Inspire me
New York Fall 2024: The Inner Spirit’s Quest
Follow our Inner Spirit Quest Route Guide to navigate Affordable Art Fair NYC Fall via the extraordinary artworks destined to provoke an emotional connection.
Michael DeStefano
Thursday 5 September, 2024
Our Affordable Art Fair New York Fall Route Guides help you navigate the fair with your personal taste in mind to ensure you hit all the highlights.
This Route Guide is perfect for you if you’re guided by the spirit within and tend to form special soul connections with the artworks you love. Finding a new piece that feels like it was made just for you is true magic.
See them all together in a virtual exhibition created by ArtPlacer.
Read a roundup of our favorite artworks on offer this Fall that’ll help channel your inner spirit with a personal touch.
1. Lustre, C11
Perhaps it’s a little on the nose to begin the Inner Spirit Quest with a deep, long look into a heart, but we’d suggest taking it as a sign that you’re on the right path to finding an artwork you love.
Mx. Hyde’s molded leather compositions evoke strength and natural beauty, and the very fact of their medium makes each completely unique. They’re a firm favorite at Lustre‘s stand, and not to be missed as you start your route through the fair.
MXHyde, “Heart – Sexy Studs”, 2023, Leather, 18x18in, $1400, Lustre
2. Melhop Gallery, E18
A common theme has spanned Frances Melhop’s career; an acute narrative attention paid to the plight of female artists. She amplifies their voices through her own practice, and we see this in her “Whispers Across Time” series, which forms a story through misheard retellings.
Find her at E18 among a selection of other artists represented by Frances’ own gallery, Melhop Gallery.
Frances Melhop, “Whispers Across Time 5”, monotype print, 18×18, $900, Melhop Gallery
3. Emmanuelle G Contemporary, D16
Being the onlooker of an onlooker is very meta, and almost definitely something the inner quester should gravitate to at this year’s fair. This piece by Beatriz Guzman Catena makes a great stopping point for pause and reflection. It’s tricky not to be captivated by the illusionary nature of a house in the sky.
4. Manifest Destiny Art, E5
It would, frankly, have been an unforgivable error to have missed “Spiritual Assistance” from Manifest Destiny Art off our Inner Spirit Quest Route Guide. The clue really is in the name and we’re not sure we need to say much else.
Still, Yelena Lezhen’s mixed media pieces are enchanting and open for interpretation in a way that should please anyone on the hunt for deeper meaning in their art collection.
5. Established Gallery, D2
Transcendent in their approach to artistic tradition, Johnson takes the form of textiles and adds a complex, ethereal twist to interrogate societal norms, particularly where they limit women and ideas of femininity.
Through abstraction, shape, and subversion, you’ll want to stop by Established Gallery to discover which emotions you experience among Johnson’s captivating pieces, and how they might challenge your own sense of inner identity.
6. JJ Contemporary Art Gallery, C1
Take a quick right at the end of the aisle to JJ Contemporary Art Gallery. Here, Yuriy Vatkin is all about delving into the subconscious and, through his work, he wants to take you along for the hopefully not too Freudian ride. During this stop, see what your imagination conjures as you pause to appreciate his signature abstraction.
Yuriy Vatkin, “Mosaic”, 2022, Acrylic on Canvas, 28x40in, $3200, JJ Contemporary Art Gallery
7. Artios Gallery, A2
Time to ascend (both spiritually and literally) as you head up the stairs or elevator to Artios Gallery in booth A2. Here, you’ll find oil pastel work by Irina Sheynfeld, which are full of color and movement, as well as being reminiscent of Hama beads if you’ll allow us a moment of 90s toy nostalgia.
Irina Sheynfeld, “Sail”, 2024, pastel on board, 31x24inch, $2,200, Artios Gallery
8. SUOMEI M50 x FUCEAN, A7
Beijing-based Wang Menghsa combines the light touch of traditional Chinese ink painting with delicate femininity, perfect for gently prodding your inner spirit awake. You’ll find humor and sentimentality among the imagery of her work: court maidens, cartoonish flora, goofy animals, and ponderous figures.
Wang Mengsha, “Fantasy Mauve”, 2022, ink and color on paper, 13x13in, SUOMEI M50 x FUCEAN
9. Eleventh Hour Art, F1
Don’t leave it until the eleventh hour to stop by Eleventh Hour Art. They’ll be presenting the colorful work of Mycha, a Texas-born, Brooklyn-based artist who utilises Catholic iconography to speak to the femme queer identity. If your inner spirit relates to Mycha’s “Madonna and Child” and her desperate need for a Tums, then don’t miss this booth during your visit.
10. Harsh Collective, F3
One stand down, we’re finishing with a killer 70s palette from Uzo Njoku, a visual artist known for her versatility. The use of pattern, blocking, and figurativism is signature Njoku. Also, some might say it’s quite Brat.
Find her work with Harsh Collective, who’s goal is to inspire a new era in the art world
Perhaps its coincidence, but likely it’s fate, that our Inner Spirit Quest ends right by the café. Time to grab a coffee and mull over your art-buying decisions.
We’d love to see you at Affordable Art Fair New York Fall 2024. Grab your tickets to join us there.
