Browse & Darbym, London

Andy Pankhurst, "Puglia"

G.R. N'Namdi Galleray, Chicago

Faheem Majeed, "Reflection of the Passage" (2006)

July/August 2009 Fair Reviews

London Original Print Fair

Art Cologne

Jim Nutt Light and Grace Triumph in Renzo Piano’s Chicago Debut Art Chicago Offers New Approach Conversation with Kavi Gupta Philly Art Exhibition Showcases Hairy Who, Other Chicago Mavericks

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CHICAGO— Art Chicago’s return was marked by a downsizing, both of the fair itself — to 110 galleries from last year’s 132 — and of its larger context. In 2008 it was part of a citywide cultural extravaganza known as Artropolis. The 2009 edition, in response to dealer and attendee reports of sensory overload, was cut back to just three events. The reduced programming resulted in less-congested hallways, greater space for exhibitors, and more lounge areas at the primary fair. Lower prices this year enhanced its appeal to visitors.

European galleries, of which there were fewer this year because of the fair’s increasingly Midwestern focus and the ailing economy, reported mixed results. Parisian gallery owner Bernard Bouche, a first-time exhibitor, found his wares did not suit attendees. Fair veteran Browse & Darby, of London, had brisk sales and pulled in several new clients. Its profits, however, were smaller than in 2008. Andy Pankhurst’s Puglia, an oil on birch panel, was its highest-priced deal. The painting went for $25,000.

Chicago dealers fared particularly well. Carl Hammer Gallery, for example, sold an untitled acrylic on metal work by Martín Ramírez for $100,000, and Russell Bowman Art Advisory sold A Feeble Trap, a 1971 painting of a face by Jim Nutt, for six figures to a private collector.

Chicago’s Carrie Secrist Gallery said it had several museums interested in The Hadal Project, an 11-by-24-foot photograph by Angelo Musco (featured in this year’s Venice Biennale), priced at $115,000. A smaller version in multiple editions sold out at $16,000 apiece — one went to Kansas City’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Nearly every gallery brought more accessibly priced pieces. In particular, those selling for between $5,000 and $25,000 were snapped up. G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, of Chicago, for example, sold Faheem Majeed’s work Reflection of the Passage, 2006, for $3,500.

"Art Chicago" originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's July/August 2009 Table of Contents.