Jen Dalton + William Powhida are the founders of the Zero Art Fair. The basic concept that drives the fair is to get great art that artists have in storage—out of storage and into people's lives, irregardless of their financial situation to purchase art. They started the fair upstate last year and this year, they were invited to present it at a highly respected institution in Chelsea, The Flag Art Foundation.
Bill and Jen explore and illuminate their ideas and innovations with Dr. Lisa. They discuss their various projects and processes, (their first project together was in 2008), leading up to this fair and where they are now—getting work into art lovers hands, especially if those folks don't have the disposable income to buy art.
Such a fun talk to hear how Jen and Bill have really honed their thinking and process, keeping in mind the desire to make these fairs and interventions scaleable and sustainable simply so the plans can be implemented anywhere.
I encourage you to listen to this episode as Bill and Jen describe this important project which seeks to go beyond an art fair and open a dialogue about so much more—such as what is the value of art and what is the social purpose of it?
The basics of the Zero Art Fair HERE
JEN DALTON
https://www.jenniferdalton.com/ @jendalton_
Bio: Jennifer Dalton (born 1967) is an American artist. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in 1997.
Dalton's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally, including the FLAG Art Foundation in New York, the Curator's Office in Washington, DC, Kunsthalle Wien (Vienna), Contemporary Museum in Baltimore and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. She was also included in La Superette at Deitch Projects, Participant Inc. and The Cult of Personality: Portraits of Mass Culture at Carriage Trade, both in New York.
She has been an artist-in-residence at numerous artist colonies, including the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Vermont Studio Center, Millay Colony for the Arts and the Smack Mellon Studio Residency Program. She was a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2002.
WILLIAM POWHIDA
https://williampowhida.com/ @williampowhida
BIO: William Powhida (born 1976) is an American visual artist and former art critic.Powhida's work is critical and addresses the contemporary art world. Powhida received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from Hunter College in January 2002.
He is currently represented by Postmasters Gallery (NY), Charlie James Gallery (LA), Poulsen Gallery (DK), and Platform Gallery (WA). He holds a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University and an MFA in painting from Hunter College. His work has been written about in the New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, The Los Angeles Times, Hyperallergic, ArtFCity, The Guardian, the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and October among other publications. His work in the collections The San Diego Museum of Art, The Henry Art Museum, The Crocker, The Orange County Museum of Art, Casa Maaud, and JP Morgan Chase.