U-Haul Chic: Chelsea’s Fair Gets a Mobile Makeover
As tote bags vanish and VIP sections dissolve, maybe the future of art fairs really does live inside a rental truck and other alternative models.
While Armory and Independent 20th Century were doing their usual big-deal, suit-and-tie thing, a fleet of ten U-Hauls quietly pulled up on 22nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues last Thursday night, turning trucks into galleries and chaos into art. Forget $50k booths and marble floors this was guerrilla, experimental, fun, and absolutely alive. Art that moves. Art that surprises. Art that makes you actually look up from your phone.
The U-Haul Art Fair was a much-needed break from the industrialized, soul-draining fair circuit. In May, founders James Sundquist and Jack Chase put out a call for participants, and the response was wild. Ten galleries were eventually selected creating an experiment that somehow ended up buzzy enough to steal attention from its heavyweight neighbors. Participating galleries included Autobody, CHUCK, Last Days Gallery, Mey, Post Times, Nino Mier, I Made This Up, Stowaway, Hexton, A Hug from the Art World, and U-Haul Gallery.
Jack Chase and James Sundquist aren’t here to play by the usual rules. Their U-Haul Art Fair flips the script: no marble, no six-figure booths, no pretense. It’s built on mobility, flexibility, and accessibility, giving artists and galleries a chance to actually connect with audiences without needing a small fortune—or a black tie. Chase and Sunquist are also the co-founders of U-Haul Gallery.
Chase and Sundquist in one of their now infamous U-Hauls.
The U-Haul itself is the star. These rolling galleries turn foot traffic into opportunity while dodging all the headaches of brick-and-mortar spaces. It’s not just logistics it’s a whole new attitude. Art can move. It can surprise. It can land in unexpected places and spark connection across streets, neighborhoods, and communities in ways the usual fairs could only dream of.
Booth fees were $2,500 an absolute steal compared to the tens of thousands and upwards people pay at TEFAF and Frieze. The vibe was festive, irreverent, and curious; even the promo poster referenced the original 1963 Woodstock flyer, and that energy carried through the fair.
