Proof of Concept

Bridge, an art fair that has taken place in Chicago, London, and Miami has joined the cadre of art fairs exhibiting this week in New York.

The old Tunnel Night club, once a railway tunnel located on 12th avenue, spans the entire block with 20-foot vaulted ceilings is an ideal venue for 65 international galleries.

Bridge has grown up in the last several years. In the early days of these "junior" art fairs that began to sprout around Art Chicago, Bridge and its predecessor ,The Stray Show, didn't distinguished themselves from the established fairs by simply featuring "emerging" galleries (read: less expensive). They served as iconoclastic versions of the blue-chip, conservative Art Chicago. The results were mixed. The 2001 opening of the Stray Show featured fractured performances, wall to wall crowds, start up galleries that were abundant in enthusiasm and entirely lacking in professionalism, and palpable sense of energy and excitement.



Bridge NewYork 08 reveals that this fair has matured beyond the adolescent rebellion. What it has become is professional, well attended, and sadly status quo. The little galleries, so poorly organized and funded that they actually leaned stacks of their inventory against the wall rather than be troubled to actually hang anything up, have been replaced with tastefully spaced booths filled with international galleries. The irreverent and frenetic social disruptions of Chicago's loosely organized performance artists have been replaced with more discreet and predictable DJ and a VIP booth.


Like the organizers, the art at Bridge has also become more polished and sedate. Quite, introspective, and carefully crafted work shines in this show. Terri Jones' installation Spin is carefully smudged texts that become soft, minimal works. Monika Lin's heavily epoxied paintings layer faceless children frolicking amongst decorative motifs. Lauren Fensterstock's monochrome gardens of carefully constructed from black paper epitomises the majority of the work at Bridge; carefully constructed, flawlessly executed, and understated.

Labels: Bridge 08, Lauren Fenterstock, Terri Jones