The spring edition of Affordable Art Fair New York is right around the corner, bringing together a host of local, national, and international exhibitors all presenting works priced between $100 and $12,000. At the heart of the 2026 edition, taking place March 18–22 at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea, a special curated exhibition takes a sharp focus on the dynamic and rapidly evolving medium of photography.. “Sight Unseen: How Photography Shapes Perception” explores the practices of a broad range of artists who engage with new image-making technologies, alternative processes, and pushing the boundaries of the medium into the spheres of sculpture and time-based modes of art making.

Max Warsh, Power Grid (2018). Courtesy of the Affordable Art Fair New York.

Co-curated by Sherri Nienass Littlefield, Galina Kurlat, and Parsley Steinweiss, “Sight Unseen” taps into the malleable nature and understanding of photography and opens a dialogue with visitors on preconceived notions of what the medium can achieve or look like, both now and in the future.

“Compared to other processes like painting and drawing, photography is still in its infancy and is constantly evolving,” said Nienass Littlefield. “As the accessibility of photography has grown, artists have embraced it for documentation, storytelling, experimentation, and marketing. Today, photography is instant and ubiquitous, which makes its artistic possibilities more expansive and relevant than ever.”

Amanda Marchand, My Mother’s Story (2019). Courtesy of the Affordable Art Fair New York.

The presentation also opens the door for dialogues around the process and its effect on the final work. As artists adopt an increasingly diverse range of processes, works can be read simultaneously as both object and image, creating new ways of seeing and engaging.

Kurlat noted, “Photography captures moments, gestures, and traces of life that resonate deeply with viewers. As a physical object, a photograph carries the marks of its making, from paper choice to process, inviting collectors to connect not only with the image itself, but with the story, materiality, and time embedded within it.”

Davis Hernease, Break with me, Foundation (2024). Courtesy of the Affordable Art Fair New York.

The ethos behind “Sight Unseen” echoes that of the fair itself, which centers its mission on accessibility and innovation, as well as providing an entry point for visitors to engage on a deeper level with art. “Our visitors are drawn to works that inspire genuine emotional connection,” said Affordable Art Fair NYC Director Erin Schuppert. “‘Sight Unseen’ speaks directly to that desire for depth, reflection, and personal meaning.”

Affordable Art Fair New York runs March 18–22, 2026, at the Starrett-Lehigh Building. Tickets and details are available here.