EXPO Insider Photo Diary

By Pedro Velez

During Artforum’s dinner party on Thursday night at The Publican, renowned dealer Christopher D’Amelio told me that for EXPO Chicago to succeed it must attract an army of unidentified collectors from all over the Midwest. At least that’s what everyone is hoping will happen on Saturday and Sunday, since sales were kind of slow on opening night. After all, what does it mean when the biggest art brokers at the Vernissage were art critic Jerry Saltz and the mayor of Chicago, and not Mr. Cash?

Lauren Adams’ agitprop installation “We the People” (detail) in which she fuses slogans by the Tea Party and Occupy movements to create an anachronistic view of American politics

A truly impressive Ashley Bickerton painting at Cardi Black Box (Italy)

Artist Angelica Dass with her photo series “Humanae,” a chromatic inventory based on the colors of PANTONE®, at Max Estrella (Madrid)

Artist Lauren Adams in her interactive installation “We the People” at the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis booth

Collage with dry leaves detail on a work by Daniel Andersson at Crystal Gallery

David Hammons’ “Basketball” installation (1995) at David Zwirner Gallery (NYC)

Gering & Lopez Gallery (NYC) offers George Condo’s “Hidden Lovers” (2004) for the pretty steep price of $75,000

Is it Midwestern enough for you? Mark Ryden’s “Wood Lincoln” (2012) at Paul Kasmin Gallery

Jayson Musson’s (aka Hennessy Youngman) sweater collage ($28,000) at Salon 94

Jeanne Gang’s interior architecture sometimes creates dark aisles at the fair

Jerry Saltz gives his stamp of approval to artist and writer Robin Dluzen during Vernissage

Mayor Emanuel and his paparazzi in the Weinstein Gallery booth (Minneapolis)

One of the finest-looking booths at EXPO is Vogt Gallery (NYC) with geometric people paintings by Mernet Larsen and felt sculptures by Johanna Unzueta