NEW YORK, NY.- The Photography Show presented by AIPAD held April 4-7, 2019 at Pier 94 in New York City set new attendance records and drew enthusiastic reviews from both exhibitors and attendees. The 39th edition of the Show featured 94 of the world’s leading fine art photography galleries, 34 book dealers and publishers, 12 AIPAD Talks, and a special exhibition curated by Alec Soth.
The Opening Preview on April 3 attracted more than 2,000 attendees, up from 1,500 last year, with an overall Show attendance record of more than 16,000, up from last year’s 15,000. Collectors and curators were drawn to the wide range of museum-quality work including contemporary, modern, and 19th-century photographs, as well as photo-based art, video, and new media. A new curated section of project spaces, which highlighted solo artists and themed presentations, drew praise from attendees.
Organized by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, the fair is the longest-running and foremost art fair dedicated to the photographic medium.
“With record-breaking attendance and strong sales, AIPAD has once again affirmed its dominance as the most important photography fair in the U.S.,” said Richard Moore, Richard Moore Photographs, Oakland, CA, and President, AIPAD. “Major collectors and curators have a standing date on their spring calendars to attend each year.”
AIPAD Talks, which featured prominent curators, collectors, artists, and journalists, were very well attended. Speakers included Vince Aletti, Harry Benson, Dawoud Bey, Chris Boot, Malcolm Daniel, Sarah Greenough, Deana Lawson, Sarah Hermanson Meister, Corey Keller, An-My Lê, Stephen Shore, Rosalind Solomon, Carol Squiers, and Martha Wilson, among many others.
SALES HIGHLIGHTS
“It was our best AIPAD yet,” Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, reported. The gallery sold nearly 20 photographs in the $18,000 to $36,000 range including work by Mitch Epstein, Walker Evans, Ori Gersht, Zanele Muholi, Larry Sultan, and Mickalene Thomas.
“We had an excellent opening and did very well this year,” Michael Hoppen Gallery, London reported. “We sold a lot of work and met art advisors we didn’t know,” commented Staley-Wise Gallery. “It’s so worth being here.”
“The connoisseurship is there. The audience is really knowledgeable. That’s why we love AIPAD,” said Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, which sold work ranging from $6,000 to $140,000, including Walker Evans, Mona Kuhn, Vera Lutter, Sally Mann, Vic Muniz, and Matthew Pillsbury.
Utópica, São Paulo, noted, “AIPAD is always very good. We meet lots of customers and now over the last three years that we have been exhibiting, we are finding that collectors are really getting to know us. We are excited to bring work that has never before been seen in the U.S.” The gallery sold prints ranging from $4,000 to $12,000.
Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, said they were “very happy” and sold about 20 prints and rearranged their booth several times. Likewise, Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, sold numerous photographs and re-hung the booth each day.
Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, reported that AIPAD was “very well attended with many curators and collectors, both veterans and young couples.” Among their sales were three vintage prints by Helen Levitt that went for a combined $100,000.
“Sales were strong, and we had great conversations,” said Arnika Dawkins Photographic Fine Art Gallery, Atlanta. L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York, introduced the work of Jane E. Atwood, an American photographer living in Paris, to resounding success with strong sales and a great response from museum curators and private collectors.
Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA, said the Show was “great” and sold work to institutions including a major New York City museum and was pleased with the strong attendance of museum curators. Atlas Gallery, London, sold work by Sam Haskins, Jimmy Nelson, and Chris Simpson.
Paul M. Hertzmann, San Francisco, was extremely happy with AIPAD and sold a print by Edward Weston and Eastern European photography including a work by Geza Perneczky, which was acquired by a major New York City museum.
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York was impressed by the “serious inquiries, serious buyers, and younger crowd.” The gallery sold more than 20 photographs to institutions, first time buyers, and private collectors and noted, “People love this fair!”
A number of celebrities and notables attended AIPAD including Frances McDormand, Joel Coen, Brenda Vaccaro, Harry Benson, Stephen Shore, Maggie Taylor, Dawoud Bey, Alec Soth, Deana Lawson, Richard Learoyd, Jeff Mermelstein, Martha Wilson, Stephen Wilkes, Elliott Erwitt, Tony Vaccaro, Gary and Sarah Wolkowitz, Joe Baio, Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, David Dechman, Celso Gonzalez-Falla, Vince Aletti, Sarah Hermanson Meister, Corey Keller, Brian Wallis, Malcom Daniel, Lisa Hostetler, Christine Symchych, Lisa Sutcliffe, Sarah Kennel, Clément Chéroux, Sarah Greenough, Sarah Hermanson Meister, and Jeff Rosenheim.
The Photography Show is known for its excellent attendance from museum curators. Institutions represented included the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; International Center of Photography, New York; Morgan Library & Museum, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Museum of the City of New York, New York; George Eastman Museum, Rochester; Philadelphia Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; New Orleans Museum of Art; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Milwaukee Art Museum; and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
EXHIBITORS
The Photography Show featured galleries from more than 11 countries and 41 cities from across the U.S. and around the world, including Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America. The Show included 15 new participants: American Society of Media Photographers, New York; Blanca Berlin Gallery, Madrid; Boccara Art, Brooklyn; Duncan Miller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; Galerie Frederic Got, Paris; Kamoinge, Inc., New York; Laufer, Belgrade; Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo, Italy / Los Angeles; Momentum Fine Art, Miami; Morehouse Gallery, Laredo, TX; RocioSantaCruz, Barcelona; SoPhoto Gallery, Beijing; Taylor Graham, New York; Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York; and VRG, Hong Kong.
AWARD
The AIPAD Award, established in 2017 to recognize visionaries who have spent their lives at the forefront of the field of photography, was awarded to Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
