Miami’s Longest Running Contemporary Art Fair Sees Million-Dollar Acquisitions in Blue-Chip and Contemporary Works
MIAMI, FL – 2016 – Celebrating its 27th edition, Art Miami was the first major event to kick off Miami Art Week, where it continued to hold its reign as the leading international contemporary and modern fair. Along with sister fair CONTEXT Art Miami, the two shows ran from November 29th through December 4th and reported significant sales of blue-chip and contemporary artists with impressively strong attendance of prestigious art collectors, connoisseurs, advisors and notable museum professionals.
Image by Brian Szeliga
There were more than 78,500 attendees at Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami throughout the week, and 10,500 guests at the VIP Preview, which was sponsored by Christie’s International Real Estate and benefited the Pérez Art Museum Miami. On the third day of the fair, Nick Korniloff, Founder of Art Miami LLC, announced that they have signed a multi-year agreement with Resorts World International to host the 28th edition of Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami, kicking off Miami Art Week 2017 at the former Miami Herald site (One Herald Plaza at NE 14th Street at Biscayne Bay) in downtown Miami, offering ample on-site VIP and general parking.
Brandon Boyd Meet & Greet | Image by Brian Szeliga
On December 3rd, Art Miami held the inaugural private cocktail reception and dinner benefit to present The Art Miami Lifetime Visionary Award to collector and Chairman of the Related Companies, Jorge M. Pérez at db Bistro Moderne. The award honored Mr. Pérez’s multiple contributions to the cultural landscape of Miami, and a portion of the proceeds were donated to the Perry J. Cohen Foundation. Art Miami LLC Founder, Nick Korniloff presented the award to Mr. Perez before artist Al Baseer Holly AKA: ABH unveiled a portrait of Mr. Perez created especially for the occasion.
“Every year the quality of works shown at Art Miami is unparalleled and this time was no exception,” said Mr. Korniloff. “We saw acquisitions of works from some of the most important artists in the 20th and 21st centuries, including David Hockney, Josef Albers, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and Josef Albers.”
The success of the fair was visible by the significant sales made by many galleries, including Munich-based Galerie Terminus who placed a $2.5-million Gerhard Richter, a $1.1-million Robert Rauschenerg, and a Frank Chamberlain for $900,000. London-based gallery ARCHEUS/POST-MODERN placed Josef Albers’ 1958 oil on Masonite Desert Dusk for $1 million to a prominent collector within the first hour of the VIP Preview, and later in the week, they placed Edward Ruscha’s Standard Stations for more than $1-million to a Californian collector. The gallery also saw the purchase of several works from Edward Ruscha, Bermar Venet, Frank Soto and VictorVasarely to collectors from Puerto Rico and Brazil, for approximately $100,000 each.
“Art Miami exceeded our hopes, and we surpassed our targets early in the fair. Our major Josef Albers painting sold immediately to a knowledgeable collector from the Midwest whom we met originally at Art Miami three years ago,” said Brian Balfour-Oatts, Director of ARCHEUS/POST-MODERN. He continued, “Attendance at the fair was impressive and felt greater than in previous years, even on days where we usually expect to have a breather, it was nonstop. I spoke to several prominent museum directors and curators, all on the lookout for interesting things and have two works under institutional consideration. We sold several works to collectors from as far afield as Brazil and Puerto Rico, to the northern states. It was a classic year and we look forward to next year’s exciting new venue.”
“Art Miami is improving year after year! There were more visitors than ever before and their knowledge of the art was extremely high,” said Wilhelm J. Grusdat, Director of Galerie Terminus. He continued, “The interest and understanding of the art was at an exciting level every day of the exhibition. The management obviously chose the right direction for development of the fair as the sales were at an unprecedented level.”
Gallery sales during Art Miami included:
OSBORNE SAMUEL, based in London, reached seven figure sales, placing two Frank Moore and William Chadwick pieces, and a Tony Cragg.
