New York’s Future Fair is gaining further credence in its 4th edition. The fair is located in Chelsea Industrial, on the corner of West 28th, where a new cohesively walkable 11th Avenue fair district is forming alongside 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair across the street, with Frieze a few blocks to the north and NADA a stone’s throw to the south on West 22nd. This proximity to high caliber fairs makes Future Fair a convenient stop along any route, increasing the quality of foot traffic to the space, as well as a noticeable increase in the quality of offerings across this edition’s participating galleries. This may be due in part to the fair subsidizing galleries participation through $12,000 in distributed grants from its “Pay it Forward Fund” for Founding Galleries. Future Fair is unique in adopting this innovative ecosystem approach to supporting its exhibitors, and now it can be seen as a worthy investment in its rise on the art fair scene. Approachable and inviting in the atmosphere–though circuitous and one-directional in navigating the space–Future Fair succeeded in attracting A-list celebrities, foundation directors, notable international collectors, museum curators, and even foreign dignitaries, including the Danish Ambassador and Austrian Consulate General, during the its VIP preview on May 1st.
Female artists take pride of place along each alleé, corner, and crevice: nearly every booth was teaming with energetic talent ranging from the technical to the imaginative with douses of feminine whimsy to spare. It is no surprise that a wide range of aesthetic perspectives and material investigations grappled with representing the female figure throughout many sections of the fair, becoming an unplanned theme throughout this article as well. Engaging for collectors and gallerists alike, here are five strong presentations to anchor any Chelsea fair outing with a visit to Future Fair’s 2024 edition.
Massey Klein Gallery’s Solo Presentation of Dutch Painter Martine Johanna
A 4-year veteran of Future Fair, Massey Klein Gallery steals the show with the intoxicating pull of recent paintings on panel by Dutch artist Martine Johanna. Technically precise from Johanna’s rigorous draftsmanship, these works strike an amplified emotional register through the artist’s juxtaposition of deep gem tones and fluorescent hues. The result is a series of captivating female portraits that humorously invert contemporary framing trends by extruding the plane of the panel out past the hand-painted frame, undeniably enveloping the viewer into her visionary worlds. Don’t miss the chance to see these works in person as their intensity cannot be matched by their photographic presence.
