John Edmonds, Untitled (Du-Rag 1), Untitled (Du-Rag 2), and Untitled (Du-Rag 3). Photographs, archival pigment prints on Japanese silk, 50 x 40". Courtesy of ltd lost angeles. 


We've long been fans of Brooklyn-based photographer John Edmonds. In a companion- piece to his previous series Hoods, in which photographs of anonymous men dressed in hooded jackets or the ubiquitous sweatshirt dissected the innocuous cues of racial profiling and the hyper-surveillance of black men, his latest works, on view at NADA with ltd los angeles, are sumptuous images of the backs of the heads of black men outfitted in tactile, lush-looking du-rags. Printed large-scale on Japanese silk and tacked up on the wall, Edmonds explores a new softness while unpacking the codes of masculinity.

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essay, 1979-82. Offset on colored paper, 17 x 17". Courtesy of the artist and Alden Projects (TM), NY. 


The power of Jenny Holzer's landmark Inflammatory Essay series lies in their perma-relevancy and timelessness, manipulating ideological tenets into texts written in the vernacular of a manifesto. And now, in the darkness of the current political climate, her words register even more deeply. Lower East Side gallery Alden Projects (TM) recently closed a show of these works by Holzer, and for their NADA booth, exhibited two of the "essays," which the artist originally printed as street posters and pasted up throughout New York City. Here, the tone of vengeance used is a steely mechanism of empowerment for the oppressed. 

Jacolby Satterwhite, Satellites (breed), 2014. C-print in artist's frame, 85 x 58 x 3". Courtesy of the artist and Moran Bondaroff, Los Angeles.


Jacolby Satterwhire employs video, animation, performance, drawing, and 3-D technologies to create mind-bending alterna-, often neon-soaked, terrains that readjust our perceptions to reality and thus, are so satisfyingly immersive. Presented with Moran Bondaroff, this C-print of one of Satterwhite's crafted worlds is a good place to get lost.

Joani Tremblay, Undermining, A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing West. Painting on Arches paper, 36 x 42". Courtesy of Projet Pangée Joani Tremblay.

Montreal-based artist and curator Joani Tremblay's solo booth with Projet Pangée were our favorite paintings of the fair. The vaporwave hues and the figurative organic forms in the painting seen here, titled Undermining, A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing West, adds a buoyant tone to the fragmented, abstracted landscape Tremblay depicts. 

Ivana Bašić, Stay inside or perish, 2016. Wax, glass, pressure, oil paint, weight, rigidity, stainless steel, leather, and elastic band, 4 3 1/2 x 13 x 18". Courtesy of SIGNAL.


Constructed of wax, glass, oil paint, stainless steel, leather, and elastic, the Serbian-born, New York-based Ivana Bašić's sculpture Stay inside or perish is a visceral monument to the body that evokes the hanging sculptures of Louise Bourgeois, exhibited by Bushwick's SIGNAL.

Rob Pruitt, one person's trash is another person's treasure, 2016. Acrylic and enamel on wood, dimensions variable. Courtesy of LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division).


If you haven't heard of Rob Pruitt's Art World Celebrity Doppelganger Instagram account, rectify that immediately, but if so, it's worth knowing that a dose of Rob Pruitt's humor is always welcome. This sculpture created by the New York artist, who puts on a series of IRL and online flea markets to analyze the circumstances of one's life in a consumerist context, reads, "This hand made custom painted pedestal by Rob Pruitt is one of ten, each unique in color, size and dimension. It is designed to display an object purchased from Rob Pruitt's Flea Markets: past, present, or future."

Elizabeth Jaeger, Untitled, 2016. Ceramic, 45 x 26.5 x 7". Courtesy of the artist and Jack Hanley Gallery. 


New York-based sculptor Elizabeth Jaeger had works on view at NADA in both the SculptureCenter booth and the booth of her gallerist, Jack Hanley. This large, textured ceramic work on view at Jack Hanley gives prominence to form above all else.

Athena Papodopoulos, Untitled, 2016. Fur, resin, taxidermy claw, keychains, fabric, leather, peanut shells, razor blades, nail polish, and confetti, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Shoot the Lobster.


This may be the subtlest of Athena Papodopoulos's works. The London-based artist, who graduated from the Goldsmiths MFA program in 2013, outfitted Lower East Side gallery Shoot the Lobster's booth with a series of furry bricolage pieces, like the one seen here, and a sweeping patchwork fur coat covered in sculptural appendages emblazoned with the word "PAPI." All were created with Monster Coat Club, a London-based fashion project. Untitled, which includes tufts of purple, pink, and red fur, is also constructed of taxidermy, peanut shells, and razor blades—cuddliness with bite. 

Imi Knoebel, Triller D, 2013. Acrylic and partly fluorescent on aluminum, 181.3 x 134.3 x 7.5 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Christian Lethert.


German artist Imi Knoebel's exuberant painting-sculpture hybrids are often called minimal. This work, a departure from some of Knoebel's more monochrome-like pieces, consists of acrylic paint applied to aluminum, and derives much of its effervescent appeal from its organic forms and gestural application of color.

Matthew Koons, Sade Dada (Soft City). Risograph.


One of the most delightful and perusable booths at NADA is the table set up by Printed Matter, whose carefully curated selection of books, zines, and independent publications always yields a series of diamond-in-the-rough discoveries. One such was Matthew Koons's Sade Dada, a 40-page, four-color risograph tribute to the British singer Sade. Published by Soft City, Koons has assembled a series of candid and press photos of Adu, contextualized within textural design elements and stanzas of automatic poems.