Showcasing art on a video has traditionally been under-represented at art fairs and exhibitions, for obvious reasons really – busy collectors do not have the time to stand around watching a video of an artist’s work at a fair, where the volume is barely audible anyway. Condensing the beauty of art onto a screen has often been dismissed as not doing the art do it the justice it deserves. Whilst the pitfalls of video art are relatively obvious, Edward Winkleman thinks otherwise.

The New York based art dealer has launched ‘Moving Image’, an art fair wholly dedicated to contemporary video as a constructive method for artists to seek recognition. The idea behind the Moving Image fair was ignited by a comment Mr Winkleman once heard from an art critic from New York, saying that, “he never watches videos at art fairs – he just doesn’t have time.”

Determined to change the art critic’s mind and demonstrate the unique advantages of viewing art work on contemporary video, Tinkleman and his business partner Murat Orozobekov set up Moving Image. This unique exhibition was conceived to provide dealers with a unique viewing experience showcasing a vibrant program of time-based work from today’s best new artists from around the globe.

The art fair, which opened in New York at the beginning of March to coincide with Armony Week, included the historical works of David Wojnarowicz and Hannah Wilke, depicted the adverse use of heroine in New York City in the early 1980s. The video has been described as being “closer to masterful cinema than to experimental video.”

Other outstanding work which headlined Moving Image’s debut in New York included ‘Blood Sacrifice’, a video by Genesis Breyer P Orridge and presented by New York’s Invisible Exports, which is a “valentine to a love both lost and enduring.”

‘Exploded View’ was also amongst the video installations at the Moving Image exhibition. Jim Campbell’s Exploded View (2010), which is presented by Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery at the art fair, features a two-dimensional surface and pulls it apart into a three-dimensional grid, forcing viewers to rely on perception and memory as a way to understand the logic of Campbell’s unique installation.

To help entice visitors to view the 40 exceptional contemporary videos from 30 plus galleries from around the world, Moving Image provides large comfortable settees for dealers and collectors to relax in and learn to appreciate video as an advantageous medium at an art fair.

Traditionally video art collecting has been confined to a privilege of the major art museums, although it is increasing in its popularity at art fairs. Whilst Moving Image is devoted entirely to contemporary video, the likes of Piers 92 and 94 in New York and London’s Rokeby Gallery are presenting art videos to their visitors.

For more information on Edward Winkleman’s Moving Image and art video’s unique advantages, which are rapidly surfacing from a preserve of museums to a popular feature of contemporary art fairs, visit here.

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