9 Artists That Urge You to Stop and Linger at SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2024

It is Armory Week 2024 and as always SPRING/BREAK Art Show (S/B for short) opened New York’s busiest art week on Tuesday and closes it on the following Monday. The show takes place ub their new space on 75 Varick Street—where you do not need to navigate stairs or elevators as everything is on one floor.

S/B founders Andrew Gori and Ambre Kelly know how to fill a space. No matter your intention, you cannot help but continually stop and linger in booths, get lost in work, and of course get caught up in interesting conversations that you do not want to leave—for me, it was artist Rachel Cohen who I remembered from her strong display in 2020, longtime friend and solo presenter Erik Hanson who told me about his presentation of Popeye and Bluto paintings, and my fellow alumni of Wassaic Project 2023 Summer Artist Residency, Amelie Briggs who curated a fantastic booth which included another fellow alumnus, Kelly Worman who I stepped to gossip with. Having exhibited as an artist for the last three years at S/B, I missed introducing new publics to my work but found it a pleasant change to be able to visit the fair with less pressure, as a voyeur.

Nostalgia and mushy feelings aside, one of the things about S/B that brings the fair experience to another level of coherence (and sometimes discord) is that curators are asked to focus on a predetermined theme. This year’s theme, ‘INT./EXT. (interior/exterior),’ was stated eloquently in the application guidelines as a “PB & J of tactility and intangibleness, a plea for Landscapes, Streetscapes, or works of Anatomy all that work against their cartographic instinct, mapping more than meets the eye, elevating what could be a chart or graph into the realm of Art;…for the blending of Reality and Fiction, True and False, or for works stuck in-between mind and body, Dream and Waking: Surrealism, Expressionism. Impressionism, quite directly, with its fixation of painting.” I saw it all interpreted inventively by participating artists and curators.

Here are a few personal highlights that captivated my imagination and tickled my often very critical art brain.

1. Benny Or (Anne-Laure Lemaitre)

The blending and interwoven nature of dreams and reality is seen strongest in the paintings on display this year by new and seasoned fair participants. Often I am drawn to other types of works at S/B but this classic art medium was seen in haunting and memorial curations. One space in particular is curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre, a solo booth presentation of first-time S/B exhibiting artist, Benny Or, Silent Echoes. His eerie paintings of traditional Chinese yoke-back chairs, seen close up and tipped over in saturated primary colors against blue and evocative music playing in the background drew me in. The works and space reflect Or’s archival digging into his family’s history, of his great-grandmother, a respected shamanic healer, and great-grandfather, a court official in China, who hung himself after his wealth was depleted during the communist takeover in China during the 1930s-40s.

2. Justin Yoon (Kaizhou Allegro Yang)

Justin Yoon’s large solo booth, The Discreet Charm of the Dreamers curated by Kaizhou Allegro Yang, that encompasses part of the coffee area was the sugar rush I was craving with beefy and voluminous men and women in bright highlighter scenes. Looking at his paintings, such as, At the Dance (2024), felt like staring into a queer sparkly utopia that I never want to leave.

Justin Yoon. “At the Dance,” 2024. Acrylic, acrylic gouache, glitter on canvas. 50 x 50 inches Curated by Kaizhou Allegro Yang. Courtesy of the artist.3. Rahdika Gupta-Buckley (Daniela Mercuri)

Rich in pattern, Rhadika Gupta-Buckley’s booth of paintings and vessels in a vibrant and strong, yet balanced color palette presents tender scenes of intimacy between lovers and with children, friends, and, importantly, cats. As if borrowed from an orthodox icon, the gold backdrops of some of the portraits elevate the preciousness of these succinctly represented relationships to the divine, they are to be cherished. On the banks of the Gangees (2024), a painting of the sacred river, nods to her Indian heritage bringing the booth together.

4. Alexandra Rubinstein (Artist Spotlght)

Alexandra Rubinstein’s landscape works ooze the sensibility of traditional Impressionism; warm oranges and blues enmeshing to make sunsets, it is when one lets your eyes linger that you see the nude ideal bodies that gives them tranquil aura. The presence of her body coming out of the landscapes or completely a part of me reminds me of how one feels when one can feel oneself in a dream but is aware that their body is present in the physical realm of sleeping.

5. Jody Macdonald (Peter Gynd)

The surrealism felt unavoidable when looking at Jody Macdonald’s textile sculptures and miniature scenes reflecting the bygone era of Carnival ‘sideshows’. Her works are quirky and dark and the sense of humor in each piece immediately brings to mind the works of the iconic Greer Lankton with her large soft sculptures.

6. Mimi O Chun (Paul Amitai)

Thinking of the capabilities and playfulness that can be attained with different sizes, Mimi O Chun’s large works made me smirk. Her large and soft everyday objects placed in precarious ways, such as her giant dentures, “Chairgressions: Chatter“, 2020, and tongue in cheek Gherkinstock (2022) that made me crave pickles and reminded me of my days living in the Bay Area surrounded by old school hippies.

7. Marianna Peragallo (Artist Spotlight)

Breezing along the fair I saw above me a floating plastic bag, or what at first seemed like one but in reality, it was Marianna Peragallo’s sculpture, Thank You Have A Nice Day Thank You Have A Nice Day Thank You Have A Nice Day Thank You Have A Nice Day (2024) hanging from the ceiling. Many of her works were seen with plants in them, reimagining an object that is seen as detrimental to the environment, a plastic bag, instead of as a vessel for life, growth, and nature. What could be more surreal than that?

8. Eric Mistretta (Anna Kustera)

This blending of the real, unreal, and dark humor that John Waters would appreciate is seen throughout in Eric Mistretta’s works curated by Anna Kustera. The space was similar to a nail salon that wanted to remind you that the darkest parts of yourself are always there and itching to emerge and show themselves. Bones displayed with nail polish and paintings remind us of dark realities and options are always possible. It was a space that while macabre also had a pleasant element with the soft purples and cream colors seen throughout the space.

9. Ben Cowan (Artist Spotlight)

Thinking of tranquility, one cannot help but see how religion, the spaces it can reside in, and the symbols it evokes can bring many a sense of calm and peace. Artist Ben Cowan does this with his framed painting series ‘Paracosm,’ Installed in church-like architectural forms, meditating on his pieces feels not only natural but correct—that spiritual experience which not only religion but also looking at art can offer

SPRING/BREAK Art Show is on view through Monday, September 9, 2024, at 75 Varick St, NY, NY.

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