What to See at the 2022 Edition of The Armory Show

“Our debut at the Javits Center ushered in a new era for The Armory Show,” said the fair’s Executive Director, Nicole Berry. “Our commitment to showcasing leading contemporary and modern galleries and their artists was elevated by a sophisticated venue designed as a platform for extraordinary gatherings. This September, after nearly three decades, the fair continues to support excellence in the visual arts by kicking off New York’s fall art season.”

Those familiar with the fair may recognize returning names on the main exhibition floor, including those like Ben Brown Fine Arts, Kasmin, Sean Kelly, Zeno X Gallery, 303 Gallery, Massimo De Carlo, Simon Lee Gallery, Galeria Nara Roesler, and David Zwirner. Highlights include works by Vaughn Spann and John M. Armleder on view with Almine Rech; Larkin Erdmann’s show of historical works by Man Ray, Josef Albers, and Thomas Shütte; an immersive experience by Jake Longstreth with Nino Mier Gallery; and K Art’s show pairing the work of new and established Native American and Indigenous artists Edgar Heap of Birds, G. Peter Jemison, Erin Gingrich, and Henry Payer.

With a total of 40 newer galleries, this year’s Presents section features the 2020 Gramercy International Prize winner Kai Matsumiya bringing paintings by Jan Kiefer; new large-scale paintings by Marc Padeu with Jack Bell Gallery; Nona Faustine’s “White Shoes” (a suite of photographs documenting the reclamation of sites linked to the history of slavery) on view with Higher Pictures Generation; and 12.26 with multimedia works about identity, process, and the female form by Kesewa Aboah. Meanwhile, among other highlights, in the Solo sector viewers will find the work of Jessica Dickinson with James Fuentes, Rodolphe Janssen presenting Thomas Lerooy, and a 50-year survey of Fanny Sanin on view with Leon Tovar Gallery.

The Focus sector highlights art examining personal and political issues related to environments within South-South ecologies in a program curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates. Among these, fairgoers can expect Shezad Dawood’s look at the geopolitics that informed modernist structures in the Global South, presented by Jhaveri Contemporary; Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck’s installation dealing with aboriginal legacies and South-South colonialities with oil wealth; and a survey of the Costa Rican-born artist Priscilla Monge, on view with Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary.

And the Platform sector, curated by Tobias Ostrander, features large-scale and site-specific works centering on the thematic idea “Monumental Change.” Delving into ways recent revisionist practices are changing how artists deal with sculptural forms, this edition of Platform will see featured works situated diagonally through the fair’s center, welcoming pieces like Mary Sibande’s Ascension of the Purple Figure on view with Kavi Gupta, Night Gallery bringing Sean Townley’s Gassing the Imperial Thrown, which gestures at the imperialist authoritarianism encroaching upon political life in the U.S., and Roberto Huarcaya’s monumental photogram Amazogramas, presented by Rolf Art, which captures a scene of the Amazon jungle in Peru.  

"With several large-scale works having been specifically produced for Platform, while others made for recent biennials and museum exhibitions, this group of exceptional works represent dynamic conversations currently taking place regarding the viability of public monuments and how and what we might choose to honor collectively," said Ostrander.