Over 50 International Galleries, Returns to New York This Month

VOLTA art fair returned to New York City from May 17 to 21 with over 50 national and international galleries. Returning prominent artists include:

• Frankfurt’s Galerie Barbara von Stechow;
• New York’s Ethan Cohen Gallery;
• FORMah (New York);
• CUT ART (Riga).

Recall that VOLTA New York was launched in March 2008 as a satellite exhibition of the long-term Armory Show. This year, VOLTA is participating in the Frieze art fair, presenting galleries from over 18 countries. VOLTA’s focus on cutting-edge contemporary art spans several themes, including science and nature.

Barcelona’s Out of Africa Gallery (OOA) presented the work of contemporary African artists. Their presentation highlighted work by:

• Oluwole Omofemi;
• Matthew Eguavoen;
• Médéric Turay;
• Moses Zibor.

These artists are part of a dynamic young generation in the global African diaspora. In their practice, they demonstrate African pride, tradition and culture.

At SEIZAN Gallery (New York/Tokyo), Japanese artist Motohide Takami revisited cultural heritage and collective trauma. The Great Earthquake of 2011 happened while the artist was a graduate student at Tohoku University of the Arts in Yamagata. It is not surprising that the disaster and its aftermath became the hallmark of his oil paintings.

Venezuelan artist Starsky Brines was represented by Frankfurt Gallery Heike Strelow. He explores identity through personal biographical iconography.

Another one among the featured artists was Vlad Ogay. He is inspired by his time spent studying theater in Russia. His “ready-made” practice involves collaging objects and artifacts from everyday life. The multi-disciplinary artist, Ogay has received prestigious awards in Venice and Cannes for his film projects.

LAMINAProject presented a series of collage-based works by New York-based artist Jodi Rush. Her work explores radio astronomy, a subgenre of astronomy that specializes in celestial objects at radio frequencies.

The origin of the name VOLTA indicates a turn of thought or an inflection point. The fair stands out in the market for its commitment to creating an environment of discovery for art collectors. VOLTA is an excellent platform for ambitious international galleries to enter the global art markets of New York and Basel. The fair offers both aspiring and established collectors a place to discover contemporary art, expand their collection and ultimately find and support new talent.

United by the healing power of creativity, this year VOLTA New York also hosted a fundraising event in collaboration with non-profit partner Fashion Fights Cancer. In addition to outstanding group presentations, 14 participating galleries held solo exhibitions at the fair. Among them, there were:

• the South Korean Gallery Bhak presenting work by artist Yissho;
• (AV17) Gallery presenting sculptures by Lithuanian artist Mindaugas Junčys;
• Catalysta Gallery presenting artworks by Dominican artist Manuel Mera;
• Stone Step Gallery presenting Irish artist Paul Hughes.