Frieze Week Guide by Benjamin Sutton, 5 May 2014
“…SEVEN: Emma Frost
Just as Emma Frost went from being an enemy of the X-Men to one of the mutant collective’s leaders, so SEVEN initially positioned itself as an anti-fair exhibition and has slowly become an integral and cherished part of New York and Miami’s big fair weeks. This year’s edition, once again taking place at The Boiler in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, will be devoted to video art. Of the seven participating art spaces lined up this year six are New York locals, with Miami’s David Castillo trekking north to fill out the lineup. This year’s presentation will include a video tribute to the recently deceased artist and dealer Hudson, who founded the Lower East Side gallery (and past SEVEN participant) Feature Inc.
Superpower: The space—a beautiful and spacious former industrial boiler—and the seven-gallery format make this the only manageable art event of Frieze Week, and one whose tight curation typically makes it a wonderful and welcome antidote to all the major fairs. It’s as if SEVEN’s organizers were endowed with the same telepathic powers as Emma Frost and knew exactly what we wanted.
Weakness: The location, despite being along the East River—Frieze Week’s central axis, as opposed to the Hudson-adjacent Armory Week fairs—is on the wrong side of that body of water, which may be enough to dissuade many of the folks in town for the week’s fairs from paying a visit. (Luckily, SEVEN opens May 2, affording locals and early-bird visitors a chance to check it out before all the other fairs open.)”