NEW YORK, NY.- PULSE Contemporary Art Fair unveils the initial list of exhibitors for PULSE New York 2014, which will feature new and returning international galleries, spanning eleven countries. Currently, over seventy five percent of exhibitors will present solo, two or three artist presentations, which are integrated throughout the fair as PULSE, IMPULSE, and POINTS exhibitors, thereby encouraging connectivity between artworks, galleries and visitors and emphasizing the fair as a platform for discovery.

The new Director, Helen Toomer stresses the importance of curated booths, allowing the quality of artworks to be at the forefront of the fair. She states, “I’ve encouraged our Exhibitors to treat their booths like their galleries, showcasing focused and curated installations which provoke thoughtful and interesting conversation. I want our visitors to experience new artworks, interact with our programming and develop longstanding relationships with our galleries and the artists represented.”

Solo artist booths, which are eligible for the PULSE Prize, are highlighted throughout the fair. These include presentations by Art Mûr (Montréal), featuring microbiologically-informed sculptural installations by Canadian artist Laurent Lamarche; Davidson Contemporary (New York), a longstanding exhibitor returns with stencil-inspired paper-cutouts of Thomas Witte, who was recently featured by MTA Arts at Grand Central Station in New York City; GUSFORD | los angeles, unveiling transcultural photo-portraits of London-based Moroccan born artist, Hassan Hajjaj; Ikon Arts Foundation (New York) debuting the phantasmagorical mixed-media drawings of Croatian artist Marko Tadić; Jerome Zodo Contemporary (Milan), exhibiting historically-rooted mixed media works by artist Luca Pignatelli; Livingstone Gallery (The Hague), offering large-scale destruction drawings by Dutch-based Spanish artist, Raquel Maulwurf; MIMI FERZT GALLERY (New York), showcasing evanescent paintings and an experiential meditative booth by Russian-based Nikolai Makarov; Times Square Arts and Cuban Artists Fund (New York) presenting Arles del Rio, who is supported by Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and will exhibit a public art installation in Times Square this year; TRANSFER (Brooklyn), presenting algorithmic pieces by artist and programmer Daniel Temkin; and Uprise Art (New York), featuring photography-based works by Brea Souders. Spanish artist Cristina De Middel, winner of the Miami 2013 PULSE Prize, continues upon her success by returning with Black Ship (New York), to showcase a new series of photographic works.

Members of PULSE’s seasonal guest jury – composed of prominent curators, collectors, and industry influencers – will award the PULSE Prize, a cash grant given to an artist of distinction featured in a solo exhibition at the fair. The winner will be announced on Friday, May 9th at 7pm, after the PULSE Jury discusses nominees during a PULSE Perspective roundtable. The announcement will take place during PULSE Presents, a celebratory event with drinks and performances from 6pm-9pm.

PULSE Projects will include #wishingpelt, a make-a-wish interactive performance by Sean Fader; Andy Yoder’s 200-pound globe latticework consisting of 300,000 matchsticks, commissioned by Curatorial Research Lab @ Winkleman Gallery (New York); a site-specific window installation by New York based artist, Tamara Gayer; LOAD, a monumental black-and-white painting by Charles Lutz, presented by beta pictoris gallery / MAUS CONTEMPORARY (Birmingham) and Simón Vega, who recently represented El Salvador at the Venice Biennale, presents a special project, curated by MARTE Contemporary Chief Curator Claire Breukel; more to be announced.