Fair Play: Seven

The posts so far:

A Long, Tall Drink of Aqua

Art Basel Miami Beach

Amuse Oeil

The World Wide Web

Occupy Miami?

Prologue: Head to Toe

Peekin' In

What do photographs of transsexual transformation, a rendering of a household cleaning product and castoff computer keys have in common? The independent art fair, Seven

The eighth post in this series is on Seven, an independent fair owned and operated by seven galleries: Hales Gallery, London; and Bravin Lee Programs, Pierogi Gallery, Postmasters Gallery, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, and Winkleman Gallery, all in New York City. I like the spirit of the show--dealers doing what artists have always done, working together to create visibility. and doing it on their own terms--and I liked much of the work, which was curated into one large exhibition. Most if not all of these galleries had shown at other fairs in the past but they chose this format, described in a press release as "a more intimate, personal way to engage visitors during the Miami fair week." 

This is the second year for Seven, and I hope it continues for a long time.

Artists and dealers might take a tip from the way this group presented and marketed themselves, from the graphic logo to the map on their postcard, which placed themselves squarely with the bigger venues in Wynwood, to a well wrritten and informative website with good, wide-angle pictures. You can see more here, but read through my post first.

The warehouse space, a former ice house around the corner from the Rubell Collection, was more cavernous than the other venues, but fairgoers are intrepid--as long as the toilets work. They did (unlike last year), which I believe was a motivating factor in finding this new space.
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The entry, partially visible far right, brought you into this large exhibition space, which had representative work from each of the seven galleries. Foreground: Rory Donaldson photographs, from Winkleman Gallery. Image from the Seven website

Below, a full view of the wall behind the Donaldson installation: Douglas Florian gouaches, from Bravin Lee Projects

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Above and below:

Looking down from the large front gallery into a larger exhibition space, partitioned in a way that brought visual surprises at every turn

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On the floor a trompe l'oeil rug that's a video (Somebody please tell me the artist and the gallery)

With the Boo Ritson's Swimmer at your back, you see the view below, courtesy of the Seven website:

It's not the Fabian Marcaccio that drew me particularly--though I did find the idea of his macro woven "canvas" interesting--but the view I found when I passed it and entered the next room:

Frank Bowling paintings, from Hales Gallery

One of several small canvases anChristopher K. Ho, from Winkleman Gallery

 

Yoon Lee, from Pierogi

Rico Gatson, from Ronald Feldman Fine Art

Opposite Gatson's work is the large wall below:

The large installation of small work has become a Seven signature. Image from the Seven website

Above and below:

Closer views of some of the work: drawings, paintings, prints and photographs in a big, fabulous mix

A closer view of Jennifer Dalton's chalk-on-paper drawing, from Winkleman Gallery

Sarah Frost "mosaics," Error Correct and Sign Off, from P.P.O.W.

Here's what they're made of:

Above and below:

Yishay Garbaz photographs documenting his transition from male to female

(There was a little something extra, pickled in formaldehyde in a jar that was placed on a pedestal behind the wall of photographs)

What's fair coverage without color-matched art and art viewers?

Above: art historian Lorraine Morales Cox coordinating with Frank Bowling's Around Midnight Last Night

Below: Those pants almost bring David Diao's That Close off the wall, from Postmasters Gallery

Jessica Rohrer, Resolve, gouache on paper, 15 x 10.5 inches, from P.P.O.W. Gallery

Then and there I resolved to stop for lunch.  I shot this  view of Seven from the outdoor restaurant where I stopped to eat

If you feel that my reports from New York and elsewhere around the country, including the Miami art fairs, bring the art world to you, or that Marketing Mondays offers professional information of the sort you never got in art school, please support this blog. I am a painter with a full-time studio practice; every post represents a significant expenditure of time, travel, photo editing and writing. A one-time annual donation of $20 (though any amount is welcome) will help support my effort. See the Donate button on the sidebar. Thank you.