Superfine Art Fair is coming to New York for its 30th Fair bringing 130 Artists for Gen Z + Millennial buyers who feel frozen out of Major Art Weeks.
Taking over the 3rd floor of a skyscraper building at 151 West 42nd (you might know it as the one with the giant H&M logo on the top), 30,000 square feet of emerging art, plus performance pieces curated by downtown stalwart and arts champion ChaShaMa, a smart mod-meets-retro musical backdrop selected by fair organizer Alex Mitow, a thoughtful local beer and wine list – all contributing to a warm, comfy art-shopping environment that serves to facilitate, lubricate, and encourage direct interactions (and transactions) between artist and audience. To wit: more than 40% of visitors who pass through Superfine’s doors walk out as collectors of one or more Superfine artists.
Termed FUTURE WONDERLAND, the fête marries glitz with a touch of whimsy. A wisp of cotton candy floats above flutes brimming with champagne in a nod to Superfine’s start as a cheeky Art Basel Miami outsider a decade ago. Variety entertainers clad in mirrorball gear wink knowingly at Times Square’s hedonistic era and perhaps even at Club USA, the Mugler/Gaultier designed boîte par perfection that once camped a few blocks north on 47th street during TSQ’s pre-Giuliani salad days. And most importantly, opening night represents a chance for those who are really there for the art to scope out the best pieces, chat up the artist they’ve been Insta-crushing on, and get a masterpiece off the walls and into the backseat of the cab before anyone else can.
With a fresh look and feel for 2024, Superfine’s brand has evolved thanks to creative director and co-founder James Miille. In honour of its 10th anniversary, Superfine has invited friends, curators, and rulebreakers of the art-verse to nominate artists and artworks from the fair’s preceding decade for an anthology book published by SNAP Collective, a San Francisco and Munich-based art book publisher.
FAD has a sneak peek and has picked 8 artists you have got to see when you visit Superfine in Times Square next week.
Anthony Rondinone (b. 1984) is a Bronx-born American artist whose work delves into the raw emotions of his low-income immigrant upbringing. Through expressive painting, he reinterprets familiar pop culture characters like those from “The Simpsons” and “Sesame Street,” probing their unexamined traits to expose the darker aspects of humanity. For instance, his portrayal of Cookie Monster embodies the torment of addiction. Rondinone’s art confronts societal ugliness, urging self-reflection and empathy.
Alejandro Aboli’s work (Madrid-based in New York, 1980) transcends the boundaries of photography. Through digital tools and collage, Aboli creates unique characters and scenarios that would be impossible otherwise: “With my work, I develop an additional dimension that is also an extra layer of meaning.” His work, which draws inspiration from cinema – Lachapelle, Nolan, Wong Kar-Wai – and uses photography, tells stories that channel emotions and guide viewers towards deep reflection about the self.
Catalina Beres (b. 1992, Romania) is a visual artist who lives and works in Bucharest, Romania. She grew up in Eastern Europe and studied at George Enescu University of Visual Arts and Design in Iasi, Romania, graduating in 2014. Before settling in Paris for a couple of years, she worked in different locations within Europe and ran a design company for several years. Since then, she has shown her paintings in New York, Miami and Paris.
With no intentions of being esoteric or fraught with deep-seated riddles, the process of creating a picture nevertheless concludes with a manufacture that may embody some underlying meaning(s). perhaps the work is haphazardly navigating between the manifesto of metamodernism and the creed of art for art’s sake, between meaning and unmeaning. and of the latter, it may be impossible to establish an altogether vacancy in meaning, as art, as an import of feeling, as a symbolic device, as an exhibitionist to an audience, will struggle to keep quiet no matter how hard it tries. regardless, what is most important is that whatever narrative shall associate itself with the picture being offered, it must be the consumer, not the work’s creator, who is the author.
Court Watson (he/they) is a co-host of the Doable Guys Art Collective in residency at the SoHo Project Space. He has exhibited in numerous group shows at the Leslie-Lohman Gay and Lesbian Art Museum as well as four Fire Island Pines Art Biennials, Superfine! Art Fair, Art Gaysel Miami, Art Gaysel Provincetown, Barnwood, Side Tracks Gallery, Salzburg’s Dark Eagle, Atlantic Gallery, Brooklyn Queer Flea, Dandyland. WANDERLUST at the SoHo Project Space was his first solo show in New York and first monograph.
TANI GOMEZ IS A CONCEPT DESIGNER WITH A FOCUS ON CHARACTER DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION.
Drawing inspiration from the enchanting beauty of nature and the evocative memories of youth, Tani Gomez crafts a mesmerizing world through illustrations, sculptures, and paintings. With a whimsical touch and an occasional haunting allure, Tani Gomez invites viewers into a realm where imagination intertwines seamlessly with the essence of the past. Each creation becomes a unique journey, blending the ethereal and the nostalgic, leaving an indelible mark on the canvas.
Amy Rimmer’s artistic journey began at 12 when she entered an Andy Warhol-inspired sunflower pastel drawing into a County Fair Art Show, winning a blue ribbon. Despite her passion, she paused her art studies at Bethany College to care for her family when her grandfather fell ill. Transitioning to nursing, she worked for five years before reigniting her love for painting. Her show “Joy” in 2017 marked her return, followed by local exhibitions in Northwest Arkansas and participation in markets like The Little Craft Show. Fulfilling a dream, she’ll vend at the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, Kansas. She showcased her work at America’s first Biennial Art and Fashion show in 2023 and will be the featured artist at The Apollo on Emma in Springdale this fall. Amy lives in Fayetteville with her husband Thomas, their three children, and their dog Ellie.
Superfine is as committed as ever to artist independence, interconnection, and buyer empowerment. Booths are repped by the artists themselves, not dealers. 90% of the artwork on offer falls into a new-collector-friendly range from $150 and $3000. 100% of revenue from art sales goes directly to the artist.
Perhaps the current iteration of Superfine in New York can best be summed up in one of the fair’s new 2024 maxims:
We see art in your future.
Superfine Art Fair’s 7th edition in New York City (30th overall) is open to the public at One Five One (151 W 42nd St) from Friday, May 3 to 5. The VIP and media opening takes place Thursday, May 2nd from 6pm-10pm. General Access and opening night/VIP passes are available here.
