ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER The neon sign over the door by Paris-based collective Claire Fontaine suggests a Dante-esque Divine Comedy awaits. “Part consortium, part collective,” is what Independent art fair called itself, as launched by gallerists Elizabeth Dee (X Initiative, N.Y.) and Darren Flook (Hotel, London). Making use of the former Dia Art Foundation’s…

Clintel Steed Mark Borghi Fine Arts Bridge Art Fair Clintel Steed’s powerful new paintings are among the best works on view at this year’s youthful, bustling – and very fun – Bridge Art Fair. Grouped generously in Mark Borghi’s gallery space, Steed’s large canvasses are a perfect fit for the setting; arresting and sustaining as…

The Armory Show 2009 opened today. artcritical editor DAVID COHENwas there with his iPhone Armory, First Day Weigh-In What’s the best way to cope with a Recession–if you’re in the artworld? Expand. And how must you behave? With utter nonchalance, of course. Hence the Armory–not content simply to be the behemoth fair of contemporary, primary-market work, now…

Even for seasoned navigators, there’s a lot of getting lost to be done in Miami, with everything oriented NE, NW, condo towers being built everywhere blocking one-way streets. Looking for the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) near downtown, we first passed a group of boxy nightclub buildings. These are the after-hours places, which pick up…