What not to miss at The Armory Show
Check out highlights featuring everyday objects and celebrations of Blackness
By Souleo | SEP 06, 2025 | 7:53 AM
Beads, clothespins, and computer keys. These were just some of the materials used to create several of the most exciting artworks at this year’s The Armory Show. As one of the world’s leading fairs, The Armory Show presents more than 200 exhibitors from 35 countries, offering a one-stop global art experience. This year the trade show is at the Javits Center in New York City until Sept. 7. Below are just a few of the must-see artworks from this year’s edition.
Chaz Guest at the RX&SLAG booth
It’s the eyes of a child that draws you into this painting. The solemn eyes lend an air of mystery, dignity, and innocence to the child’s facial expression. One wonders, who is he? What is he thinking? What is his experience? The title See Me becomes an invitation to ponder these questions as well as a declaration that one is worthy of being seen.
Usha Seejarim at the Southern Guild booth
At first glance, you may miss the fact that this undulating form is made using clothespins. But upon closer inspection the everyday object comes into focus, thereby inspiring a new perspective on something that is quite familiar. In this work, clothespins–frequently associated with mundane acts of laundry and home organization–become pliable and sensual. Meanwhile the large amount of identical clothespins used hints at the constant repetition of domestic labor, a service that is often taken for granted. In a statement on her gallery’s website the artist has noted, “At the heart of my exploration is the complex relationship between servitude and sexuality…The transformation of household objects into sculptural forms invites viewers to reflect on societal expectations that confine and define roles tied to care-giving and service.”
Evita Tezeno at the Luis De Jesus Los Angeles booth
The beauty and joy that exists in everyday Black life is celebrated in this collage-painting. Titled Saturday Night at the Hollywood Theater, the work depicts Black people in front of a theater enjoying the popular pastime of moviegoing. The classic films Car Wash and Super Fly appear to be the evening’s double feature. Here the simple act of going to the movies is celebrated as a communal experience, an opportunity to socialize, and a pleasurable act of escapism. The work makes one appreciate the simple joys in life.
Joyce J. Scott at the Goya Contemporary and Goya-Girl Press booth
Legendary artist Joyce J. Scott has been working with beads since the late 1970s. Since then she has become a MacArthur Fellow and a celebrated artist whose work can simultaneously be beautiful, haunting, thought-provoking, and deeply spiritual. This colorful and intricate piece titled, I Call Her Name is a celebration of women. It is a calling to celebrate a woman’s existence and contribution to society. Included in that calling is a shoutout to Scott’s mother, the artist Elizabeth Talford Scott who is credited on the wall label as creating the knotted fabric that is part of the work’s materials.
Moffat Takadiwa at the Nicodim booth
Computer keys, toothbrushes, and buttons are combined to form this abstract Afrofuturistic artwork. Takadiwa transforms post-consumer waste into works that astonish with their detail and sharp execution. But beneath the aesthetics is an equally impressive commentary on consumerism and the environment. We are confronted with all that we purchase and throw away that so often ends up in oceans and landfills. But with Fashion Brands (a), Takadiwa demonstrates the potential in repurposing products into artistic statements of profound beauty.