Art Fair Review: Independent
Independent Art Fair, installation shot, 2020. Courtesy of Independent Art Fair
Elizabeth Dee founded Independent Art Fair started in 2009, when a group of commercial and nonprofit galleries congregated to create an art fair/gallery hybrid and the 2020 edition had an expansive selection of contemporary art. Independent was conceived by combining the aesthetics and presentation of a gallery with the inspiration of art fairs to represent an expansive range of art. The fair exhibits art that could be found in newer galleries, larger commercial galleries, and highly-established museums to render a sense of unity between a variety of visual works.
Independent is layered with white walls, taking up four different floors that viewers can access via elevator. Furnished much like a museum, with vast, open air rooms, the pieces are presented with just the right amount of negative space to highlight their qualities. There are tables of people peppered throughout the exhibit, stocked with information about the artists in that particular section. Although photography is underrepresented in many art fairs’ exhibitions this year, Independent features a large range of stand-out photography pieces on each level of the event.
An example of the fine work on display were two photographs from Acts of Appearance by Gauri Gill, represented by International Studio & Curatorial Program. The pictures show two people outside of a small brick house, one sporting a wooden sun mask, and the other a wooden moon mask. They wear polarizing colors, sitting close to each other but with substantial distant, creating an intriguing image of unity between opposites.
Also shown on the ground floor was photographer Vikky Alexander, part of the Downs & Ross gallery. She is an established and internationally recognized artist from Vancouver. Her work featured delicate feminine portraits with a deeply black background, causing the illuminated figures to stand out like spotlights amongst the dark.
Independent Art Fair, 2020, Installation view, Vikky Alexander. Courtesy of the artist, Downs & Ross and Independent Art Fair.
Gay Outlaw, featured by the Anglim Gilbert Gallery, is a photographer and sculptor from San Francisco. She showcased her mixed-media inkjet prints that are finished with what she calls glass “puddles”. Pastel entities pop out of the pictures, like bubblegum or storm clouds, overlaid on pictures of urban scenes ranging from people to architecture in the city to old cars you can not help but notice on the street. When asked in a previous interview about her work, Gay Outlaw simply stated: “The message is no message. I call it formal free association.”
Untitled (Orange Flow with Waders) 2016 © Gay Outlaw
Lucas Blalock, represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber, was impossible to miss, with some of his prints standing taller than the people near them. His work, in his own words, features “pathetic” objects. He uses Photoshop to create a large variety of effects and distortions, and in his photos featured at Independent, he gave ordinary objects such as a house fan a surreal quality by adding strange 3D shapes of color to an otherwise normal and domestic scene. With this approach, he seems to be rethinking the way we approach familiar everyday items.
The photography on display at Independent Art Fair was both lively and experimental, showcasing the limitless ingenuity of contemporary photographers. It can be difficult in such a large space to keep the space intimate and personal, but the organizers of Independent were able to do exactly that. With knowledgeable staff and plenty of reading material, as well as space to move and immerse yourself in the vast selection of works to enjoy, Independent does the world of art fairs a service.
