Independent launches new art fair this week, Independent 20th Century, taking place at the Battery Maritime Building from September 8—11, with an online iteration launching on September 1. Shining a focus on significant, influential artists working between 1900 and 2000, whose work remained overlooked or uncelebrated during their time of practice, this debut edition includes a series of solo and group presentations by 32 international galleries.
In recent years, the art market has shifted at the hand of contemporary gallerists to include a more diverse, accurate picture of our world at large. It is by this premise that Independent 20th Century will reframe the last century of art history through an inclusive lens that ensures those like women artists, artists of color, and other minorities both geographic and cultural are given credit where credit is due for their contributions to art and its evolution.
Mario Schiffano, “Personaggi TV,” 1970, colored photographic report, 40 x 51 cm; photo by Fabio Mantegna, courtesy of Gió Marconi Gallery, Milan and Independent New York.
“The ongoing, and necessary reassessment of the art historical canon is perhaps the defining characteristic of the 21st Century art world,” said Matthew Higgs, Independent’s founding curatorial advisor. “Independent 20th Century will seek to amplify this narrative through its focused presentations by a cross-generational community of defiantly idiosyncratic artists.”
Fairgoers can expect to find work by more than 70 artists in total, presented across gallery-curated shows and a selection of specially-commissioned projects. These will include presentations like the work of Vincent Smith with Alexandre Gallery; Chico da Silva on view with Galatea; Venus Over Manhattan bringing a dual exhibition of Richard Mayhew and the late Joseph Elmer Yoakum; the hanging textile works of Barbara Levittoux-Świderska on view with Richard Saltoun; Luxembourg + Co showcasing a selection of Joan Miró’s Masonite paintings next to responding works from Peter Fischli; and many more.
Rebecca Shore, “48,” 1997, Egg tempera on panel, 6 x 6 inches; courtesy the Artist and Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago and Independent New York.
