Swoon and Monica Canilao at Chandran Gallery
Returning for its fifth year, Art Market opened its doors at the historic Fort Mason Festival Pavilion this past weekend. An impressive display of contemporary art from all over the world, this year’s fair diversified its selection of galleries and improved its overall presentation. Teaming up with the some of the Bay Area’s most prominent museums such as the de Young and Legion of Honor, this year’s fair included a healthy mix of exciting international spaces as well as prominent local galleries.
Upon entering Fort Mason Center, first-time exhibitors Joshua Liner Gallery showcased a cleverly designed booth that emphasized a playful presentation that contrasted with the crisp minimalism of their neighbors. Their booth exhibited works from Serena Mitnik-Miller, Tiffany Bozic, Wayne White and Andrew Schoultz. Berkeley-based artist Libby Black was also a crowd favorite. Her colorful paper sculptures transform luxury items and commonplace objects into charming graphic sculptures, complete with tinges of dry humor and wit.
Another standout space was Hashimoto Contemporary’s booth, which focused entirely on prominent Bay Area painter Brett Amory. Showcasing new paintings from his “Anonymous” and “Waiting” series, the show stopper was his large-scale installation of a San Francisco bus-stop, complete with life-size figures looming ominously, as they typically do in Amory’s canvases. Working in his distinct, painterly style, this new body of work left an impression on viewers with its haunting, atmospheric presence. Amory also had his recently exhibited “Johnny at the Hollywood Motel” installation towards the back of the fair, which encouraged viewers to enter for a fully immersive experience.
SFAQ Projects, another newbie to the scene, was situated directly across the floor from their more established sister space Ever Gold. The SFAQ booth featured works from conceptual artist Guy Overfelt. Consisting exclusively of ceramic works, Overfelt re-imagined Picasso’s iconic vases with a contemporary comedic twist, turning the traditional decorative pieces into fully functioning bongs. Across the aisle, Ever Gold brought along gallery favorites Mark Mulroney, Sandy Kim and Eric Shaw. Their booth had perhaps the largest quantity of emerging artists out of the entire fair.
Other notable booths include established Toronto space Katherine Mulherin Gallery, which showcased the works of Winnie Truong (previously featured on the cover of Hi-Fructose Vol. 22) and figurative painter Kris Knight. Down the way, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary utilized a corner of their booth for a linear string installation from abstract textile artist Sabine Reckewell. Immediately entering the front of the pavilion were veteran exhibitors Johansson Projects, who brought along the hypnotic work of LED artist Craig Dorety.
This year’s edition brought underground galleries as well as heavy hitters to the walls of Fort Mason, presenting a truly fresh take on the fair-going experience. An eclectic mix of conceptual, abstract and figurative work, Art Market evolves tremendously each year, proving once again the Bay Area’s significant role in the ever-expanding contemporary market. Check out some of the highlights below.
Monica Canilao at Chandran Gallery
Richard Colman at Chandran Gallery
Winnie Truong at Mulherin Gallery
Megan Whimarsh at Mulherin Gallery
Wayne White at Joshua Liner Gallery
Andrew Schoultz at Joshua Liner Gallery
Sabine Reckwell at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary
Mark Mulroney at Evergold
Ben Venom at Evergold
Guy Overfelt at SFAQ
Brett Amory at Hashimoto Contemporary
Brett Amory at Hashimoto Contemporary
Andrew Joyce Heimer at The Good Luck Gallery
One of the first fairs to open during Miami Art Week, 
A city with more headlines about the tech industry than the art scene, San Francisco once had three spring time art fairs: Art Market (formerly, artMRKT), Art Pad and SF Fine Art Fair. Last year it narrowed down two. This year, there was only one art fair left standing: 
The current art market in the Bay Area is precarious. Two of the City's three major art fairs disappeared last spring, galleries are getting evicted and artists are leaving due to unimpressive sales and rising rents. Curators from San Francisco and Oakland alike are racking their brains about how to appeal to the growing class of Twitterati. There is a disconnect between the Bay Area's influx of wealth and its art. Tucked away in suburban San Mateo, just south of SF, 
This year's rendition of