Though heralded
by advertisements in art magazines and by posters on the flanks
of buses, the latest art fair has nevertheless sidled quietly
into town. Called “Art 1980 New York,” the show is
“docked” at Berths 5 and 6 on Pier 92 (12th Avenue
and 54th Street) and will remain through tomorrow. Featuring mainly
dealers in painting, sculpture, prints and photography, the event
was organized by Interart, an information service headed by Ellas
Fellus. Mr. Fellus is a Washington art dealer who also calls himself
an “agent for 20th- century vanguard tendencies” and
who, since 1976, has been producing the Washington art fair, known
colloquially as “Washart.”
Operating in New York City for the first time,
Mr. Fellus addresses his constituency in a foreword to the show's
guide, pointing out that the advantage of joining an art fair
rather than “cafe society” is that “you get
a chance to sell what you are talking about.” Some 60 dealers,
native and foreign, have seized the advantage and among those
from New York are Martha Jackson, Louis K. Meisel and Jacques
Kaplan, formerly a furrier of high renown.
The exhibitors are ensconced with their wares
in 10 foot by 10 foot cubicles that cost $725 for the week, including
lighting. (Pier 92's vast space goes for $16,300 a day.) Art enthusiasts
who dislike the formality of the conventional gallery scene will
have nothing to fear here, after paying the $5 admission. Most
of the art is hung casually on—or stapled to — ramshackle
partitions that are covered in none-too-white fabric. Labeling
is sometimes haphazard so that viewers seeking information are
obliged, sooner or later, to approach the stall holder.
A fair percentage of the work is poor, but
none is as objectionable as the special exhibition of photographs
by some vanguard Austrians. Two of them are pursuing “body
art” that involves the slaughter of animals and humans wallowing
in their blood. A genre that has had its adherence in the United
States, it gains new and even more disgusting dimensions practiced
here. Viewers with weak stomachs and/or short fuses are advised
to forgo the display
Among the items of interest at the fair is
an enormous dollop of shiny brownish plastic that could be mistaken
for a Lynda Benglis but in fact is the work of Cesar. This French
sculptor, a famous crusher of cars in the 1960's, has not been
seen here for several years. Other works noted randomly include
decorative abstractions smaller than a commemorative stamp, by
Max Ernst, and, not much bigger, an Albers painting of an orange
square surrounded by a maroon one. A visitor also spotted a Philip
Pearlstein print and paintings by Susan Rothenburg, Nicholas Krushenick
and Sara Gilliam, as well as a display of portrait photographs
by Karsh.
Noteworthy among the unknowns is Ernest Ruckle,
a Pennsylvania artist who paints small fantasies in acrylic and
water color that are crammed with figures and incident and that,
at a distance, look a little like paisley patterns.
The fair is open
today from noon to 10 P.M., tomorrow from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M.
About
the Artist
