Print Week 2014: IFPDA Fair and Satellite Exhibitions Transform New York

The 23rd IFPDA Print Fair marked the pinnacle of Print Week 2014 in New York City, held at the Park Avenue Armory alongside various satellite fairs and exhibitions. Notably, the Independent Fine Print Dealers Association's renowned event showcased booths increasingly designed as solo exhibitions or curated thematic displays, a trend highlighted by New York Times critic Karen Rosenberg. This change indicates a rise in print prices and their emerging role as accessible collecting options amid the escalating costs of established artists. The Park Avenue Armory, situated at Park Avenue and 67th Street, extended its hours on Saturday until 8 PM and operated from noon to 6 PM on Sunday. Among the satellite events, the Editions and Artists' Books Fair (E/AB) in Chelsea, organized by the Lower East Side Printshop, drew numerous international small presses, private dealers, and galleries to the Art Beam building at 540 West 21st Street. Michael Woolworth Publications from Paris presented advance copies of French painter Marc Desgrandchamps's anticipated project Fragments, which includes texts by Pliny the Elder. This citywide celebration contrasted the 19th-century notion of prints as 'democratic art' with today's market realities.