VERTES placed a Sigmar Polke for $500,000, Jim Dine’s Three Red Dancers from 1989 in coal, oil pen and acrylic on paper for $150,000, Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Soup, Marc Chagall’s Pour Vava, and a work by Joan Miro.
Allan Stone Projects placed a Franz Kline painting from circa 1946 in the $400,000 range.
JEROME ZODO GALLERY placed an Agostino Bonalumi for $190,000.
Galerie Boulakia placed a 1970 Tom Wesselmann for $180,000.
Mayoral Gallery placed an Alexander Calder from 1972 for $100,000.
Berry Campbell placed three different works, including Elaine de Kooning’s Kaldis from 1968 and Raymond Hendler’s Winner’s Circle from 1982, that totaled over $100,000 in sales.
Sundaram Tagore Gallery placed the six-piece Violet Series by Ricardo Mazal for $60,000; Miya Ando’s 2016 urethane on aluminum work, Hamon Polyptych, for $53,000, and Sohan Qadri’s 2008 ink dye on paper work, Amala III, for $59,000.
TORCH Gallery placed Terry Rodgers’ The Domino Effect from 2016 for $35,000 to a private collection in Europe and Gijs Van Lith’s Untitled nr 24, from 2016 for $7,500.
Galerie Andreas Binder placed Tim Maguire’s Poppies and Stalks II, Duratrans print | light box from 2016 for $22,000.
CARL HAMMER GALLERY placed a series of Jay Kelly small metal sculptures within the first 30-minutes of the VIP Preview, starting at $8,500 each.
Yufuku Gallery placed a total of six pieces, including a 2016 Niyoko Ikuta entitled Ku-97 for $40,000 and a 2016 Kanjiro Moriyama entitled Kai for $20,000.
Eduardo Secci placed a Massimo Vitali for $35,000, along with an Alfredo Pirri and a Michelangelo Pistoletto, for $30,000 each.
Long-Sharp Gallery placed a Gino Miles’ bronze sculpture, which was commissioned especially for the fair.
Simon Capstick-Dale placed a David Hockney work to an important collector and their big Lynn Chadwick sculpture.
Modernism Inc. placed a Gottfried Helnwein for six-figures.
Casterline|Goodman Gallery placed an important Yayoi Kusama and Andy Warhol piece.
Amstel Gallery placed several pieces from wildlife photographer David Yarrow, including Mankind3 edition of 12, and Helloedition of 12 from 2015.
wellside gallery saw the placement of seven works, including five pieces from Seo-Bo PARK and two from Hyong Keun YUN
“CONTEXT Art Miami had a truly successful fifth year featuring some of the highest quality works to date,” said Julian Navarro, Director of CONTEXT Art Miami. “Numerous galleries reported healthy sales, positive experience and were thrilled with the strong attendance and quality of serious collectors. We had high quality of galleries and programs, one of the most impactful projects this year was Claire Breukel’s curatorial exhibition To Jump Rope, which was a favorite of fairgoers.”
“As part of our annual pilgrimage, we are back with CONTEXT and having a good run with plenty of follow ups. Virtually all of the artists we presented this time received great interest from various collectors,” said Thomas Jaeckel, Director of 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, New York. “We sold out Jose Vincench, who received the 2016 EFG and Art Nexus Award, and Danny Rolph’s large Pop Art painting went to a new collector. We also have Diana Copperwhite’s newest large color abstraction on reserve with a collector in Germany. Piers Secunda’s Isis Bullet Holes paintings, the latest documentation of destruction of our cultural heritage, also underwent active engagement.”
“Presenting the New Master project at CONTEXT Art Miami was extremely successful”. said Joerg Heitsch, Director of Heitsch Gallery, Munich. “We have high end professionals, museum people and colectors from all over the world reacted very well to our program collecting Danielle van Zadelhoff, Moto Waganari, Medardus and Salustiano. I really like the fair, specially the high quality of colleagues participating in this edition. We are very happy with the very good sales and the high number of requests”.
