Market Art Fair 2015

Market Art Fair 2015 marked the 10th anniversary edition of the fair, returning once again to Liljevalchs on Djurgården in Stockholm for the third instance. The fair presented Market Space; for installations that go beyond the regular booth context could be found in Liljevalchs’ magnificent Sculpture Hall.

Taking place 17–19 April, with a preview day on 16 April, the fair gathered 39 leading galleries from across the Nordic region, presenting curated exhibitions that reflected the latest in contemporary art. In 2015, a dedicated video section was introduced in the lower level of the venue, highlighting time-based works, while the Sculpture Hall was expanded to accommodate large-scale pieces. The application process was open to galleries based in the Nordic countries, continuing the fair’s commitment to showcasing the richness and diversity of the region’s art scene.

Unfortunately, the exhibition started with a serious sabotage: a wall space on the lowest floor in the Liljevalchs exhibition building, in the wardrobe and toilet area, was appropriated by a fake, non-existing gallery (The Factory, New York — Stockholm) showing a couple of works referring to object-oriented ontology, an obscure philosophical non-Kantian school of thought that rejects the privileging of human existence over that of nonhuman objects.

Fortunately, within 24 hours, the efficient officials of Liljevalchs were able to terminate the illicit activity, including intercepting and warn about a fake, post-card-invitation, obviously with the purpose to deconstruct the art world in the spirit of the DADA-movement

The works were confiscated and all visible traces of this anarchistic action were removed. The responsible person, Göran Ahlgren (a well-known con-artist) was later able to retrieve the works from the forgiving officials at the reception desk.