Art Review - A Celebration of Craft at the Park Avenue Armory - NYTimes. It connotes a series of traditions nearly as old as human life, a vocabulary of skills and techniques that can’t be faked and the raison d’être of a vastly superior aesthetic endeavor, although a little recognition from the larger art world would be nice. Today many aspects of craft have been absorbed — minus the reverence — by contemporary art, now considered in its postmedium phase. A penchant for glazed and unglazed clay is especially evident of late, thanks to artists like Arlene Shechet, Lynda Benglis, Beverly Semmes, Nicole Cherubini, Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Sterling Ruby, who tend to push beyond traditional techniques in ways that might even take Voulkos aback. Art doesn’t have to do anything except convince you that it is art. SOFA New York remains through Sunday at the Park Avenue Armory, near 66th Street; (800) 563-7632 or sofaexpo.

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