CONTEXT Art Miami also reported a very successful fair with 102 international participating galleries, with key sales including:
Galeria Casa Cuadrada placed a selection of work by Rafa Macarron for $100,000, as well as a a piece by Ismael Lagares for $60,000, a Hugo Carrillo for $30,000, and a work by Jesús Ángel Bordetas for $20,000.
Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery placed John J Bedoya’s Ramas del Mismo Pantano 4 for $95,000.
UNION Gallery placed Rose Wylie’s Yellow Plane, Marigold Propeller for $50,000.
Adelson Galleries placed a selection of Federico Uribe pieces, including the 2016 piece, Piano Woman, which is made of piano keys and parts from 50 disassembled pianos, for $75,000. Smaller animal pieces, including Army Turtle and Squirrel, which are made of bullet shells were each placed $7,500, while a portrait made of colored pencils, entitled Red Hair was placed for $8,000.
Galerie Matthew Namour placed Ron English’s Pop Eyes, an oil acrylic and collage on canvas from 2007 for $40,000 and Can We Stop by Gary Taxali for $45,000.
Galeria LGM placed Sair Garcia’s 2013 oil on stainless steel Magdalena series to a Miami-based collector for $23,000.
Heitsch Gallery placed Medardus’ SUICIDE SQUADRONS of SPACE - recomposed Giambattista Tieplolo, Olymp, 1764, an oil on canvas work from 2014 for $13,500, and Moto Waganari’s Jumper 2015, SLS/Polyamide 5 Editionen for $11,600.
Susan Eley Fine Art placed three large circular aluminum wall sculptures by Washington D.C. based artist Francie Hester, a narrative painting by Kathy Osborn, and an architecture inspired painting by James Isherwood.
Cantor Fine Art placed four Andrew Myers mixed media scew paintings – Molly, Ross w/ glasses, Richie and Erin.
Shine Artists / Pontone Gallery placed Jeff Robbs’ Nightfall 2, a lenticular photograph from 2016.
Fabien Castanier Gallery placed its entire catalogue of work by Fidia Falachetti and had booths at Art Miami and CONTEXT.
Gallery LEE & BAE (Galleries Assoc of Korea) placed its entire collection of pigment print and LED monitor pieces by Chang-Min Lim.
Galerie Friedmann-Hahn placed a selection of work by Mia Florentine Weiss.
LICHT FELD Gallery placed three works by MARCK.
Galerie Bhak (Galleries Assoc of Korea) placed a large format painting by Han Young Wook.
Valli Art Gallery placed all works by artist Javier Martin.
Gibbons & Nicholas placed a large selection of works by Marty Kelly including Adestes Fidel-ish.
Alida Anderson Art Projects placed F. Lennox Campello’s Human Overwhelmed by the Immense Diversity of Contemporary Imagery for $35,000.
Mugello Contemporary placed a selection of works from Brent Estabrook including their headliner piece entitled Exuberantand completely sold out of Matthew Ryan Herget’s astronaut works.
Among the galleries reporting significant sales at Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami: VERTES, JEROME ZODO GALLERY, Berry Campbell Gallery, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Galerie Ernst Hilger, ARCATURE FINE ART, James Barron Art, Rosenbaum Contemporary, Mindy Solomon Gallery, TORCH Gallery, Knight Webb Gallery, HOHMANN, Ai Bo Gallery, UNION Gallery, Heitsch Gallery, Galerie Andreas Binder, Cantor Fine Art, Shine Artists / Pontone Gallery, Susan Eley Fine Art, Galerie GAIA – Galleries Assoc of Korea, Galeria LGM, Octavia Art Gallery, METROQUADRO, Pigment Gallery, wellside gallery, UBUNTU Art Gallery, Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Galerie Ernst Hilger, LaCa Projects, 57 PROJECTS, Amstel Gallery | Jaski, Lawrence Cantor Fine Art, Sims Reed, ALIDA ANDERSON ART PROJECTS, Yufuku Gallery, HOHMANN, Mugello Contemporary, Modernism Inc., Allan Stone Projects, Casterline|Goodman Gallery, Klein Sun and Eduardo Secci Contemporary.
