Much has been made of the changes in store at this year’s Armory Show. To stave off competition from all sides — most notably, the arrival of Frieze Art Fair in May — New York’s marquee art fair is marketing itself as smaller, more elite, and more curated than ever before. But exactly what kind of alterations and additions can we expect? ARTINFO has rounded up the major changes at this year’s Armory Show, from interactive performances to an entirely new floorplan. Now you’ll know what to look for when you hit the piers.
IT'S SMALLER
Perhaps the biggest difference from editions past is the number of galleries participating in the show. Last year — and many years past, actually — visitors complained the Armory felt a bit bloated and overwhelming. In an effort to address the issue, organizers cut the list from 274 galleries to 220. “You’ll see the difference very materially on Pier 94 in particular,” said Noah Horowitz, managing director of the Armory Show. The contemporary art section was slimmed down by 25 percent, he said, which will give the galleries that remain a substantially larger footprint.
THERE WILL BE NEW FACES
In addition to luring back some galleries that had defected from the Armory in previous years — Spruth Magers, Greene Naftali, and David Zwirner among them — the fair will host a new section for young galleries mounting solo presentations. Horowitz said he looked for galleries doing innovative work in their local markets, including On Stellar Rays, which will exhibit work by Clifford Owens on the heels of his exhibition at MoMA PS1, and Winkleman Gallery, which will show pieces by Jen Dalton, known for her biting, feminist art-world critique. The roster is also more international than in years past, according to Horowitz: the Armory will host four galleries from Korea and three from Istanbul, among other new international names.
IT WILL HAVE A NEW FLOORPLAN
No makeover would be complete without a new look, and the Armory’s got one. For the first time, the company hired an architect — Bade Stageberg Cox — to streamline the fair’s layout. (That meant reducing the number of aisles, adding new sit-down restaurants, and expanding the size of the VIP lounge. The redesign also, hopefully, means less time retracing your steps to find an exit.) Some of the additional cafes have been designed with a wink: one is entirely furnished with found tables and chairs spray painted taxi cab yellow.
PERFORMANCE COMES OUT TO PLAY
Perhaps the most innovative change to this year’s Armory program is a focus on performance. The Armory’s official artist, Theaster Gates, will hold court at Pier 94 Café from Thursday through Saturday, inviting friends and unfamiliar visitors alike to engage in conversation. (The event recalls his breakthrough performance from 2007, “Plate Convergance,” in which Gates invited locals and artists to a highly stylized dinner party.) In keeping with the fair’s geographical focus, many of the performers hail from Nordic countries. On Wednesay at 7 p.m., the collective FOS will recreate "Osloo," a floating pavilion and performance hub that most recently appeared in the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The Icelandic artist Örn Alexander Ámundason will also perform a 14-minute concert, titled “Kreppa,” that attempts to show what a financial collapse sounds like. “Too often art fairs are seen as a bubble-like shelter for painting, photography, and sculpture,” said Horowitz. “We really wanted the Armory to reflect the whole breadth of practices that are capturing the attention of audiences and artists today.”
Now, we’ll just have to wait to see whether their substantial effort pays off. Happy fairgoing.