How Independent is Revitalizing the Art Fair Model

Independent earned its reputation with a focus on risk-taking work that contrasted the corporatization and consolidation of art fairs in the 21st century—a trend accelerated by a worldwide proliferation of fairs that transformed them into global brands. Once confined to its namesake city in Switzerland, Art Basel now has iterations in Hong Kong, Paris, Miami Beach, and Qatar; Frieze, which originated in London, spawned satellites in New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul. Moreover, the Frieze organization, owned by Hollywood kingpin Ari Emanuel, has taken over NYC’s Armory Show and Chicago’s Art Expo.

This archipelago of collector-catering bazaars has come to dominate the art market—and many dealers and artists are unhappy about it. “It’s gone in the wrong direction,” says Elizabeth Dee, who co-founded Independent with White Columns Director Matthew Higgs to combat “fair fatigue.”

A former gallerist, Dee notes the deleterious impact of fairs on the gallery system. “There’s a real risk of losing the discourse culture of the gallery,” she says. “The pulling out of the catalogs, the pulling out of the artworks, and really arguing about things.” Such discussions occurred regularly when gallery owners were in their back rooms but have become rarer as they spend more time at fairs. Another detriment: the ever-increasing costs of exhibitor booths, forcing dealers to be conservative in the type of work they show.

As these developments emerged in the early 2000s, Dee searched for an alternative. Her solution was a curated, artist-focused “selling exhibition,” though the result didn’t exactly turn out as expected. “We wrote a manifesto and said it wasn’t an art fair, but everyone who came said, ‘It’s just a really good art fair.’”

Dee worked assiduously to keep Independent distinct, even as success made it grow. The fair retains the same curatorial approach to selecting exhibitors that it’s had since its initial outings at the former Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea, and aside from a past foray into Brussels, Belgium, has stuck to New York City. It also presents more solo debuts of artists than any other fair.

Independent at Pier 36 runs May 14–17, with a 75,000 square-foot presentation of 76 galleries from 34 countries. The preponderance of offerings will be debuts, and the roster, predominantly young and diverse; half of the 105 artists on view are women, while over half of all participants are Millennials and Gen Z. 11% of the total will also be Asian. 

The fair will include a façade installation by architectural firm Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO–IL), who also created the Randall’s Island tent for Frieze New York before it moved to Hudson Yards. Meanwhile, D_P_S (Diogo Passarinho Studio) will give the fair’s interior a sweeping, unified design.

There will also be several commissioned projects: Greek artist Nikolas Ventourakis will exhibit a giant, immersive wrap-around photo mural of a garbage pile at the fair’s entrance to evoke our increasingly dystopian era; fashion house Comme des Garçons will present couture creations—wearable sculptures, really—by its legendary founder Rei Kawakubo; and there will be a restaging of a video installation by Gretchen Bender (1951–2004) whose work during the 1980s presciently tracked the negative effects of mass media.

Fairs devoted to the modern and mid-century eras have become fixtures of the art market, but here again, Independent distinguishes itself by presenting lesser-known artists alongside marquee names. The move to the Breuer should prove to be a real game changer: the building itself is a landmark of 20th-century art, not only for its iconic architecture, but for memories of Whitney shows past. Together, they’ll provide the sort of historical context for the work that’s simply not possible at convention centers.

Indeed, the proceedings may remind oneself of the Whitney Biennial; the fair will take up three floors with works installed in museum-quality spaces distinct from the usual fair booth. Another first will be the participation of Sotheby’s, which will mount its own exhibit on the ground floor. Dee calls the relationship win-win, allowing Independent to properly frame 20th-century art for a new generation, while giving Sotheby’s access to potential collectors.

Since 2009, Independent has attempted to revitalize the art fair model with out-of-the-box thinking. Nearly 20 years on, it continues to live up to its name.