Split Level Art Fair Returns To Madison Avenue Design Showroom

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The second edition of Split Level, a New York City art fair, is taking place this week in a high-end design showroom on Madison Avenue. The event features an expanded roster of young galleries and aims to provide an alternative to the traditional white-stand fair model.

Split Level originated from founder Jaqueline Cedar's gallery, Good Naked. Cedar initially operated the gallery from a spare bedroom in her Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, apartment starting in 2019. Cedar explained her motivation, stating,“I started the gallery because I didn't want another roommate.”

As an artist, Cedar launched the project with an emphasis on performance and collaboration, regularly inviting other artists to create murals in her home. Six months later, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, she adapted her approach, organizing outdoor exhibitions in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, utilizing trees and snow as display elements. As society reopened, Good Naked transitioned to a more itinerant program, with Cedar partnering with like-minded galleries, primarily in New York and Los Angeles, for exhibitions.

“The idea was always around bringing the art to the context that felt like it best fit the artist's vision,” Cedar told The Art Newspaper.

Last year, Cedar collaborated with the Italian company Rimadesio to host the inaugural Split Level fair in its Madison Avenue showroom. Over three days, exhibitors displayed art throughout the showroom, in mock closets, bathrooms, and integrated with furniture displays, rather than in conventional stands. This year, the fair is again at the Rimadesio showroom and runs from October 1 to October 3.

Cedar noted the benefits of this unique setting, saying,“Having started the gallery out of my apartment, I was very aware of the benefits of inviting people into a more residential environment, people stick around longer. It's more of a destination.” She added,“Having the show in a showroom like that, with living room spaces and closet spaces, it felt very intimate in the way that I like to see art.”

Exhibitors place artworks on shelves and coffee tables, lean them against furniture, or hang them from the ceiling, creating a lived-in aesthetic that contrasts with the white-cube conventions of typical commercial art fairs. Cedar remarked on the inventive displays from the first edition, stating that the space's limitations, such as the inability to drill into walls,“yielded some really great experimentation in terms of displaying art in a home.”

The second edition has expanded slightly, featuring 17 galleries compared to 15 last year. Cedar indicated that most works are priced under $10,000. She reached out to galleries she had previously worked with or knew from participating in fairs like Nada New York, Barely Fair, and Future Fair. This year's exhibitors include 95 Gallon, The Sphinx, Blah Blah Gallery, Artist Estate Studio, Below Grand, and Spill 180. Cedar, whose father is an actor, has also arranged performances in collaboration with playwright Matthew Freeman, alongside video and film programming, for the duration of the fair.

“The exhibitors are all having to be very nimble and flexible in the way that they're thinking through sustainability in the art world at this moment, and we're trying to highlight that in both the models of exhibitors and in the way that we're displaying,” Cedar stated.

The fair employs a two-tiered fee structure, one for solo presentations and another for a two-artist stand. While Cedar did not disclose precise figures, she estimated that even the higher fee is approximately“a third to a fifth of the lowest price you would find at even a satellite fair.”

Looking ahead, Cedar confirmed plans to collaborate with Rimadesio for a Split Level iteration in Los Angeles in late January 2027. She highlighted the strategic timing of holding the fair either just before or after a city's major art week, such as New York's recently concluded Armory Week or the upcoming Frieze Los Angeles in February.

“As much as I've enjoyed participating in satellite fairs over the years and gotten a lot out of those experiences, I think that we're so oversaturated so often throughout the calendar year with art events,” Cedar explained.“I really wanted to provide an opportunity where there might be a tiny pause on the calendar, and people could really dedicate themselves to closer looking, slower conversations and spending more time.”

Split Level runs from October 1 to October 3 at Rimadesio, located at 102 Madison Avenue, New York.

We previously reported:

The Spring Break Art Show in New York presents over 100 projects under the theme“Hide 'n Seek,” featuring works from Louis Sarowsky, Adina Andrus, and others.

Source: The Art Newspaper

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