-015 Jaqueline Cedar X Split Level
SPLIT LEVEL is an experimental art fair that brings together a selection of young galleries focused on championing emerging artists working in a wide range of media. After the inaugural edition on October 2-4, 2025, Open Kitchen Negatives invited founder Jaqueline Cedar to reflect on the fair’s first iteration.
If there is one thing that you can change at the inaugural SPLIT LEVEL, what would it be?
Photo by Sean de Luna
Thanks again for including me in this project - happy to continue the collaboration! I've been reflecting a lot on SPLIT LEVEL in the last 2 weeks and I feel super proud of what was accomplished! Leading up to a 2nd iteration next fall 2026 there will be much to consider, edit, and adjust.
My main take-away relates to the ethos of the fair - bring more collaborators into the mix. SPLIT LEVEL began with the idea of pooling audiences, sharing values, and creating spaces to thrive within a currently destabilized market - and that we did! Press and sales within a 3 day event yielded a general feeling of success amongst the small group of participants. The non-tangible progress is becoming more evident though in the conversations happening post-fair - many suggestions regarding who else to include and partner with and how to engage in ideas and commerce within this structure.
Friends often joke that I don't know the word 'delegate' and it's true that sometimes I forget to share the workload with experts in the field. I was grateful that the inherent nature of this 16-gallery/curator model allowed each gallery to bring in their own audience/artists/collectors/press/support network. The Sphinx in particular was instrumental in helping to curate performance, sound, and video within this new fair model. The next phase of the project will involve thinking more broadly about who else might contribute to the conversation either via writing/interviews, performance/video curation, and other forms we haven't yet identified. With more time available to plan ahead for next year I'm excited to think about different ways to give space to new voices in this unconventional setting.
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
Photo by Ethan Browning
About SPLIT LEVEL:
SPLIT LEVEL brings together a selection of young galleries focused on championing emerging artists working in a wide range of media. Hosted by Rimadesio (New York), the inaugural edition SPLIT LEVEL took a playful approach to installation within this design-centered space. A schedule of performances and talks were offered throughout the fair’s run, encouraging visitors to engage with artworks, gallerists, and artists on site.
splitlevelfair.com
Contact: info@splitlevelfair.com
About Jaqueline Cedar:
Jaqueline Cedar was born in Los Angeles, CA and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. In 2009 she received an MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. Recent exhibitions include Long Story Short, New York (2023), Shelter Gallery, New York (2022), Shin Haus, New York (2022), Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe (2022), Ladies' Room, Los Angeles (2021), 11 Newel, Brooklyn (2021), Peripheral Space, Los Angeles (2021), Hesse Flatow, New York (2020), Drawer NYC (2020), Field Projects, New York (2020), Underdonk, Brooklyn (2018), and David Risley Gallery Velvet Ropes, Copenhagen (2018). Press includes Artnet, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, Two Coats of Paint, New American Paintings, Gorky's Granddaughter, Painters' Table, and The Boston Globe. Cedar's paintings and drawings address uncanny scenarios where characters engage themselves and one another with sincerity and purpose. Moments of desire, selfreflection, and lack of control motivate postures filled with bravado and vulnerability. In October 2019 Cedar launched the curatorial exhibition program Good Naked Gallery. Projects hover around the intimate and awkward with a focus on work that engages tactility, humor, movement, and play.
jaquelinecedar.com
All images courtesy of Jaqueline Cedar