in the USA."
Featured highlights of Armory Focus: USA include: Gagosian Gallery, which will mark its debut at The Armory Show with a special project by Andy Warhol; Anthony Meier Fine Arts, also exhibiting at the fair for the first time, with works by Roy McMakin; Churner and Churner, featuring Elise Abidi’s Oxidation paintings, which revisit Warhol’s heralded series; CONNERSMITH, presenting The Network by Lincoln Schatz, which debuted at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC, in December 2012; new work by sculptor Dave Cole at DODGEgallery; Andrew Brischler and Simone Leigh at Gavlak Gallery; The Suzanne Geiss Company will present a site-specific installation by Assume Vivid Astro Focus, the international group of visual and performance artists that combine elements of psychedelia and kitsch to craft sharply playful mash-ups; Higher Pictures and On Stellar Rays will collaborate on a booth exhibiting the work of Rochelle Feinstein and Artie Vierkant; INVISIBLE-EXPORTS will feature artists Paul Gabrielli and Cary Leibowitz whose works scrutinize and restyle the forgotten, the overlooked, and the discarded in reaction to a culture consumed by novelty; Magnan Metz will present a solo-booth by Duke Riley focused on America’s strength and marginalization, including a new work developed in response to the devastation wrought on the Rockaways by Hurricane Sandy; Shuhei Yamada, a Japanese artist providing incisive commentary on Americana at Aisho Miura; moniquemeloche will present a three-person booth featuring Type A, Kendell Carter, and Joel Ross; Wendi Norris will present the works of Chitra Ganesh and Dorthea Tanning spanning six decades of both artists’ careers; at Samson Projects, a solo-presentation of Todd Pavlisko will illustrate the macabre mechanisms propelling a cast of characters to strive towards “greatness" via cycles of madness and futility; Jessica Silverman Gallery will premiere a new body of mixed media paintings and a single-channel film by Desiree Holman; and Various Small Fires will exhibit a special presentation of the work of Armory Commissioned Artist Liz Magic Laser. The fair will also feature installations by Devon Dikeou, Charles Lutz, and Dennis Marsico, all curated by Eric Shiner.
Participating exhibitors in Armory Focus: USA:
Churner and Churner, New York: Elise Abidi
CONNERSMITH, Washington D.C.: Lincoln Schatz
DODGEgallery, New York: Dave Cole
Gagosian Gallery, New York: Andy Warhol
Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach: Andrew Brischler and Simone Leigh
The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York: Assume Vivid Astro Focus
Higher Pictures, New York / On Stellar Rays, New York: Rochelle Feinstein and Artie Vierkant
Invisible-Exports, New York: Paul Gabrielli and Cary Leibowitz
Magnan Metz, New York: Duke Riley
Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco: Roy McMakin
Aisho Miura, Tokyo: Shuhei Yamada
moniquemeloche, Chicago: Type A, Kendell Carter, and Joel Ross
Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco: Chitra Ganesh and Dorthea Tanning
Samson Projects, Boston: Todd Pavlisko
Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco: Desiree Holman
Various Small Fires, Los Angeles: Liz Magic Laser
Armory Focus: USA will take place in Pier 94 – Contemporary. In February, The Armory Show will announce a related listing of lectures, panels, films, discussions, and performances.
Armory Focus: USA is sponsored by the Ace Hotel New York.
The Armory Show
March 7-10, 2013
Piers 92 & 94, Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street
New York City, USA
www.thearmoryshow.com
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
The Armory Show gratefully acknowledges its 2013 Sponsors and Partners including Art.sy, Chubb Personal Insurance; Christie's Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS), Preferred Art Storage Services Provider; Pommery Champagne; Jack Spade; Artstrong and the Ace Hotel New York. The Armory Show would also like to acknowledge our 2013 Media Partners including Art + Auction; Art in America; The Art Newspaper; Art Nexus; ART PAPERS; ArtAsiaPacific; Arte al Dia; Artforum International; Bidoun; Cabinet; Corduroy; Flash Art; Kaleidoscope; Modern Painters; New York Observer/GalleristNY; New York Times; and Whitewall.
In addition to Armory programming that will take place leading up to and during the fair, several of our cultural partners will host exhibitions relating to the 1913 Armory and the development of modernism. During the fair, the Museum of Modern Art will present Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925 (December 23, 2012–April 15, 2013); the Metropolitan Museum of Art will exhibit African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde (November 27, 2012–April 14, 2013), displaying African artifacts acquired by New York’s artistic community during the 1910s and 1920s; and the Montclair Art Museum will show The New Spirit: American Art in the Armory Show, 1913 (February 17–June 16, 2013). In October 2013, The New-York Historical Society will host The Armory Show at 100, featuring such canonical works as Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, first viewed on American soil at The Armory Show of 1913.
ART TOURS
The Armory Show 2013 presents ART TOURS, organized by Erbe Art Projects. Our annual ART TOURS program features a team of qualified art professionals who are able to guide your group through The Armory Show. For more information, please visit www.thearmoryshow.com.
DATES
Wednesday, March 6 for invited guests
Thursday, March 7 - Sunday, March 10, 12-7pm
Visitors with a VIP pass will also be able to access the fair from Thursday to Sunday from 11 am to Noon.
