A new satellite fair is joining the fray surrounding Frieze New York. Launched by New York-based dealer Margot Samel and Olga Temnikova of the Tallinn, Estonia-based gallery Temnikova & Kasela, the new boutique fair, named Esther, will be staged at the Estonian House in Midtown Manhattan.
Esther’s inaugural edition (1-4 May) will feature 25 participants, including New York galleries Andrew Kreps, Laurel Gitlen and Kate Werble, Gathering and Seventeen from London, the Green Gallery from Milwaukee, Shanghai-based Bank gallery and more. The organisers were inspired by alternative models for exhibitions and fairs, like the Condo exhibition series and Basel Social Club.
One of the ornate rooms of Estonian House, which will host the new satellite art fair Esther Courtesy Esther
The exhibition venue, a four-storey Beaux-Arts building on 34th Street in Murray Hill, was bought by the Estonian Social Society in 1943 and has long served as an important gathering place for New York’s Estonian community, especially as that community grew dramatically in the aftermath of the Second World War. Exhibitors were encouraged to propose projects in response to the building’s ornate architecture and interiors, which include club rooms, wood-paneled meeting rooms and grand halls.
Esther joins a full slate of fairs spread across the first two weeks of May, with about half timed to coincide with Frieze New York (1-5 May) and the rest aligned with The European Art Fair (Tefaf) New York (10-14 May). Among the other fairs coinciding with Esther and Frieze will be Future Fair (2-4 May) and Nada New York (2-5 May).