Ayse Erkmen part of the top 10 Interior Design Magazine pick at The Armory Show in New York

10 Highlights from The Armory Show at Piers 90 and 94 in New York

March 9, 2020

By Osman Can Yerebakan

Art enthusiasts once again convened at Piers 90 and 94 on Manhattan's west side to take part in the city’s landmark art fair, The Armory Show, March 5-8. The fair, founded by four New York gallerists in 1994, has become a fixture in the city’s art scene as demonstrated by the high volume of people in attendance during its preview day March 4 despite concerns surrounding the coronavirus, which has led to cancellations of many global art fairs.

"I am very impressed by the outstanding quality of the presentations at this year’s fair. The art work on view will engage viewers and help to further solidify The Armory Show as New York's essential art fair,” Nicole Berry, executive director of The Armory Show, told Interior Design. This year’s program includes 183 exhibitors from 32 countries, in addition to five curated sub-sections organized by different curators to emphasize emerging galleries from the United States and beyond.

Ayse Erkmen's not the color it is series at Dirimart

Ayse Erkmen, rose pink / not the color it is, 2015. Photography courtesy of Ayse Erkmen and Dirimart.

The fair’s only Turkish gallery, Dirimart, exhibits a series of amorphous bronze sculptures by prominent Turkish contemporary artist, Ayse Erkmen. In various shapes and pastel hues, nine miniature terrain-like sculptures from the artist’s not the color it is series (2015) are exhibited on a pedestal, just inches above the floor. Despite their otherworldly appearances, Erkmen creates each nebulous shape through a meticulous process that starts with pouring bronze into holes she digs inside closed sand containers. She then lets the liquid take on its own unforeseeable form, adding color to each sculpture based on the Pantone system. The unpredictable nature of the work also is echoed in its gradual color formations, which occur after the Istanbul-based artist lets each sculpture rest. grass green / not the color it is, for example, recalls a mountainous pile of lettuce in a bright green tone; while rose pink / not the color it is mirrors an anatomical specimen, fleshy and unfamiliar. 

This information was sourced from Interior Design Magazine.