Barry E. Jackson, Caridad Sola Perez, and Luis Alvarez Roure are among some of the world-class artistic talent featured at the 49th annual edition of the World’s Original Fine Art Marketplace.
Redwood Art Group, the nation’s leader in exhibitions and event production, media, and marketing for the global art community, prepares for its highly anticipated four-day showcase, Artexpo New York 2026, taking place at Pier 36, located at 299 South Street in Manhattan, from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12.
The annual fine art destination, now in its 49th year, will host more than 170 innovative exhibiting galleries, art publishers and dealers, and artists from around the globe, across 70,000 square feet of convention space, showcasing original work of 1000+ artists that includes prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, ceramics, giclee, lithographs and glass works, among other contemporary and fine art.
Among the plethora of artists featured at this year’s fair are three outstanding talents that are not to be missed.
Artavita / World Wide Art presents Luis Alvarez Roure (Booth 107)
Puerto Rican-born Luis Alvarez Roure, currently based in New Jersey, is an award-winning artist renowned for his figure and still-life paintings, as well as his portraits of prominent personalities in the performing arts, government, academia, and corporate sectors. His style is highly influenced by the masters of the past, and he has been praised as a gifted artist with a virtuoso technique, capable of capturing the sublime emotions that come from connecting with and observing his subjects.
Alvarez Roure’s works are collected by many distinguished institutions, including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Princeton University, the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern in Barcelona, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, the Federal Reserve, The Players of New York, Palacio Santa Catalina (La Fortaleza) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, UConn University, Houston University Law Center, and Steinway Hall in New York City. He has also exhibited at the Kemper Art Museum, the Salmagundi Club, the New Salem Museum and Academy, and the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
In 2022, Luis won the Draper Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award at the 24th International Portrait Competition of the Portrait Society of America. Additionally, he was a finalist in the prestigious Outwin 2019 Boochever Portrait Competition, a three-time finalist in the Art Renewal Center International Salon Competition, and a finalist in the Concurso Internacional de Pintura “Figurativas 2015” in Barcelona, Spain.
His portrait of iconic composer Philip Glass, acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2018, has been featured extensively in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s programs and was chosen by Glass himself for the cover of his solo piano recording, Philip Glass Solo, released in January 2024. Other notable portraits by Alvarez Roure include those of GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell (also acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2020), legendary Academy Award-winning actor José Ferrer, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker, Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, actress-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, American community development leader and founder of the New Community Corporation Monsignor William J. Linder, opera singer and Kennedy Center Honoree Justino Díaz, and renowned contemporary classical composer Roberto Sierra, among others.
Barry E. Jackson (Booth S203)
Barry E. Jackson is based in Los Angeles and spent much of his career as a Production Designer, creating environments for film. His work contributed to major motion pictures, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Shrek, The Grinch, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Prince of Egypt.
Several years ago, Jackson transitioned from the world of entertainment design to focus on his own work in fine art. His current body of work, Public Strangers, explores figures drawn from memory. These are not portraits of specific individuals, but rather impressions—figures that feel familiar, as though encountered before but not fully known.
The work exists in the space between recognition and anonymity, where a narrative is suggested but never defined. There is no setting to anchor the figure, and no story to resolve it.
Working in oil allows for a physical, intuitive process—layering, pushing, and at times disrupting the surface—so that the material itself carries emotional weight. The image is not simply depicted; it is constructed, erased, and rediscovered over time.
Caridad Sola Perez presents IN GODS WE TRUST (K-Art Projects – Booth 109)
The remarkable sculpture IN GODS WE TRUST by Miami-based artist Caridad Sola Perez is a free-standing installation and sculpture, and a mixed media wall installation.
It features a bound book containing 19 sacred texts from 14 different religions, a 22 kt gold-leafed night table, and Darwin’s Origin of Species keeping the table level.
A single volume holds nineteen sacred scriptures from fourteen faith traditions, bound not in rivalry but in sequence — a chronological spine tracing humanity’s long and restless dialogue with the divine. Gilded in 22-karat gold, a night table stands in quiet reverence, its brilliance recalling both altar and treasury. Beneath it, almost mischievously, rests on The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, steadying the structure — evolution supporting revelation, science propping faith, doubt balancing devotion.
