Fountain Art Fair Steps Up Its Game This Year

This article was posted by Daniel Feral

Fountain Art Fair overview shot from the second floor balcony by Rachel Esterday

The Fountain Art Fair really upped the ante in 2012 by obtaining the impressive 69th Regiment Armory venue, and attracting about sixty galleries, as well as individual artists to do installations and performances. During the opening night party on Friday March 9th, Fab 5 Freddy was featured on the turntables, and the line to get in wrapped around the block.

Fab 5 Freddy DJing at the Fountain opening. Photo by Morgan Reede.

The venue this year was the historic 69th Regiment Armory, a building the size of a full city block, sitting between 25th and 26th streets, and Lexington and Park avenues. The main hall housing the gallery booths, which is still used for drill practice by the National Guard’s “Fighting Sixth-Ninth” is nearly 130 feet in height or about ten stories. The vaulted ceiling soared above attendees with beautiful iron ribbing and crisscrossed supports. A second-story balcony circles the entire hall and has auditorium seating at one end. At the other end, a Thanksgiving Day parade style pink bunny balloon by Ryan Cronin was perched overseeing the crowds. The balcony also served as a launching platform for a performance by Seanna Sharpe and her team of aerialists. Ms. Sharpe was arrested recently for her exploits high up on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Seanna Sharpe and her team of aerialists. Photo by Morgan Reede.

Daniel Aycock, a founding Fountain participant and director of the Front Room Gallery, said “We were proud to participate in Fountain’s grandest show to date — at the Historic 69th Regiment Armory Building. It’s an honor to exhibit in the place that first introduced most Americans to European artists such as Picasso and Cezanne for the first time. The lines around the block for opening night were a testament to the enthusiasm for this latest incarnation of Fountain.” Mr. Aycock was referring to the legendary 1913 exhibition officially titled the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” but became popularly known as the “Armory Show.” It was the first exhibition organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, and featured over 1,300 Impressionist, Fauvist and Cubist works that were panned harshly in the press but ended up having a lasting influence on American artists.
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Robert Molla at Kesting Ray.

The Kesting Ray Gallery had a space showcasing a few artists, most notably a few very large pieces by Swoon and some very small pieces by Roberto Molla. Swoon’s wood block prints were about six feet high on thick brownish paper, ripped and ragged, mounted to hidden frames so that the edges of the paper curled up continuing her exploration of a hippie punk aesthetic. Roberto Molla was showing a few precious pencil and ink geometric abstractions that really stood out for their precise compositions and poetic titles.

Swoon at Kesting Ray.

Labrona at Station 16.

Station 16 was another stand out booth for street artists, because they were exhibiting two prints by Labrona the freight painter. Also of note to street artists was the Marianne Nems Gallery booth which had a wide selection of new works by LA2, whose work is more detailed and stronger than ever. LA2 was one of the first collaborators with Keith Haring and definitely the youngest at just sixteen years old.

LA2 at Marianne Nems.

Text and Photo: Daniel Feral, unless otherwise noted.

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© Daniel Feral & 12ozProphet - Tuesday March 13, 2012 at 03:08 PM