Independent has a reputation of being the New York fair to discover new artists and work since it began 15 years ago. The preview at Spring Studios was described by several attendees and participants as a breath of fresh air in the middle of a busy New York spring art season. A Milo Matthieu painting was sold by Miami Beach gallery Jupiter to a New York collection for $115,000. A work by Uman was sold for $100,000 at the 15th anniversary fair. The New York gallery Charles Moffett sold all of its paintings by Stockman during the preview. The Copperfield and Charles Moffet galleries have stands.
The gallery Broadway sold all of the works it brought by the artist within a range of $18,000 and $30,000. Grimm, which also has a space a few blocks away, sold all four paintings by the artist for between $22,000 and $27,500, along with a fifth work offsite. The stand of seven Absher paintings sold for between $15,000 and $20,000. The works ranged from $6,000 to $18,000. Fraenkel Gallery and Ryan Lee Gallery put two Kota Ezawa works with two museums, the galleries said: a video work for $45,000 and a work on paper for $15,000. The two large casts sold by Off Paradise were in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. Six works by Los Angeles-based Danie Cansino inspired by her studies of the Baroque artist Caravaggio were sold by the Charlie James Gallery. Romane de Watteville's paintings sold for 4,500 and 7,000 at the Ciaccia Levi gallery in Paris. A large-scale piece by De Watteville was sold for 23,000 at the gallery. The work by Danie Cansino was brought to the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.
Prices go upwards.
A survey of the 89 exhibits at the fair found that many of the works are priced between $20,000 and $50,000. In the previous iteration of the fair, the biggest share of works was priced at less than $5,000. It is surprising as there is still a great deal of apprehension surrounding the art market, with interest rates remaining high and collectors reining in spending on speculative work. The shift in price may be tied to artists returning to full-scale production after several years of creating smaller works during Covid-19, and that the numbers reflect the increase in the physical size of works coming to market. The New York art market is very strong, and dealers feel more confident in setting higher prices. Wall Street always reacts before Main Street, says Independent co-founder and longstanding New York art dealer Elizabeth Dee. We haven't had a recession, but we needed that correction.
Half of the artists whose works are being shown at the fair are new to New York, despite some having had shows in London and Venice, Dee says. Independents push dealers to make inventory available at the fair for new buyers rather than relying on pre-arranged sales and deals. Dee says that galleries at Independent make the majority of their sales to new buyers. There is less meeting of new collectors at the biggest fairs.
Independent's four-person curatorial team brings a real sensitivity to conversations about what the fair will show because they are invited rather than selected through an open call application process. Dee says that work needs to be worth investing in, timing needs to make sense, and selections need to benefit from the market. Management.
A shot in the arm.
The New York gallery Management has a stand at the fair that is dedicated to the work of the artist Anastasia Komar, who combines painting and 3D printing to create sculpture-like canvases with sculptural components inspired by bioengineering. Her work has gotten interest from high-quality collectors, according to founder and director. It's not so much about putting up things that people know on the wall and selling it, it's more about the conversations and growing the career of an artist. The New York art market has experienced fluctuations. A number of influential downtown galleries have recently closed, including JTT, Queer Thoughts, and Denny Gallery. People are more pickier than the market is.
David Nolan has a stand dedicated to canvases by Vian Sora.
Vian Sora is an Iraqi American artist who grew up in Baghdad and relocated to Kentucky. The paintings at the stand are between $20,000 and $42,000, roughly the same price range as nearly one-third of the works at Independent this year. Nolan warns younger dealers not to be too aggressive with raising prices and chasing sales in the current market. Nolan said that people were cautiously optimistic about Independent.