May was a big month for the art world, and from Frieze New York to the Venice Biennale, artists, curators, auctioneers, and collectors were out in droves — and taking to Instagram to prove it. While not everyone can be witty on Twitter, art world denizens know how to use their smart phone cameras like it’s nobody’s business. Here’s a small selection of some of our favorite Instagram shots from May. Like this one — Daniel Birnbaum and Massimiliano Gioni captured by art dealer Gavin Brown, from afar. Ahoy. The art world royalty have arrived at the Venice Biennale. To each his own water taxi.
Indefatigable curator Cecilia Alemani, just off the heels of curating Frieze Projects in New York, is already out and about with her camera at the Venice Biennale. Here is a picture of John Bock’s installation.
Le Baron pop-up after-after party at The Bauer Hotel.
Artist Ragnar Kjartansson and friend at the Bauer Hotel.
Director of MoMA PS1 Klaus Biesenbach and Frieze Art Fair co-founder Amanda Sharp get cozy in Venice, snapped by gallerist Andrea Rosen.
To prepare for all of that racing around the Giardini and the Arsenale in Venice, seems Simon de Pury stopped in for some R&R at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.
This is a most crafty selfie by artist Alex Israel — known for his deadpan celebrity interviews and recognizable by his uber incognito Ray-Ban look — who enlisted Jeff Koons (how?!) to help him carry out this one.
Club impresario Andre Saraiva was at the Playboy mansion for the celebration of curator Neville Wakefield’s first effort as creative director of special projects at Playboy — a reinvention of the Playmate of the Year (see the images). As you know, Playboy has been getting more involved with the arts — or is it the other way around?
Keeping up with the anonymous art collective known as Bruce High Quality Foundation, is essentially like keeping up with Kittens of Instagram, art world style. Savvy, very savvy.
Interview guru Hans Ulrich Obrist is rather mysterious on Instagram — lots of pictures of pieces of paper with enigmatic notes written on them, like “Tomorrow is the question, Today has no answer, and yesterday never returns…” (Related to “Expo 1″ at MoMA PS1, as per hashtags). Here, for example, is one by Yoko Ono, “Future.Now.”
While Hans Ulrich Obrist may be cryptic on Instagram, that doesn’t mean he won’t pop up elsewhere on Instagram feeds of others. Here’s the elusive Obrist en route in Venice via water taxi with writer Kevin McGarry.
Model-turned-gallerist May Andersen was wishing happy mother’s day to all the moms of the world at the opening of the Andy Warhol show that day at the Brant Foundation with model and mother Stephanie Seymour.
Artist Ryan Trecartin has a confounding predilection for baby chicks at least as far as social media is concerned. Here he places them artfully on his collaborator Lizzie Fitch — related to his next project, we hope. (Admission: This one was taken three months ago)
While Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, was in Hong Kong, he snapped this picture of street art.
In May, artist K8 Hardy created some awesome collage-selfies.
Artist Rosson Crow alerted us to the next big craze — the Giraffes of Instagram.
Here is what most of the art world feels like right about now. Leave it to gallerist Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn to show you how to recover from fairtigue in style — reposing on some Bjarne Melgaard rugs as she was at Gavin Brown’s booth at Frieze New York.
— Rozalia Jovanovic