November 01, 2011

It's Print Week in New York!

There has been a lot of excitement in New York City lately. First a freak snowstorm that dumped three inches of snow in Central Park and took down a lot of beautiful trees. Then Hallowe'en which is always a spooky experience. And now, for the really big excitement...it's New York Fine Art Print Week!!!

Okay, maybe Print Week is not as exciting as this Sunday's New York Marathon, but for lovers of fine prints and works on paper it is the week we wait for all year. This edition is shaping up to be bigger than better than ever and if last night's preview of the International Fine Print Dealers Association Print Fair at the Park Avenue Armory was any indication, the art of the print is alive and well and thriving in New York.

Featuring 90 dealers from around the world, the works presented at this fair range from 16th Century Dutch engravings to Contemporary American carborundum pieces where the ink has barely dried. From Dürer to Warhol from Hokusai to German Expressionism, these prints are of the highest quality and rarity and appeal to the most discriminating of collectors.

A few blocks down Park Avenue, at the Lighthouse International Conference Center, is the Fine Print and Drawing Fair. Now in its second year, this satellite fair features 25 dealers from the U.S. and Europe including yours truly! With a wider range of works on paper, this fair is not quite as print-specific as the IFPDA show. Here collectors will find all manner of mediums from posters to drawings to traditional prints at a price point a little friendlier to the average buyer's budget.


For devotees of contemporary art, the Editions Artists' Book Fair is going on this weekend in Chelsea. This show is dedicated to new prints and artist's books and is a great snapshot of what's going on in artists' studios right now.

All of these fairs end on Sunday evening, but if you can't get in to New York this weekend, or you just can't get enough, many local museums and institutions are offering special exhibitions relating to prints and print-making. Check out the IFPDA website for an up to date schedule of events and see just how exciting the print world can be!

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