News >> Browse Articles >> Fine Art
What You Didn't Know: The ADAA Armory Show
The ADAA Armory Show / Valerie Atkisson
Featured Author:
Valerie Atkisson
Prior to starting ArtBistro, Valerie lived and worked as an artist in New York City for ten years. Her work has been shown at New York galleries and museums and been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times. Valerie taught art for eight years part-time at Grace Church School and most recently at Brigham Young University. She has collaborated on a number of commercial enterprises with composers, designers, writers, photographers, and dancers. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with her Master of Fine Arts in 1998. ArtBistro Portfolio
More articles from this author:
Valerie Atkisson/ArtBistro
October 12, 2009
New York, NY – The biggest surprise for me at the Armory Show this weekend was seeing Olafur Eliasson’s work at Tanya Bonakder. His new sculptures are spherical mirrors that hang or are mounted on the wall. It is not his best work, but the departure from installations was new for me, and interesting. These seem to have movable parts that can be angled to reflect the environment around. In this case, it was the The Art Dealer’s Association of America. The Association proved to be the other surprise of the Armory Show
Olafur Eliasson’s new work at Tanya Bonakder / Valerie Atkisson
ADAA Supports Artists
Tanya Bonakder is one of the newest galleries that can claim membership to the The Art Dealer’s Association of America. The Association, 170 galleries strong, benefits contemporary artists in direct and indirect ways. The most obvious way the ADAA supports artists is that it supports galleries, which support artists. But also, the ADAA has a standard of business practices that it holds the gallery members to. The galleries must follow good business practices in relation to their artists. Executive Director, Linda Blumberg said, “I would like to hope that the standard that we set influences the business practices of galleries outside of the organization.”
Olafur Eliasson’s new work at Tanya Bonakder / Valerie Atkisson
Gaining Membership
You may be interested to know that to gain membership in the ADAA, a gallery is recommended by a member of the organization and must have been in business for a minimum of five years. Next, the gallery fills out a form that gives the organization information by which they can consider the gallery. Scholarship, reputation, program of artists and business practices are the criteria considered by committee. Committee members visit the gallery and conduct formal and informal interviews to find out if there are any complaints or objections to the gallery membership.
Artist Tax Deductions
==
- Related article: Israel Museum Displayed Looted Art == ==
- Do you want to be an artist or designer? Check out your options. == ==
- Are you looking for a scholarship? Click here == ==
Another way the ADAA helps artists is that they are actively lobbying to change to laws dictating the tax benefits for artists who donate their work to museums. Now, if an artist donates their own work to a museum they can only deduct the amount of money it cost to produce the work. Frank Moschiano, a CPA in Albuquerque, N.M. states, “When you donate something you made yourself, you can only claim deductions for the cost of the materials used and maybe even the mileage you used to get your artwork to the gallery.” ADAA is trying to change that. Under rules that they lobby for, artists will be able to deduct the current value of the work. Concievabley, a collector can claim a tax deduction for the current value if he donated the work to a museum the day after they purchased it, but the artist cannot.
The Armory on East 67th / Valerie Atkisson
Admission Is a Benefit
The full admission to The Armory, benefits the Henry Street Settlement and has every year for 20 years! The Henry Street Settlement has been an artist community for 114 years. The fact that the ADAA donates the price of admission to an artist community truly stets it apart from the other Armory shows and art fairs. I believe it is in indicative of the experience a visitor will have visiting the fair. If you want an afternoon treat, visit The Armor Show. The artwork to be experienced is daring, interesting and smart. Unlike the monstrous Armory in a month, this show is beautifully presented, and the atmosphere is by far more generous than that on “The Piers.”
jhaber31
about 1 year ago
824 comments
I saw "Wack!" (feminist art of the 1970s, traveling exhibition from LA) at P.S. 1 yesterday. the shows will overlap once Eliasson gets three spaces there starting April 20, but "Wack!" will have to give up two of them. For now, some long interviews with Louise Bourgeois, Annette Messager, and maybe Joan Jonas (I forget) are in the cavern downstairs that's often used for film or video. (You can practice your French.) Marina Abramovic will also have to quit early. A huge cloak or maybe heart, painted red and slit in at least two places, has the two-level gallery that you can see looking down from the main floor. He'll also have space on the third floor. I don't know if MOMA, with more continuous space, will stick to smaller works or more conventional environments. (I worry whether the small ones that Valerie describes get too close to tchotchkes, but it'd be interesting to see them.)
Janice
about 1 year ago
2488 comments
Thanks for the info. :)
jhaber31
about 1 year ago
824 comments
Oh, Eliasson is going to have a large show at MOMA and P.S. 1 in the spring.
jhaber31
about 1 year ago
824 comments
Just a technicality, but they're calling it "the Art Show," as distinct from the late March Armory Show, which outgrew the Seventh Regiment Armory a few years ago and moved to the piers in the West 50s. The latter also attracts competing shows (but also welcomes them, almost as satellite shows); one is going to be near the Empire State Building, and last time at least another was in the armory on Lex and 25th Street, where (believe it or not) the legendary Armory Show that brought "Nude Descending a Staircase" to America was held. Anyhow, while I haven't seen it, according to Friday's Times the Art Show is distinguishing its profile as one of established artists. The Seventh Regiment armory is used heavily for shows year round, on everything from antique shows to specialty art expos, and it does occasionally make room, too, for men in uniform.