NEW YORK — Just in time to capitalize on the art-fair frenzy of Armory Show week in New York — or to steal some of its thunder, depending on how you look at it — Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu (SO-IL) has released images of the snake-like pavilion they've designed for Randall's Island to house Frieze's inaugural New York fair later this year. SO-IL is probably best known for "Pole Dance," the installation of delightful workout balls suspended above MoMA PS1’s 2010 Warm-Up program.
The young firm, founded in 2008 by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, said in a press release that the pavilion's meandering shape is owed to "a slightly mutated pie-shaped tent section" that they developed to add a twist to an otherwise simple structure — inserting triangular wedges into the length of the tent gave it bit of sway to snake along the island's shore. Circular white seating arrangements dot the interior. Floor-to-ceiling windows give fair-goers a view of the riverfront throughout.
Frieze, long-known for incorporating bespoke, pop-up architecture into its annual behemoth art fair, enlisted the young 10-piece Brooklyn-based outfit based on its previous projects, which have "shown an inventive approach that we instantly found appealing," said Frieze co-founders Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover in a statement. "Having worked with a series of architects in London we have a reputation for commissioning forward-thinking design and we wanted to bring a similar approach to our first New York fair."
Frieze's presentation of 170 contemporary art galleries in the space will take place from May 4 through 7.