NEW YORK—There are plenty of people out there who find the continuing success of the art fair phenomenon, and what they see as the inappropriate commodification of art, a reason for concern, but I’ll put my cards on the table: I managed to get to all of last week’s 11 fairs, and while the experience was exhausting, I also found it genuinely uplifting. When the organizers get it right — and they don’t always, unfortunately — a fair provides fantastic circumstances for looking at art. Each contributing gallerist acts as an individual curator, and they tend to show the stuff they most believe in (or at least the stuff they believe they can most convince other people to believe in). The ARTINFO team filed individual reports from most of the fairs, and from lots of related events, but here’s a highly personal roundup of what I thought was hot and what was just tepid.

My ten-star rating system ranges from the magnificent ********** (10/10) — “Seriously life-enhancing” — all the way down to * (1/10) — “Will they be here next year? And does anyone care?” Comments and scores are directed at the fair organizers, rather than the artists and gallerists participating in the fairs. Here goes, in alphabetical order:

Armory Show

Last year the ADAA Art Show coincided with the Armory Show, and the ADAA organizers got a bit uppity because ARTINFO used the term “Armory Week.” Well, this year offered a compelling reminder that the Armory Show is the New York fair that sets the agenda. None of the other fairs would be happening this week were it not for the Armory’s lead. And I think that this year’s is the best yet. OK, it’s vast, it’s exhausting, it causes traffic chaos on the West Side Highway, you miss stuff, there’s other stuff that you find incomprehensible or trite, but Katelijne de Backer was absolutely right when she told ARTINFO that her fair is a better way of seeing what is happening in contemporary art than the Whitney Biennial. A much better way, actually, as the interests of two young New York–based museum curators seem positively parochial when compared with the passions of scores of gallerists from around the world. Rating: ********* (9/10)

Art Now

For my money, this little sister of Red Dot outshone her older sibling, and partly because the dealers were far more varied. As you made your way from room to room you were never quite sure whether you would find dross or delight. Fortunately there was mostly delight. A most promising debut, and I look forward to seeing how this fair evolves. Rating: ******* (7/10)

Bridge

It was a pleasure to welcome this Miami native to New York City, and to find it in an excellent venue, the so-called “Tunnel” between 11th and 12th Avenues and 27th and 28th Streets. There was something a bit same-y about the booths, unfortunately, which was exacerbated by the organizers’ decision to focus quite unnecessarily on Asian art. (There are too many dealers focusing on it already!) Still, this was a solid first appearance, and I believe we can now regard Bridge as a regular on the New York fair roster. Rating: ****** (6/10)

Dark Fair

An idea apparently hatched after too many pitchers of beer, the Dark Fair might well be the silliest art fair I have ever attended. The fact that almost half of its public hours were turned over to its opening party gives an indication of its organizers’ priorities, and the gothic dungeon vibe, candlelight, and insiders enjoying something I found utterly absurd rendered it more BDSM fetish party than fine-art fair. An amateurish embarrassment, this “fair” is receiving one star only because so many of the people involved looked too young to know any better. Rating: * (1/10)

DiVA

Message to DiVA Central: “Shipping containers on the beach in Miami — not a good idea. Hot, sweaty, sandy, and only suitable for folks desperate to get on the bottom rung of the fair ladder. Shipping containers on the windswept streets of Chelsea in March — disastrous! Cold, noisy, wet, and only suitable for folks against whom you bear some deep-seated grudge. Plus, if you’re going to have a ‘sneak preview’ on the Saturday before the fairs begin, make sure all your exhibitors know about it, and have at least unlocked their containers. And have your catalog ready at the beginning of the fair, not halfway through it.” Rating: ** (2/10)