Since its opening on Thursday, the 2022 edition of the Armory Show has seen a good number of sales. Though the sums here are more modest than those of other international fairs, a lot did sell at various price points, showing that the fair is still attracting collectors who are eager to acquire work by closely watched artists as well as by emerging ones whom they are likely still learning about.
[See the best booths at the 2022 Armory Show.]
With nearly 250 exhibitors across some 250,000 square feet at the Javits Center, just north of Hudson Yards in Manhattan, there is a lot of art to see at the fair, which runs until Sunday. Below a look at highlights from the dozens of sales that occurred.
Huma Bhabha at David Zwirner
Huma Bhabha, one of today’s most famous sculptors, debuted a new work in David Zwirner’s booth. Titled I’m A Friend (2022), the work is similar to the ones for which Bhabha has become well-known: delicately carved figures that toe the line between human and another type of being. This piece sold for $350,000 to a South Asian museum, while works on paper by the artist went for $70,000 each. On the second day of the fair, the gallery sold several works by Chris Ofili, including two new paintings for $600,000 each.
Omar Ba and Kehinde Wiley at Galerie Templon
Galerie Templon, which has locations in Paris and Brussels, just opened a New York outpost on Wednesday in Chelsea. The knockout inaugural exhibition is by Geneva-based artist Omar Ba, so it’s no surprise that the gallery brought work by him as well as others on its roster like Kehinde Wiley, Iván Navarro, and Chiharu Shiota to the Armory Show. Works by Ba sold in the range of $170,000 to $200,000. On Day 2 of the fair, the gallery placed work by Will Cotton ($150,000) and a new bronze sculpture by Wiley, titled Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxo ($250,000–$300,000).
Keith Haring at Archeus/Post-Modern
Archeus had on offer three lithographs by Keith Haring featuring his signature figures made of thick black outlines. In these works, the figures seem to groove to an unheard piece of music. They sold for $175,000 each.
Hugo McCloud at Sean Kelly
In the Focus section, organized by MCA Chicago curator Carla Acevedo-Yates, Sean Kelly sold out its presentation dedicated to artist Hugo McCloud, who splits his time between Brooklyn and Tulum, Mexico. The three large paintings on view, which each sold for $200,000, deal with “issues concerning geopolitics, migration, the value of labor, and concern for the growing disparity in social and racial economics,” according to the gallery’s website. Also on view were four still lifes that sold for $25,000 each. Pictured above is flores de mayo 2 (2022).
Marco A. Castillo at Galeria Nara Roesler
This Marco A. Castillo work composed of delicate twists of cardboard went for $110,000 courtesy of Galeria Nara Roesler, which has locations in Brazil and New York. Other works on offer by the gallery included pieces by André Griffo, Isaac Julien, Daniel Buren, Vik Muniz, Julio Le Parc, and more.
George Rickey at Kasmin
The late kinetic sculptor George Rickey had just one piece in Kasmin’s booth, but it certainly commanded attention. In a booth that saw nearly 20 sales on opening day for works by vanessa german, Diana Al-Hadid, Tina Barney, and more, this piece, titled One Up One Down Excentric (1977) was the priciest, selling for $260,000.
Caroline Walker at Grimm
Caroline Walker’s slightly blurred painting of a woman seen through a window, titled Cashing Up (2022), sold for $150,000 at Grimm. The gallery also sold works by Michael Raedecker (for $110,000), Angela Heisch ($50,000), and others.
Vaughn Spann at Almine Rech
A sought-after artist whose work has been purchased by some of the world’s top collectors, Vaughn Spann showed abstract canvases that explode with brightly colored pigments at Almine Rech’s booth. The gallery sold out its presentation of works by the artist, which went for prices ranging between $100,000 and $300,000. Pictured above is a piece titled St. Helen’s.
Jared McGriff at Spinello Projects
Two paintings by Jared McGriff went to two of the world’s top private art collections: From a Hum to a Scream, Loud Enough to be The Only Sound to Beth Rudin DeWoody’s Bunker collection in Palm Beach, Florida, and A Benign Destruction (above) to the Rubell Museum in Miami (which will soon open a D.C. branch). The two works (both from 2022) sold in the range of $25,000 to $35,000.
Devan Shimoyama at Kavi Gupta
For its booth, Kavi Gupta has on view a work, titled Winning Love By Daylight (2022), by artist Devan Shimoyama, which features a Black person who has wings and is surrounded by several pairs of eyes. (The work was recently on view in a solo show at Gupta earlier this year.) The gallery also placed pieces by Tomokazu Matsuyama and Beverly Fishman; each of those sold for a price in the range of $80,000 to $100,000.