1-54 hosted over 8000 guests at Halo and attributed to upwards of $75,000 in sales among the visiting galleries and exhibitors.
1-54 Art Fair’s 11th year in New York closed on Sunday, May 11. Among six other art fairs in New York’s busy art week, 1-54’s VIP opening on Thursday, May 8 welcomed guests from five continents and over 17 countries at the Halo, 28 Liberty Street. On the first day, around 25% of the 30 galleries already had sold pieces they were exhibiting in the 30,000-square-foot venue.
This year, the number of guests on the VIP day seemed lower than usual. This may be because of COVID-19 visa-processing backlogs or stricter U.S visa vetting after the issuance of Executive Order 14161. Aside from an average three-to-six week processing time for B-1/ B-2 business and leisure, immigration obstacles may have complicated how artists, patrons and curators could visit 1-54 this year.
Luckily, 1-54 still hosted over 8,000 guests at the Halo and facilitated upwards of $75,000 in sales among the visiting galleries and exhibitors.
“I’m overwhelmed with the positive response we continue to receive in New York each year,” founding director of 1-54 Touria El Glaoui said. “The growth of our New York edition for the last decade has been incredible. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we continue to invest in and promote visibility for underrepresented artists from across the globe.”
Although many galleries don’t share their sales publicly, select galleries opened up about the pieces and artists who sold during 1-54. Galleries that sold pieces included but weren’t limited to Dozie Arts, The Bishop Gallery, Yossi Milo, AKKA Project and TERN Gallery. Among others, LIS10 Gallery in Paris, space Un in Tokyo, and Filafriques, which has galleries in Geneva and the Ivory Coast, didn’t respond to inquiries.
1-54’s focused special attention on the Caribbean this year. Fridman Gallery, TERN Gallery and Larkin Durey displayed art from countries including Haiti, the Bahamas and Jamaica. Fridman Gallery shared that they sold pieces by Jerome Lagarrigue (Paris) and Naomi Lisiki (Guadeloupe), although it didn’t report on selling prices for either artist.
TERN Gallery nearly sold out its viewing room. It sold 11 of its 13 pieces shown at 1-54 by the Bahamian ceramicist Anina Major, and the Jamaican painter Leasho Johnson. Their sold and available pieces ranged from $1,800 to $7,500.
Dozie Arts sold five works—three by Victoria Oniosun (Nigeria) and two by Joseph Eze (Nigeria)— whose pieces generally range between $11,000 and $37,000, according to Artsy. Among these pieces, a common thread among the pieces sold was that they highlighted Afro-diasporic cultural depth through the materiality of skin texture and the juxtaposition of repose and royalty.
The Bishop Gallery sold two pieces by Cameroonian artist Jules Be Kuti, who works in France. Be Kuti’s works were solo-exhibited at 1-54—his figurative acrylic paintings, showing father and son relationships, sold for around $7,400 each.
Yossi Milo sold the bronze sculpture, O’ my body, make of me always a man who questions! by American-born artist Shikeith for $26,000. Other works by Shikeith were recently acquired by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa., and the 21c Museum in Louisville, Ky. Another piece, Sanlé Sory’s Je Vais Décoller gelatin silver print, sold for $12,000 unframed. More of Sory’s works will be included in Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, a survey of African historical photos, which will be presented at the Museum of Modern Art.
The founder and curator of AKKA Projects, Lidija Khachatourian, mentioned a positive week for the artist Pamela Enyonu (Uganda). All five of her works at AKKA Projects sold for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $9,000. The gallery also sold a sculpture by Cyrus Kabiru (Kenya) that was in the same range.
Loeve & Co in Paris reported on selling several pieces by Marcel Gotène (Congo), François Thango (Congo) and Alex Burke (France). Gotène’s works sold for around $10,000 each, while Burke’s work NO sold for between $15,000 and $20,000. Their works are also being highlighted in Paris Noir at the Centre Pompidou, which displays influential Black artists in France.
1-54 Art Fair’s 11th year seemed to show positive commercial success for galleries. Diverse galleries and exhibitors showcased 1-54’s dedication to Africa’s ultra-contemporary, emerging and established art.
