Eight Noteworthy Exhibits at This Year’s Independent Art Fair

With a roster of 85 exhibitors this year, including 26 artists making their New York debuts and 39 galleries appearing for the first time, the Independent Art Fair has completed its evolution from a niche event to a respected institution within the international art community.

This expansion brings both challenges and benefits. While the fair feels more crowded and carries a distinctly commercial atmosphere, it also offers a richer, more diverse array of participants representing a worldwide reach. Among the highlights are Matt Kenny’s paintings depicting windows displayed in a windowless room, Terran Last Gun’s geometric ledger art featured at Diane Rosenstein Gallery, and The Gallery of Everything’s extravagant installation featuring Yiddish typewriters, tramp-art grandfather clocks, portraits of Emperor Haile Selassie, and other unique objects assembled as if from a single collector’s trove.

Fifth Floor: The Meeting

Following the recent U.S. presidential election, artist Tod Lippy, who voted for Kamala Harris and has experience in music, photography, and publishing, sought to understand opposing perspectives. He researched the phrase “Why I voted for Trump” online and created 50 portraits of individuals he found, using acrylic, Sharpie, and crayon. His project, titled “My Fellow Americans,” is both earnest and meticulously crafted, offering a compelling reflection of the current cultural climate with undertones reminiscent of artificial intelligence.

Vistamare Gallery

This Milan-based gallery presents works by Rosa Barba, who is currently exhibiting her film, kinetic sculpture, and sound installations at a major museum. Alongside Barba’s pieces is an unusual white monochrome by Ettore Spalletti. Barba’s artistic approach treats film materials innovatively: her sculptures reveal the often-overlooked aesthetic qualities of film itself, such as textile-like weavings of red film that balance flatness and depth, and a kinetic work featuring black numerals on transparent 35-millimeter film that evokes the surreal experience of an eye exam in a dreamlike setting.