For all the whispers about the market downturn, gallery closures, and art fair shake-ups, a crisp air of first-day-of-school excitement cut through the drab halls of the Javits Center during the Armory Show’s preview last Thursday. “It is a classic, world-famous fair, and it is the ambition of every artist to show there,” said Irish artist Alice Maher, who could “hardly believe” that her work was hanging in the company of such figures as Hannah Wilke, Dorothea Rockburne, Etel Adnan, and Ellsworth Kelly. The wide-eyed enthusiasm, the glorious taste of the first sale, the lingering gaze of a curator … perhaps it’s all too trite, part of the art-world-industrial complex that keeps the wheels turning while obfuscating its darker undertones and nagging inequalities. But what if we could distill that thrill into something new, channel the spark into an alternative to the market monopoly of the blue-chip? To read the full story by valentina.diliscia, visit the link in bio. . . . 1 - Al...