The 2017 edition of The Armory Show closed on Sunday, March 5, with robust sales reported over five days across all levels of the market, ranging from four to seven figures. Staged amid a redesigned floor plan that saw wider aisles, larger lounge spaces and fewer small booths, the fair’s 210 exhibitors hailed from 30 countries and exhibited artworks ranging from groundbreaking new-media to modern masterpieces.

The world’s leading collectors came out in record strength, demonstrating an appetite for modern and contemporary artwork of the highest quality. The fair saw a noted increase in attendance throughout the week. With outstanding curatorial displays, over 70 galleries exhibited solo-artist and dual-artist booths throughout Piers 92 & 94, with an emphasis on artist debuts and new artworks commissioned for the fair.

Said Benjamin Genocchio, Executive Director of The Armory Show: “From specially commissioned work to the inclusion of studio visits and artist talks, we have increased the involvement of artists in every aspect of the fair. The quality of galleries and artworks —from participating galleries to our curated sections Focus and Platform—are the key to our success. We are pleased with the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the changes made this year and we have more exciting news in store for 2018.”

The 2017 edition featured new and redesigned exhibitor sections, including the celebrated Focus, curated by Jarrett Gregory; the Platform section, featuring 13 large-scale artworks organized by Eric Shiner; the critically praised Insights section of 20th century masterworks; Presents, the expanded section for young galleries; and the newly created Galleries section, featuring 20th and 21st century artworks in a range of media.

The fair attracted over 65,000 visitors over the course of five days, including patrons and trustees from 185 leading museums and institutions, including: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Barnes Foundation, Centre Georges Pompidou, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Dia Art Foundation, El Museo del Barrio, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, New Museum, Palais de Tokyo, Royal Ontario Museum, Serpentine Galleries, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Storm King Art Center, Walker Art Center, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

“We are proud that all of Senga Negudi's works in our booth were placed with important museums and foundations, and prominent private collections. It's a particular privilege to present the work of such a significant African American woman artist, who has been challenging aesthetic conventions since the 1970s.” Dominique Lévy, Founder and Partner, Lévy Gorvy and Thomas Erben, Owner, Thomas Erben Gallery (New York)

"We are a very socially conscious gallery and chose a presentation responding to the new world we are living in. We sold three Jeffrey Gibson works including a piece for $400,000 on opening day, several Kehinde Wiley pieces for $140,000, and numerous others. Our last work is on hold for a major museum.” Bennett Roberts, Owner, Roberts & Tilton (Los Angeles)

“It was the most successful art fair we’ve ever done. We sold a multitude of works to private collectors and museums. A lot of people have remarked that there are more international dealers.” Michael Rosenfeld, Owner, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (New York) “We had a tremendous response to the Yayoi Kusama installation, Guidepost to a New World, in the Platform section and have sold the first in the edition with the second on reserve in the range of $1 million.” Glenn Scott Wright, Director, Victoria Miro (London)

“We had a great time, excellent contacts and sales. Kiki Kogelnik’s Red Eyed (1977) has been acquired by The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College. In addition we sold several pieces by Jeppe Hein ($52,000 and $42,300), a sculpture by Jose Davila ($45,000), several works by Camille Henrot ranging from $30,000 to 37,000, a work by Rinus Van de Velde for $24,000, a work by Jorinde Voigt for $42,000, an Annette Kelm and several pieces by Alicja Kwade and John Seal. König Galerie (Berlin)

“We sold nearly everything in our booth, which ranged in price from $18,000-$55,000 and debuted new body of work by Rosson Crow that sold immediately. Brenda Youngblood was prominently placed and had a great reaction from visitors. Overall it was a really great week for us and had a significant number of sales and inquires.” Honor Fraser, Owner, Honor Fraser (Los Angeles)

Notable attendees included: Sarah Arison, Drew Barrymore, Klaus Biesenbach, Leslie Bluhm, Estrellita and Daniel Brodsky, Richard Chang, Lori and Alexandre Chemla, Anderson Cooper, Renee Drake, Carole Server and Oliver Frankel, Vincent & Shelly Fremont, Thelma Golden, Kim Heirston, Agnes Gund, Susan and Michael Hort, Glenn Fuhrman, Susan and Steven Jacobson, Pamela and Richard Kramlich, Elizabeth Kurpis, Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren, Eric and Liz Lefkofsky, Sherry and Joel Mallin, John McEnroe, Brooke Garber Neidich, Anne Pasternak, Simon and Michaela de Pury, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Narciso Rodriguez, Don Rubell, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Marcus Samuelsson, Joel Shapiro, Larry Warsh, Marla and Larry Wasser, Adam Weinberg, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Candace Worth, Neda Young and Margot and Scott Ziegler.

The fair hosted 71 new exhibitors for the 2017 edition, including: Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana), Jeffrey Deitch (New York), kaufmann repetto (Milan, New York), Galerie Peter Kilchmann (Zurich), Galerie Krinzinger (Vienna), Lévy Gorvy (New York, London, Geneva), Fergus McCaffrey (New York, St. Barth, Tokyo), kamel mennour (Paris), Pace Gallery (New York, London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Paris, Palo Alto), Stuart Shave/Modern Art (London), Various Small Fires (Los Angeles) and White Cube (London, Hong Kong).