TICKETS
Advance tickets will be available in late-January. Admission tickets will available at the Box Office during show hours. Please visit www.thearmoryshow.com for more information.
TICKET PRICES
General Admission US $30
Students US $15
Seniors US $15
Groups (10+) US $15
Run of Show Pass (4 day) US $60
The Armory Show / Volta NY Pass US $40
LOCATION
Piers 92 & 94, Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street
New York City, USA
The Armory Show is located on Piers 92 and 94 on the Hudson River, Twelfth Avenue at West 55th Street in the Passenger Ship Terminal complex, conveniently located 20 blocks north of the Chelsea Gallery district and just west of Columbus Circle.
The piers are easily accessible by public transportation, taxi, and private vehicle. The nearest subway stop is four cross-town blocks east at West 50th Street and Eighth Avenue. Shuttles services are available between The Armory Show on Piers 92 & 94 and VOLTA NY on 34th Street near Fifth Avenue; the Chelsea gallery district at 27th and 11th Avenue; and the Whitney Museum of American Art at Madison Avenue and 75th Street. Please see shuttle schedule outside the fair for departure and arrival times and locations.
PRESS CONTACTS
Allison Rodman, The Armory Show +1646.616.7433 / +1914.715.9794
a.rodman@thearmoryshow.com
Damian Chandler, Brunswick Arts +44.20.7936.1290 / Julia Niebuhr +33.1.53.96.83.83
thearmoryshow@brunswickgroup.com
Please register in advance for press accreditation to The Armory Show by emailing a.rodman@thearmoryshow.com
EDITORS NOTES
About the Armory Focus Curator
Eric C. Shiner is the Director of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. Shiner has organized and curated three major exhibitions since his appointment to Director in 2011, including: Factory Direct: Pittsburgh, an exhibition showcasing the artwork of 14 established contemporary artists invited to conduct artist residencies in Pittsburgh-based factories; Deborah Kass: Before and Happily Ever After, a major mid-career retrospective of paintings and sculpture by the New York artist; and the 2011 Pittsburgh Biennial, an exhibition at The Andy Warhol Museum dedicated to artists whose work aims at transgressing boundaries and engendering transformative change in a nod to Gertrude Stein and her life’s work. Shiner is committed to positioning The Andy Warhol Museum as the epicenter of Andy Warhol’s legacy, as well as a global contemporary art destination. He is an active writer and translator, a contributing editor for ArtAsiaPacific magazine, and an adjunct professor of art history at The University of Pittsburgh. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy in The History of Art & Architecture and Japanese Language & Literature from The University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College in 1994, an M.A. in The History of Art from Osaka University in 2001, and another M.A. in The History of Art from Yale in 2003. He joined The Andy Warhol Museum as The Milton Fine Curator of Art in 2008.
The Andy Warhol Museum
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol's birth, The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Additional information about The Warhol is available at www.warhol.org.
The History of Armory Focus
Armory Focus was initiated in 2010 to highlight the contemporary gallery and artistic landscape from a specific geographic region. This unique section of the fair has quickly become one of the defining features of The Armory Show, presenting a survey of a region’s contemporary cultural practices as framed by a singular curatorial vision.
Armory Focus booths are located in a dedicated section adjacent to the entrance of Pier 94 and associated projects will be presented throughout the fair. Talks and lectures will also be organized around topics pertinent to Armory Focus: USA as part of The Armory Show’s popular Open Forum program of panels.
Armory Focus 2012: Nordic Countries featured the following galleries: Galerie Anhava, Helsinki; Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen; Beaver Projects, Copenhagen; Gallery Niklas Belenius, Stockholm; Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen; Crystal, Stockholm; D.O.R., Oslo; Dortmund Bodega, Oslo; ELASTIC, Malmö; Fruit & Flower Deli, Stockholm; i8, Reykjavik; IMO; Copenhagen; Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm; Christian Larsen, Stockholm; NOPlace, Oslo; Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen; David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen; Galleri Christian Torp, Oslo; V1 Gallery, Copenhagen.
Armory Focus 2011: Latin America featured the following galleries: A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro; Galeria Isabel Aninat, Santiago; Arroniz, Baro Gallery, Mexico City; Caja Blanca, Mexico City; Casa Triângulo, São Paulo; Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá; Lucia De La Puente, Lima; Faría Fábregas Galería, Caracas; Galeria Enrique Guerrero, Mexico City, Galeria Leme, São Paulo; Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporaneo, Buenos Aires; Galeria Laura Marsiaj, São Paulo; Mendes Wood, São Paulo; Nueveochenta, Bogotá; Revolver Galeria, Lima; Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo and Vermelho, São Paulo.
Armory Focus 2010: Berlin featured the following galleries: Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Buchmann Galerie, carlier|gebauer, COMA, Galerie Crone, Galerie Cinzia Friedlaender, Johnen Gallery, KLEMM'S, Johann König, Tanya Leighton Gallery, Loock Galerie, Christian Nagel, Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Produzentengalerie: ph-projects, Reception, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Esther Schipper, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Galerie Barbara Thumm, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Wentrup, Galerie Barbara Wien.