New York fair opens with brisk buying as Christie's bets on pop memorabilia
Works priced from US$3,500 to more than US$200,000 changed hands as The Armory Show opened at the Javits Center in New York on September 24.
Dealers described a quiet first morning. Sales picked up.
The fair runs September 24–27 with around 230 exhibitors, meaning galleries and dealers showing work for sale, Artnet. Published sales reports from the floor put the early range from low-priced works on paper to larger paintings above US$200,000 ARTnews.
This year’s list includes a larger contingent of young, emerging galleries The Art Newspaper. The fair also announced two new awards, the first in its 30-year history, for the edition opening September 24 Artnet.
A day earlier, Christie’s in New York announced a global Pop Culture division on September 23 Artforum. The division is focused on sales of pop culture memorabilia, objects linked to music, film and sport.
Christie’s named Josh Benesh as Global Head of Christie’s Pop Culture, based in New York Hyperallergic. Benesh was formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Heritage, the auction house. The launch came after US$105 million in sales of memorabilia from collector Jim Irsay Artforum.
For fans, this means two ways to watch the same week. You can walk a fair floor crowded with new galleries, or follow an auction calendar where stage-worn guitars and game-worn shirts sit alongside paintings and sculpture.
