Clio Art Fair is an international contemporary

art fair Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

staged bi-annually in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, USA. It focuses on independent visual artists, without any exclusive NYC gallery representation. The purpose of the fair is to bring together artists and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

s, collectors and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

s without any long term mediator.

History

Clio Art Fair was started in 2014 by

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationsh ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Alessandro Berni. The name comes from ''

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

'' or ''Kleio'', one of the nine

muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, representing history. Etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω: “to celebrate,” or “to make famous.” During its inaugural year, it displayed 33 artists representing 16 countries. In 2017, three years after its founding, the fair became bi-annual. In 2018, the fair moved to 335 west 35th street, New York, NY allowing it to expand both its exhibitor base and floor space. In 2019 and 2020 the fair was hosted at 550 West 29th street, New York, NY 10001. The October 2020 edition was suspended because of the COVID-19 emergency. Clio Art Fair came back with its twelfth edition in September 2021 and then again in September 2022, leaving the pandemic behind its back.

Special projects

* ''I want to go home'', a section about the

human migration Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another, with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location (geographic region). The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another ( ...

topic. Curated by Asya Rotella, and happened during Clio Art Fair March 2019. Including works of:

Michelangelo Pistoletto Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933) is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject mat ...

, Gilbert Salinas, Laura Mega and PonieO, among others. * ''A nest watching an avalanche'', a section about the environmental care. Curated by Misha Capnist and happened during Clio Art Fair Edition March 2020. Including works of: Thirza Cuthand (Whitney Biennial 2019), Giorgio Guidi, Minjin Kang, Jong Yong Yang and Tricia Healy, among others. * ''Canary in the Coal Mine: The People’s Art of Protest'', (september 2021). Curated by Garon Willie, and featuring artists including Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Amir Diop, and Al Diaz among others. * ''Maybe I am Your Mother, Who is Generating Who?'', a section on the topic of technology's influence in everyday life. Curated by Asya Rotella and happening during Clio Art Fair, September 2022. Including works by: Formento & Formento, Robert Obier, Denny Theocharakis, among others.

Selected hosted artists

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an American performance art, performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His performan ...

Nina Berman Nina Berman (born 1960) is an American documentary photographer, filmmaker, author and educator. Her wide-ranging work looks at American politics, militarism, environmental contamination and post violence trauma. Berman is the author of three mo ...

Zana Briski Zana Briski (born 25 October 1966) is a British photographer and filmmaker, best known for '' Born into Brothels'', the 2004 Oscar winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, which she directed. She founded Kids with Cameras, a non ...

John Coplans John Rivers Coplans (24 June 1920 – 21 August 2003) was a British artist, art writer, curator, and museum director. A veteran of World War II and a photographer, he emigrated to the United States in 1960 and had many exhibitions in Europe and ...

* Thirza Cuthand * Borinquen Gallo * David Hayes *

Pino Pascali Pino Pascali (19 October 1935 – 11 September 1968) was an Italian artist, sculptor, set designer and performer.

* Michael Moffett *

Gianluca Bianchino Gianluca Bianchino (born May 13, 1977) is an Italian-American artist born in Avellino, Avellino, Italy. His family relocated to the United States as a result of the 1980 1980 Irpinia earthquake, Irpinia earthquake. The earthquake had an indelibl ...

References

{{reflist Art fairs Art exhibitions in the United States Festivals in New York City Contemporary art fairs