February 2007
The Cottelston Bulletin
Michael S. Sellinger

New York Art Week

Today begins the descent of the international art world on New York City. Over the following week, eight fairs and many more events will vie for attention in New York's already art saturated environment. The two most famous draws are The Art Show, a fair organized by the prestigious Art Dealers Association of America, and The Armory Show. A bit of history might be helpful for those less familiar with The Armory Show.

The Armory Show began in 1994 as an emerging art fair started by five upstart dealers as a response to the hegemony of The Art Show. The fair, originally called the Gramercy Art Fair, was held for the first five years in the rooms of the Gramercy Park Hotel. Back then the fair was in May, timed to coincide with the spring auctions. In 1999 the fair changed location, moving to the Lexington Avenue Armory, home of the fabled Armory Show of 1913, and assuming its present name. A couple of years later, outgrowing the space at Lexington Avenue, The Armory Show shifted venues again to the west side cruise ship piers. Despite this move, the fair is still known as The Armory Show. The fair's title has been a source of enduring confusion, especially since The Art Show and PULSE New York are themselves held in armories.

On the competitive front, The Armory Show has lost some ground over the last few years as the calendar has loaded up with almost weekly art fairs. This is especially true on the contemporary/emerging front: first Art Basel Miami Beach plopped down in the beginning of December, then the Frieze Art Fair leapfrogged the art fair calendar, taking over the fall season and staking a claim for the importance of London.

Historically February has been the sole domain of The Art Show, but this year The Armory Show has shifted its dates to coincide with its opposition. While the date shift brings The Armory Show closer to the shadow cast by Art Basel Miami Beach, aligning with The Art Show gives a compelling one-two punch for attracting the intelligentsia of the art world.

Adding to all the excitement, Cottelston is pleased to present the second installment of M*A*S*H, an independent series of exhibitions showcasing some of the hottest emerging artists as curated by the brightest talent. Located at The Helena, 601 West 57 th Street, M*A*S*H New York will present 37 artists as selected by Omar Lopez-Chahoud and Amy Smith-Stewart. Attached is a map of all the major New York art events of the month. Enjoy as much as you can, and be sure to stop by M*A*S*H and say hello. We look forward to seeing you there!

M*A*S*H New York is an all-media group show taking place during The Armory Show and The Art Show, February 22-26, 2007. Curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud and Amy Smith-Stewart, the exhibition will present a fresh look at the current state of the art world. M*A*S*H New York will be the second installment in a series of shows produced by Cottelston Advisors/Michael Sellinger. The exhibition will present a dynamic and diverse survey of work by early career artists.

Artists: Derrick Adams, Richard Aldrich, Nina Lola Bachhuber, Katherine Bernhardt, Sean Bluechel, Anna Craycroft, Jeff Davis, Jen DeNike, Angela Dufresne, John Espinosa, Adriana Farmiga, Charley Friedman, Gabriela Galvan, Rico Gatson, Kate Gilmore, Mark Golamco, Deborah Grant, Rashawn Griffin, Daniel Hesidence, Alex Hubbard, Ryan Johnson, Matt Keegan, Laleh Khorramian, Ignacio Lang, Molly Larkey, Jen Liu, Rachel Mason, Diego Medina, Christopher Miner, Laurel Nakadate, Karyn Olivier, Kambui Olujimi, Reka Reisinger, David Scanavino, Xaviera Simmons, Hank Willis Thomas and Roberto Visani.

Location: The Helena, 601 West 57 th Street, 2 blocks from The Armory Show.

Dates: February 22-26, 2007. 12-6pm.

VIP reception: Thursday, February 22 nd , 7pm-10pm. Performance by M.R.Sontag.

Omar Lopez-Chahoud is an independent curator based in New York City.

Amy Smith-Stewart is an independent curator based in New York City.

Michael Sellinger created Cottelston Advisors to provide art advisory and exhibition production services.

Sponsored by The Helena and The Durst Organization. Beverages provided by Christiania Vodka.

For more information, please contact: Michael Sellinger, 917-514-7007, msellinger@cottelston.com or go to www.cottelston.com .