Art aficionados rejoice: not one but two art shows in the area this weekend. First up, the big one which you might’ve already heard about is The Armory Show, being held at Piers 92 & 94.

The Armory Show, a leading international contemporary and modern art fair and one of the most important annual art events in New York, takes place every March on Piers 92 & 94 in central Manhattan.

The Armory Show is devoted to showcasing the most important artworks of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. In its fifteen years the fair has become an international institution, combining a selection of the world’s leading galleries with an exceptional program of arts events and exhibitions throughout New York during the celebrated Armory Arts Week.

DNAinfo have some information to get you up to speed on navigating the fair, because it’s so huge.

Meanwhile, not far from there along W 52^nd St just west of 10^th Ave The (UN)FAIR is running, aiming to be more-​or-​less the opposite of the Armory:

For the first (and last) time, almost 100 artworks, artists, and performers gather in a 19^th century Hell’s Kitchen building for a guerilla-​style art show during Armory Arts Week, brought together by a New York City curator/​artist team.

Called THE(UN)FAIR, the free, multi-​faceted art event includes paintings, installations, performance art, music, and…elevator comedians. gether by a New York City curator/​artist team.

One of the last vestiges of the manufacturing past of Hell’s Kitchen, the historic venue, a building managed by the non-​profit Clinton Housing Development Corporation, is slated for conversion to affordable housing. THE(UN)FAIR is a farewell gift from the artists who currently occupy the building, and their friends.

Unlike the Armory Show […] THE(UN)FAIR is a break from the frenzy and rigidity of cookie-​cutter art fair booths. It celebrates amazing art by a hand-​picked group of prestigious artists, but will also have ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and gourmet treats from Popcorn Indiana, which really speaks to the fun of the event.

Apparently there’s going to be free stretch limousines taking visitors between the two shows, so if you’re up for it you can probably hit both in one day. If you’ve only got the energy for one though, it’s hard not to suggest the one with Ben & Jerry’s…

“Shop Small”. On the wall of McQuaids Restaurant & Pub at 44^th & 11^th:

Comes as a relief when all we thought we had to look forward to from now on was corporate-​sponsored “graffiti”.

Update: Turns out the “Animal” section of the mural is almost definitely related to Animal New York, the online magazine who are semi-​based on that corner, as they mention buried away in the legal section of their site. Guess that makes it’s another sponsored one. Thanks to Timbo for pointing that out. We’ll always have Banksy I suppose (and Hanksy)…

The local brass quintet was out at 49^th & 9^th today, as spotted by HK regular OldNewsCS:

I guess we’ll see them in another two months.

Another update in the non-​stop coverage of the incoming Kiehl’s store on 9^th Ave. The store commissioned the self-​proclaimed “mural kings” Tats Cru – a group of NYC graffiti artists “for hire” out of the Bronx – to create a mural outside the future cosmetics store, which went up over the weekend:

Edgy.

While some may see this as tacky, we’re hopeful it shows that the store is trying to “fit in” with the neighborhood and have a bit of character, rather than just being another chain store.

Of course, if you didn’t hear the news, last night 5 Pointz was whitewashed. Coincidental, but it says something when the “authentic” graffiti is being purged from the city while companies are paying for “branded” graffiti. Anyway…

First Hanksy, and now this. If you somehow missed the huge news today, Banksy’s latest piece was right here in our very own neighborhood, at the Hustler Club no less. The piece is captioned “Waiting in vain…”

Here’s a much nicer official shot:

As you’d expect, the mere mention of the name drew decent crowds:

The store up the road wasted no time churning out cheap printed photos of the piece, as well as magnets:

Earlier this month, Hanksy did a piece a few streets over, and now we’ve had a visit from Banksy. It’s been a big month.

As Sunday comes to a close, here’s something fun to lead into the week. Illustrator James Gulliver Hancock has been steadily working through his project “All the Buildings in New York”, where he hand-​draws various buildings from around the city.

He’s already done several buildings from Hell’s Kitchen – here’s some of our favorites:

All together now:

There’s even entire blocks:

See all the buildings on the site.

While all the “trendy” neighborhoods are getting visits from Banksy, we’ve managed to go one better with a piece by Hanksy:

Colbert challenged Banksy to do a piece outside the studio (on W 54^th), but when that never happened Hanksy stepped in with “Col-​Bear”.

Then there’s this next to the main attraction:

Banksy? The work of a jealous rival? You decide.

If you didn’t see the signs up today, there’s art show running until 6pm at Shop Studios on W 49^th St between 9^th & 10^th.

What you can look forward to, from their Facebook page:

100 Original Works of Pop, Fine, Abstract Expressionism inspired by live models, construction and broadcasting communications.

Since the start of this year, graphic designer Jose Guizar has been illustrating windows in intricate detail from all over New York every week in his project Windows of New York.

So far he’s illustrated five windows from around Hell’s Kitchen, which are all equally impressive.

All images by Jose Guizar

347 W 46^th St

617 9^th Ave

675 9^th Ave

461 W 47^th St

405 W 44^th St

Continue through to the full gallery to continue to be amazed.