One booth everyone’s been talking about at the Armory Show is the Bjarne Melgaard and Sverre Bjertne project at the Oslo-based Rod Bianco gallery.
The booth is a tribute to art dealer extraordinaire Mary Boone, who is represented by high-end women’s power suits and crude drawings, sometimes depicting her with Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work she once showed.
The main installation has a computer in it that’s operated by typing. “Theoretically you could write a novel on it,” said Tim Smith, Mr. Melgaard’s studio manager, whacking one of the keys.
The installation is for sale, for $250,000, as are the drawings in it.
The booth aims to capture the spirit of the 1980s art star. Mr. Smith was insistent that, though the drawings of Ms. Boone are not entirely flattering, the overall spirit of the installation is. “You know Bjarne,” he said. “If he did a show about Jesus Christ he’d have him doing heroin and everything.”