I was pleasantly surprised by this manageable fair. Not only were there some good works on view, but dealers were also in good spirits. There were even sales at some booths on items below a certain price point. Works that caught my eye were:

Mary Mattingly, Kart, 2008

1) Kart by Mary Mattingly who has a show opening up at Robert Mann Gallery in New York. She creates interesting photographic compositions utilizing Photoshop by creating amalgamations of different images. The environment thus created is surreal and intriguing. Price: $3500

2) A photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge by William D. Richardson from the late 1920s like none I have ever seen before. It included people and focused on an atypical view; the artist was clearly not going for the typical tourist shot that is ubiquitous. Price: $5500

Rudensky, Tambov Refrigerator, 2005

Rudensky, The Park, 2005

Rudensky, Bazarnaya Street, 2005

3) At the booth of Gallery 19/21 there was work by Sasha Rudensky who recently completed her MFA from Yale. I found not only the carefully constructed compositions but also the colors and starkness of the work refreshing. The larger works are in editions of 5 for $2500 and the smaller size are editions of 15 and cost $1200. 

Titarenko, Untitled (San Marco in Water), 2002

4) As cheesy as it may sound I really enojyed works by a St. Petersburg artist named Alexey Titarenko at Nailya Alexander Gallery’s booth. On view were photos from his Venice series which showed the typical Venetian landmarks (Piazza San Marco, The Doge’s Palace) but there was something new and refreshing about his take on them. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he uses a darkroom as opposed to a computer when developing the photos. The works are in an edition of 10 and start at $4200 and go up from there.

Pillsbury, Le Grand Foyer Opera de Paris - Palais Garnier, 2008

Pillsbury, La Victoire de Samothrace Le Louvre, 2008

5) Matthew Pillsbury, who currently has a show up at the gallery at fiaf (French Institute Alliance Francaise) in midtown Manhattan, is one of my favorite photographers. Not only have my clients bought his pieces, but I am actually lucky enough to own one of his works myself. The works on view at the fair are from a recent trip to Paris (where Pillsburty lived as a child). As the fiaf website states, “Mr. Pillsbury’s photos address the themes of movement, transience, and cosmopolitan spaces. Using natural light, each shot requires a very long exposure time. The naturalism of the light source distorts the human form, rendering figures nearly ethereal in their flurry of activity.” The larger works in the series are $5000 and up depending on what number they are in the edition and the smaller start at $1800.