NEW YORK—"That was the last of my Prices," said dealer Garth Clark as a colleague placed a red dot next to a colorful ceramic Ken Price work resting on a plinth in the gallerist’s booth at the Art Dealers Association of America’s 20th annual Art Show, which opened last night at the Seventh Regiment Armory building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and runs through February 25. By 6 p.m., only a half hour into the fair's gala vernissage, Clark had parted with three pieces by the master ceramicist, including a small, rare piece from 1984 that sat in a glass vitrine as the centerpiece of his booth and brought around $100,000.

Collectors made a show of force at the fair's opening, which comes at a potentially shaky time for the art market in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis and its attendant fallout. Whitney Museum supporter Melva Bucksbaum was seen checking out ceramic sculptures by Andrew Lord at Barbara Gladstone's booth. Real estate developer Aby Rosen gazed at Richard Prince photographs at Per Skarstedt's booth. Alberto Mugrabi peered at the Ken Prices at Garth Clark. Dallas collector Howard Rachofsky, Miamian Martin Margulies, and other out-of-towners were making the rounds. Several artists were on hand as well, including the unmistakable Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

One constant topic of conversation was the impressive renovation of the Park Avenue Armory building itself, which will host portions of the Whitney Biennial next month. Enhancing the new look were several special projects for the building’s historical rooms, done by contemporary artists such as Spencer Finch, Lisi Raskin, and Pietro Roccasalva.

The booths are also more creatively installed than in past years. Particularly striking are the mirrored glass sculptures by Olafur Eliasson at Tanya Bonakdar, which reflect Lucio Fontana's lushly colored, monochromatic paintings with signature slashes across the aisle at Sperone Westwater, and the solo show of small, stunning works by Richard Tuttle at PaceWildenstein, for which the artist himself designed the booth. Tuttle's structure involved a wall closing the front of the booth off from the aisle, such that visitors were provided with a private viewing space that offered contemplative respite from the opening's hubbub. It’s an argument for more artist-created, artwork-friendly booths.

Sales seemed to be steady, but not spectacular (stay tuned for further reports later in the week). By evening’s end Per Skarstedt had parted with two Prince photos—ranging from $350,000 to $600,000—with two more on reserve. Meanwhile, dealer Paul Kasmin, who reported selling several artworks already, admitted that while “the atmosphere was a bit calmer” than in previous editions, as in past years, “when people discover something and want it, they get it." Kasmin pointed out that the Art Show has never been the opening-gate feeding frenzy of a larger event like Art Basel Miami Beach. “That’s what is nice about it. I think this is a lot of people’s favorite fair.”