Independent Names 76 Exhibitors for Its Upcoming May Fair

Independent has announced that 76 exhibitors will participate in the upcoming 17th edition of the show, which will be held at its new venue on Pier 36 on the Lower East Side from May 14-17.

The exhibition will display the works of more than 100 artists, of which more than 70% of the booths are dedicated to the works of a single artist. These include David Kordansky’s Jason Fox, Interval’s Petra Cortright, Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler’s Taína Cruz, Charles Moffett’s Silvia Heyden, Ryan Lee’s Ina Gerken, Stems’ Michael Bühler-Rose, and Ricco/Maresca Gallery’s Trude Viken. Comme Des Garçons will also present a solo performance by Rei Kawakubo.

More than a third of the participating artists will also have their first solo exhibition in New York, in what the fair calls an “independent debut,” such as Secci’s Omar Mismar, i8 Gallery’s Arna Óttarsdóttir, WHATIFTHEWORLD’s Nabeeha Mohamed, Suprainfinit’s Larisa Sitar, Pentimendi’s Dan Gunn, Mariposa’s Alessandro Miotti and Antonio Darden. Kendra Jayne Patrick.

With its move to the LES, Independent has also embraced its new neighbors, inviting several nearby galleries to exhibit at the show for the first time. These include Spencer Brownstone Gallery, Kiang Malingue, David Peter Francis and Post Times.

The new venue will also work with two design firms to achieve the look and feel of the show, with D_P_S (Diogo Passarinho Studio) handling the exhibition design and Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO-IL) focusing on the venue’s appearance to ensure “the show blends in with its Lower East Side setting,” according to a press release.

In addition, Independent will place sculptural installations throughout the show for the first time, including those by Gretchen Bender by Sprüth Magers and Francis Upritchard by Anton Kern. The fair also commissioned Nikolas Ventourakis (from Callirrhoë) to create an installation inspired by a photograph he took of a rubbish dump at the entrance to the fair.

“This is shaping up to be an extraordinary year for Independent,” said Elizabeth Dee, founder of Independent. art news in an email. “Moving to Pier 36 gives us the opportunity to shake things up. The exhibition design, the number of new solo shows, New York debuts, institutionally representative artists, and a few surprises will exceed high expectations for what Independent can achieve and how the fair will shape our work in the future.”

The complete list of exhibitors is below.

*Denotes independent debut presentation.