Video Art Fair

 by Julia Halperin
Moving Image, the newest addition to New York's packed Armory Week, aims to solve a problem that has been bothering dealers for years: When collectors are zipping in and out of convention centers trying to squeeze in as much art as possible, how can time-based artwork like video possibly stand a chance against flashier art that offers instant gratification?

The solution, according to dealers Ed Winkleman and Murat Orozobekov, is simple. The two men, the directors at Winkleman's eponymous gallery, decided instead to found their own fair, devoted exclusively to video. It's only the second fair in the United States to attempt such a feat, following in the footsteps of DiVA, which shuttered in 2009.

  Ranfrom March 3 to 6, Moving Image has already attracted several high-profile collectors.

Comprised of 22 galleries — half local, half European — the invitation-only Moving Image offers a viewing experience distinct from other art fairs. Taking over the airy Waterfront New York Tunnel on 11th Avenue in Chelsea, it rejects traditional booths

The fair is divided into two parts: The front is devoted to installations of various sizes while the back displays single-channel videos on a series of identical flat-screens. (They cost galleries $5,000 and $2,000, respectively.) The building's landmark status made for some creative installation techniques. Screens hang from parallel I-beams in part because installers were prohibited from drilling holes into any of the walls.