The drawer is shallow and firmly closed. There is no hiding this book away, no discreet concealment as in anonymous hotel rooms where belief is tucked beside a bed lamp and forgotten by morning. Here, scripture refuses exile. It insists on presence.
From the bound volume, pages spill outward and descend from above in a suspended cascade — as though language itself were in motion. Are these the words of God falling toward humanity, or the words of humanity rising in longing toward God? The direction is ambiguous; the yearning is not.
Originally installed in 2006, only two blocks from the site once known as World Trade Center, the drifting pages recall the ash and paper that once filled the sky when the towers fell on September 11, 2001 — fragments of lives, of systems, of certainties. In that memory, the work becomes an elegy. Faith, like paper, can be weaponized or sanctified; it can build monuments or reduce them to dust.
And still, in a world fractured by doctrines that preach peace yet practice division, the scriptures lie bound together — not to erase difference, but to expose a shared pulse beneath them all. Down the street stands the New York Stock Exchange, temple of another kind of belief — in markets, in value, in invisible hands. Its proximity inspired the title In Gods We Trust, echoing the national motto debated on American currency: whether trust belongs to God, to gods, or to the economies that shape our days.
Gold leaf glimmers. Pages fall. Evolution steadies revelation.
The work does not choose a side. It holds them all in tension — asking whether what we worship divides us, or whether it has always been the same longing, spoken in many tongues. A decade later, in 2026, the gold has not dulled, but the questions have deepened.
Hosting more than 15,000 avid art enthusiasts, including 2,000+ trade representatives every year, Artexpo New York is the largest international gathering of qualified trade buyers—including gallery owners and managers, art dealers, interior designers, publishers, architects, corporate art buyers, and art and framing retailers. Attendees will have the opportunity to browse thousands of innovative works of art and enjoy special programming. Avid art enthusiasts and industry leaders will return to enjoy [SOLO], which highlights established and emerging independent artists. This year’s Artexpo New York will also feature its annual lineup of programming within the Artexpo Pavilion and [SOLO] Pavilion. The Opening Night VIP Preview for Artexpo New York takes place on Thursday, April 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The fair continues for the public and trade on Friday, April 10, through Sunday, April 12, starting at 11:00 a.m. daily, with general admission tickets priced at $40 purchased at the door.
About Artexpo New York
Now in its 49th year, Artexpo New York is where the art world comes to discover what’s next. A cornerstone of the global art market, the fair brings together top galleries, publishers, and independent artists for an immersive, high-energy showcase of original artwork from around the world.
Each year, more than 15,000 collectors, designers, and art enthusiasts converge at Pier 36 to explore 70,000 square feet of uninterrupted exhibition space—filled with bold paintings, striking sculpture, photography, mixed media, glass, and limited editions. From exciting emerging voices to established names, Artexpo New York is a place to connect directly with artists, uncover new talent, and acquire work that inspires.
The fair’s dynamic programming adds to the experience, including [SOLO], Spotlight Program, Art Labs, and the Discoveries Collection—featuring standout pieces priced at $3,000 and under. Artexpo New York isn’t just an art fair—it’s where discovery, creativity, and collecting collide. For more information, visit www.redwoodartgroup.com/artexpo-new-york.
About Redwood Art Group
Since 2009, Redwood Art Group (RWAG) has been a driving force in the global fine art market—empowering artists and galleries to grow their businesses through world-class art fairs, media, and year-round support. Through exhibitions, publishing, education, and marketing, RWAG connects artists with collectors, designers, and industry professionals worldwide.
RWAG produces a portfolio of leading art fairs, including Artexpo New York, Spectrum Miami, Red Dot Miami, Art Santa Fe, and the debut of Artexpo Chicago. Together, these events attract hundreds of thousands of collectors and industry buyers, generating millions in art sales and launching the careers of thousands of emerging and established artists.
In addition to its fairs, RWAG publishes Art Business News, a leading source for industry insights and artist resources. For more information, visit www.redwoodartgroup.com.
