Favorite Finds at Felix Art Fair 2023

After passing through the historic hotel lobby, palm tree-lined outdoor pathways led us to the buzzy poolside where fairgoers enjoyed music, cocktails, and bites under the sun. As we began to wind our way through the cabana exhibitors like Alice in Wonderland, we were immediately taken by the expressive watercolors of artist John Maclean, presented by White Columns, New York. Dreamlike imagery of evolving landscapes and seasons felt peaceful and nostalgic. Autumn London (2022), a soft scene of trees changing leaves against apartment windows evoked scents of wood-burning fireplaces and a crisp air of renewal.

As we turned the corner, New York’s P.P.O.W gallery offered a rich presentation of colored pencil on paper by Shellyne Rodriguez that was bold and moving. A large-scale work titled BX Third World Liberation Mixtape no.3 (all about love) (2022) brought to life the artist’s investment in supporting BIPOC narratives and raising awareness of inequalities and injustices. Rodriguez’s skillful recreations of the expressions of our youth—joy, sorrow, and longing—juxtaposed with powerful messages and symbols, made for art at its most dynamic and hopeful.

Right next door, Nicodim gallery of New York, Los Angeles, and Bucharest, displayed a sweeping, ethereal work by artist Tania Marmolejo titled DIVINA INMACULADA (2022) that begged our attention. The otherworldly creation of oil on linen focused on a flawless, vulnerable, yet powerful face, with wide, glistening eyes against a moody gray landscape.

Just a few cabanas down, we lost ourselves in a marbled sea of monochromatic landscapes and fleeting faces with Harkawik New York’s solo presentation of Egyptian painter Hend Samir’s Water Gun Game. The New York and Los Angeles-based gallery dedicated a wall to Melancholia at Sunset (2023), a vision in burnt orange, cream, and gold that ebbed and flowed. Within the beguiling work, we could just make out the soft edges of a youthful face embarking on an adventure in the warm light.

Making our way through the hallway, we ran into delightful figurines of enigmatic art industry personalities created by London-based artist Jeffrey Dalessandro and presented by New York’s A Hug from the Art World. Shown on tiered shelves, the miniature faces of pillars of the art community, such as Damien Hirst, Rashid Johnson, and Maurizio Cattelan, were fabulous artifacts of our cutting-edge, creative community.

Around the corner, New York’s Europa gallery debuted a complex textile work by artist Sophie Stone. The sea of woven material lost and found was full of texture and history, embellished by floral patterns, intricate design work, and muted, comforting tones. Laid across a bed, the piece was both a fine work of art, a connection to past lives, and a shelter for rest and relaxation.

While upstairs, we were warmly welcomed into Chicago’s Monique Meloche Gallery space by a dynamic work of sculpture from the artist Maia Cruz Palileo. Inspired by her Filipino heritage, the hand-carved and painted piece brought to life a soulful woman, whose every detail in clothing, hand gesture, and facial features were newly revealed by the setting of the sun through a nearby window.