Armory Show to Expand from One Pier to Two

NEW YORK—The Armory Show art fair will undergo a major expansion, allowing it to increase the number of exhibitors as well as the scope of art on display, the New York Times reports.

Vornado Realty Trust and its subsidiary, Merchandise Mart Properties of Chicago, which runs the 10-year-old fair, have been appointed by New York City to redevelop the site of the fair, the city-owned Pier 92 at 12th Avenue and 55th Street. After a $100 million renovation, Merchandise Mart will become the landlord for the pier, as well as for neighboring Pier 94.

Pier 94 will provide the Armory with an additional 75,000 square feet of exhibition space, allowing the fair to include approximately 75 additional exhibitors. The Armory has traditionally focused on contemporary art, but it plans to use the new space to expand its scope to include older work as well. “We’re going to give the show two names — the Armory Show and Armory Modern,” said Paul Morris, a co-founder of the fair. “To keep it just new art was to infantilize the fair.”