The Frying Pan will once again serve as the unusual location for the Fountain Art Fair (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Pier 66, the Frying Pan
West 26th St. at the Hudson River
March 5-7, $10 (March 4 VIP preview $25)
www.fountainexhibit.com
The Fountain Art Fair might just be our favorite of all the fairs held during Armory Arts Week, and certainly the most anarchistic and unusual. The fourth annual event once again takes place aboard the Frying Pan, where twenty exhibitors will be displaying their works in various odd places throughout the historic lightship, which was built in 1929 and purportedly once spent three years underwater before being rescued. It’s almost like a ghost ship, but harboring art instead of the walking dead, especially in the downstairs Murder Lounge. (Consider yourself warned.) Thursday’s all-day VIP preview, which costs only twenty-five bucks, benefits the Museum of Arts and Design, while Friday night will feature a party with live performances by Detroit’s ADULT and Brooklyn’s Depreciation Guild (including members of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart), and Saturday night will be highlighted by celebrity guest DJ Marky Ramone. Among the galleries exhibiting at the fair are ArtSlant, Boltax, Galerie Zeitgeist, Leo Kesting, and Open Ground, with such special projects as the Idea for the Here and Now group show curated by the Christina Ray Gallery. Nuala Clarke has nabbed the coveted Lackawanna Caboose, where she will install “One of One Thousand Words.” Last year Allison Berkoy filled the caboose with her video sculptures; she’ll be back this year as well, displaying such work as “Breakfast” in another part of the fair. Expect the unexpected and be ready for anything….