AIPAD 2012 (part 1)

AIPAD 2012 @ The Armory

The AIPAD Photography Show

Park Avenue Armory

New York, NY

March 29- April 1st, 2012

The Association of International Photography Dealers (AIPAD) opens it's 32nd edition of the AIPAD Photography Show New York today at the Park Avenue Armory. It is superbly presented and everyone I have talked to agrees it is one of the best  in recent memory. The show runs through Sunday April 1st. Seventy five leading international photography dealers are on hand to present a vast array of works with something for every variety of collector. This is a chance to see it all, and while I attempted to do just that yesterday at the press preview, it is impossible to grasp everything on display in the 3 hour window allotted to members of the media. I did my best to see it all though, and as I did last year, I will present this review in two parts. Part 1 will be an overview of galleries to look for, and part 2 will discuss some of the individual photographers and images that caught my attention.

AIPAD 2012

Yossi Milo Gallery (203) is impossible to miss, taking center stage as you enter the show. The gallery is showing works by Tim Hetherington, Alison Rossiter, Doug Rickard, Matthew Brandt, Chris McCaw, Sze Tsung Leong and Pieter Hugo. Large and impressive prints in one of the biggest spaces on the floor. Especially impressive are the images of soldiers by Tim Hetherington taken in Liberia and Afghanistan. Yossi Milo will be presenting the first US exhibition of Hetherington's work in a few weeks. The exhibition will run from April 12- May 19, 2012.

Yossi Milo Gallery
New York, NY

Danziger Gallery (401) is tucked into a corner so it would be easy to pass by unnoticed. If you do you will miss beautiful images from Karen Knorr's India Song series, and one of Chris Levine's Queen Portraits. Bruce Silverstein (313) commands the largest physical space in the show, allowing the luxury of a multi-room gallery. They have used it to full advantage with lots of images from the many artists represented by the gallery, including a nice collection of Lisette Model photographs, and a large grid display of work from Keith Smith. Staley Wise Gallery (210) presents a delight for the eyes with images of Marilyn Monroe by Bert Stern, formal society portraiture by Slim Aarons, and the intense color work of David LaChapelle.

Staley Wise Gallery
New York, NY

Jackson Fine Art (115) has a marvelous collection of work by photographers such as Chip Simone, George Georgiou, and Mona Kuhn. Gallery owner/director Anna Walker Skillman went out of her way to graciously show me her complete collection of prints on hand from both Simone and Georgiou. I was unfamiliar with both of these photographers and I think one measure of success for a show like AIPAD should be the exposure of unfamiliar work to new audiences. Jackson Fine Art represents an impressive list of photographers, both vintage and contemporary. Below Anna Walker Skillman shows prints to Ruben Natal-San Miguel

Jackson Fine Art
Atlanta, GA

Barry Singer Gallery (215) presents an impressive collection of vintage works by August Sander, Arnold Newman, Ansel Adams, Weegee, among many others. The walls are displayed with a nicely curated grouping and there are numerous unframed prints to browse through. Below Barry Singer shares a glass of presumably fine California wine with Stephen Perloff.

Barry Singer Gallery
Petaluma, Ca

Michael Hoppen Gallery (208) presents an eclectic mix of contemporary photographers including Daido Moriyama, Bruce Bernard, Zoe Sendas, and Guy Bourdin.  I wish they had more work on display at this show. They have a very large gallery in London with a a big list of represented photographers. They went with a sparse but well chosen selection for AIPAD.

Michael Hoppen Gallery
London, UK

Two Sante Fe galleries really impressed me. Scheinbaum & Russek Ltd (207)  have a beautiful collection of holiday cards made by Lee Friedlander, Jerry Uelsman, and John Szarkowski. Also on their walls are a fine collection of Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter photographs. I had never seen actual prints of Porter's work, so it was a thrill as Andra Russek gave me a personal tour of the work of this master of early color fine art photography.  Verve Gallery (404) shows a group of Henry Horenstein's Animalia series next to Brigitte Carnochan's sublime platinum/palladium botanical prints. A wonderful display of images presented by Verve.

Verve Gallery of Photography
Santa Fe, NM

I have barely scratched the surface. Just the things that pulled me in during the hectic and electric frenzy of opening night at AIPAD.  Tomorrow I'll focus on some individual images and photographers, trends I noticed in pricing and edition sizes, the thrill of meeting John Gossage at Harper's Books (429) and other assorted observations.

Link to part 2 of AIPAD 2012