NEW YORK.- The 2017 edition of The Armory Show closed on Sunday, March 5, with robust sales reported over five days across all levels of the market, ranging from four to seven figures. Staged amid a redesigned floor plan that saw wider aisles, larger lounge spaces and fewer small booths, the fair’s 210 exhibitors hailed from 30 countries and exhibited artworks ranging from groundbreaking new-media to modern masterpieces. The world’s leading collectors, both private and institutional, came out in record strength, demonstrating an appetite for modern and contemporary artwork of the highest quality. The fair saw a noted increase in attendance throughout the week. With outstanding curatorial displays, over 70 galleries exhibited solo-artist and dual-artist booths throughout Piers 92 & 94, with an emphasis on artist debuts and new artworks commissioned for the fair.

“I am proud to report that the new Armory Show has drawn critical praise and record crowds. We have worked hard over the past year to put art and artists at the center of the fair, bringing it back to its Gramercy Park Hotel roots, and also to where it should be—as one of the world’s top international art fairs, and a New York art market powerhouse,” says Benjamin Genocchio, Executive Director of The Armory Show. “From specially commissioned work to the inclusion of studio visits and artist talks, we have increased the involvement of artists in every aspect of the fair. The quality of galleries and artworks —from participating galleries to our curated sections Focus and Platform—are the key to our success. We are pleased with the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the changes made this year and we have more exciting news in store for 2018.”

The 2017 edition featured new and redesigned exhibitor sections, including the celebrated Focus, curated by Jarrett Gregory; the Platform section, featuring 13 large-scale artworks organized by Eric Shiner; the critically praised Insights section of 20th century masterworks; Presents, the expanded section for young galleries; and the newly created Galleries section, featuring 20th and 21st century artworks in a range of media.

The fair attracted over 65,000 visitors over the course of five days, including patrons and trustees from 185 museums, including: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Barnes Foundation, Centre Georges Pompidou, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Dia Art Foundation, El Museo del Barrio, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, New Museum, Palais de Tokyo, Royal Ontario Museum, Serpentine Galleries, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Storm King Art Center, Walker Art Center, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

Notable attendees included: Sarah Arison, Drew Barrymore, Klaus Biesenbach, Leslie Bluhm, Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky, Richard Chang, Lori and Alexandre Chemla, Anderson Cooper, Renee Drake, Carole Server and Oliver Frankel, Vincent & Shelly Fremont, Thelma Golden, Kim Heirston, Agnes Gund, Susan and Michael Hort, Glenn Fuhrman, Susan and Steven Jacobson, Pamela and Richard Kramlich, Elizabeth Kurpis, Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren, Eric and Liz Lefkofsky, Sherry and Joel Mallin, John McEnroe, Brooke Garber Neidich, Anne Pasternak, Simon and Michaela de Pury, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Narciso Rodriguez, Don Rubell, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Marcus Samuelsson, Joel Shapiro, Larry Warsh, Marla and Larry Wasser, Adam Weinberg, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Candace Worth, Neda Young and Margot and Scott Ziegler.

The fair hosted 71 new exhibitors for the 2017 edition, including: Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana), Jeffrey Deitch (New York), kaufmann repetto (Milan, New York), Galerie Peter Kilchmann (Zurich), Galerie Krinzinger (Vienna), Lévy Gorvy (New York, London, Geneva), Fergus McCaffrey (New York, St. Barth, Tokyo), kamel mennour (Paris), Pace Gallery (New York, London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Paris, Palo Alto), PROYECTOSMONCLOVA (Mexico City), Stuart Shave/Modern Art (London), Various Small Fires (Los Angeles) and White Cube (London, Hong Kong).

“We’ve had a fantastic fair. We’ve sold extremely well and changed the booth out a number of times. But more importantly for the fair, our clients are excited about how much better the fair looks. Looking at the quality of the booths, the quality of the galleries attending, the quality of the presentations, as well as the adjustments that have been made to the sight lines of the fair, I think there’s a very different feel this year and people have been really excited about it. It’s been great.” ---Sean Kelly, Owner, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York