NYC’s Zero Art Fair Wants to ‘Give a Loving Home to Art the Market Has Failed’
The artist‑led fair which operates on a barter basis has secured art world backing by the likes of Gagosian and FLAG Art Foundation in its second year, while continuing to deliver on a promise to make collecting more accessible. Save to My Ocula
An alternative fair in New York City looking to connect would-be collectors with quality works that may otherwise languish in a studio has secured support from industry giants like Gagosian and local non-profits amid a price-sensitive market.
Zero Art Fair, the artist-led initiative aiming to give a ‘loving home to art the market has failed’, launched at Manhattan’s FLAG Art Foundation on Tuesday, where visitors caught a glimpse of the works by 90 artists they could take home for as little as a signature.
Now in its second year, the fair conceived by artists Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida seeks to provide an ‘egalitarian’ market alternative connecting everyday art enthusiasts with works they would want to live with, while securing ongoing rights for artists.
After a three-day preview concluding Friday, attendees can enter a contract with artists to take home their work for a five-year period, if they cannot acquire the work outright.
During this time, artists retain the rights to their work, which they can take back to sell or exhibit.
Ownership then transfers to the collector with the understanding that both parties will split future proceeds, with the artist collecting a ten percent royalty on subsequent sales.
Dalton and Powida told Ocula that rather than a replacement for the art market, the fair is more of ‘an experiment that can redistribute some of the surplus that is created’.
Launched last year in a barn in Elizaville, New York, the fair ‘sold out’ on its second day with some 178 works claimed and a limit of one work per collector.
Art aficionados and artists benefit alike, with the first acquiring works they may not be able to afford, and the second securing future rights and incurring fewer storage costs.
Artworks range from a few hundred to $50,000 (USD) for American painter Bo Bartlett’s 2016 portrait Rachel in Red, with the majority priced in the low four figures.
Zero Art Fair will run until 12 July 2025 with no admission fee, and first picks. —[O]
Main image: Zero Art Fair at FLAG Art Foundation, New York. Courtesy Zero Art Fair.
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