“Make a Wish” by Mahtab Firouzabadi (Iran)
Parallax AF, or P(AF), will make its NYC debut at the esteemed event venue, 82 Mercer. Through being a direct art-‐to-‐consumer experience with an open admission policy, P(AF) makes a uniquely refreshing conceptual statement about subjectivity and the commoditization of taste. Creator and curator Dr. Chris Barlow says: “Parallax offers an intellectual framework that encourages risk to buy what you actually like for a change—there is nothing worse than making a purchase you like and some ‘specialist’ sneering down your nose.”
The artists from the middle east region are : Mahtab Firouzabadi (Iran), Sibel Kasapoglu (Turkey), Pinar Selimoglu (Turkey), Sude Khanian (UAE), Banu Tarhan (Turkey), Bente Christensen (living and working on the border of Turkey and Syria), Ali Kursen(but living in Switzerland)
This is the first art fair with such a democratic nature and its NYC appearance will be the franchise’s fifth edition. The event attracts around 200 artists from all over the world, presenting 2,000 to 3,000 pieces. The loose “mosaic” approach to curating P(AF) befits its irreverence for the stiffness of traditional exhibitions and is conceptually in line with the event’s spirited accessibility. The art spans the spectrum in content, style, and abilities due to the level playing field of P(AF)’s universal acceptance, ensuring established and emerging artists are equally represented. “The artists are ‘exhibited’ if their work appears coherent with what they believe they are trying to do,” Dr. Barlow explains. “As a consequence, the work in the fair is highly diverse. Nowhere would you be able to see French landscape watercolour paintings next to videos by young British Asians in the same room as 20ft high anti-‐war memorials! It is also rare to see ‘amateurs’ next to ‘professionals,’ though thesen types of categories, of course, are not part of PAF vocab.”
The event grew out of an international exhibition called Parallax that was conceived and curated by Dr. Chris Barlow in London at the Royal Opera Arcade. The heart of the fair is the practical exploration of new and radical ideas that developed within the professional discipline of art history. The fair’s “no superiority” philosophy makes a statement about the problems concerning knowledge
acquisition and objects designated as contemporary art. The fair and exhibitors become a metaphor of these ideas that critique the contemporary art-‐fair industry and assumptions about our relationship to objects.
About Parallax AF
Parallax AF is the premier fair of its kind to use new critical theory in its approach. It showcases established and emerging international contemporary artists. It’s also a serious platform for artists to present their work to national and international dealers, art-‐industry people, collectors, critics and buyers without commission charges in an exhibition format.Parallax AF NYC takes place Saturday August 4th and Sunday August 5th at 82 Mercer in Soho and will be curated by Dr. Chris Barlow.
Date and Times:
Friday 3rd August: VIP private view, 7pm Saturday 4th August: 11am -‐ 7pm
Sunday 5th August: 11am -‐ 5pmTicket info: entrance is free, although there is a donation. (This will go towards the PAF Artists Benevolent Fund specifically for the children of artists.)
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