This year’s Independent doubled in size, relocating from Tribeca’s Spring Studios to the expansive Pier 36 on the Lower East Side. The neighborhood, home to a grittier and more experimental art scene, seeped into the fair’s curation and vitality. From the threshold, a curtain of yellow PVC strips, brightly lit to an electric glow, halted visitors to, of course, take a selfie. Through the tunnel and into a more dystopian dimension, photographs blown up into wallpaper by artist Nikolas Ventourakis lined the walls, depicting magnified piles of trash, satirical and pointed, inviting viewers to revel in the obscure. This new energy extended to the exhibitors themselves, with nearly half of the 76 galleries making their debut at the fair.
There was a buffet of ceramic delicacies to feast upon: functional and sculptural, figurative and abstract, large and small, on plinths and hanging from the wall – ample options for the New York collector, whatever precious space they may have left or, if lucky, square footage yet to be claimed.