There were acquisitions of paintings, sculptures, photographs and mixed-media works by artists such as David Hockney, Sigmar Polke, Franz Kline, Alberto Giacometti, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Agostino Bonalumi, Elaine de Kooning, Raymond Hendler, Andy Burgess, Mel Ramos, Al Baseer Holly AKA: ABH, Larry Poons, Louise Nevelson, Alexander Calder, Linda Lopez, Terry Rodgers, Juliane Hundertmark, Kimber Berry, Tali Almog, John J Bedoya, Stephen Pace, Bas Meeuws, Tom Wesselmann, Jim Dine, Ricardo Mazal, Miya Ando, Sohan Qadri, Jay Kelly, Niyoko Ikuta, Kanijiro Moriyama, Massimo Vitali, Alfredo Pirri, Michealangelo Pistoletto, Gino Miles, Gottfried Helnwein, David Yarrow, Hendrik Kerstens, John Petrey, Tom Marosz, Rose Wylie, Medardus, Moto Waganari, Tim Maguire, Andrew Mayers, Jeff Robb, Yoo Sun Tai, Myoung Jin, Kim Jon Sook, Francie Hester, Kathy Osborn, James Isherwood, Sair Garcia, Howard Schatz, Jerry Cabrera, Marco Memeo, Lidia Masllorens, Bruno Olle, Miguel Macaya, Park Seo-Bo and Hyong Keun Yun.
Throughout the fair prominent celebrities viewed the impressive selection of works, including singer Jon Bon Jovi and his wifeDorethea, who received a private tour from Mr. Korniloff. PGA Champion Phil Mickelson with his wife Amy Mickelson, recording artist Pusha-T, world renowned street artist Shepard Fairey with his wife Amanda Fairey, and Mr. Brainwash all stopped by the Perry J. Cohen Foundation stand to view ABH’s works presented by Arcature Fine Art. Barbara Streisand was also spotted at the fair, as was Incubus’lead singer Brandon Boyd, who visited the fairs for a meet-and-greet with fans to speak about the works he was showing with KM FINE ARTS.
A selection of other notable collectors and art advisors were seen exploring the floors at the VIP Preview, including Richard Hilfiger, Peter Rabia, Audrey and Martin Gruss, Ruth Baum, Debbie and Jeff Wexler, artists Shepard Fairey and Bernie Taupin, Janna Bullock, Jorge and Darlene Pérez, Kara Ross of Diamonds Unleashed, private art advisors Lisa Schiff, Kim Heirston, and Kathryn Mikesell, and Franklin Sirmans, Director of Pérez Art Museum Miami. Also seen perusing the works were Marvin Ross Friedman and Adrienne Bon Haes, Michael and Carolynn Friedman, curator Thomas Moller, Jean Shafiroff, jewelry designer Stephen Dweck, Christie’s International Real Estate’s Senior Vice President Rick Moeser and Founding Member and Advisory Board member Jeff Hyland, among many others.
This year, visual and recording artist Al Baseer Holly AKA: ABH launched his first exhibition at Art Miami, selling three significant pieces including 2016’s Art is Gold for $6,000, 2016’s Still on the Fence for $15,000, Kitsch and Catch, a 2015 collaboration with Mike Reese, for $7,000, 2016’s Pigeon Coop for $6,000 and received three additional commissions. The work was represented byARCATURE FINE ART and fifty percent of the proceeds from the exhibition benefitted the Perry J. Cohen Foundation. The Foundation plans to use the proceeds to enhance the newly created; Perry J. Cohen Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. www.pjcf.org
Christie’s International Real Estate, the world’s leading luxury network, hosted an interactive booth at Art Miami showcasing luxury residential properties from around the world together with its top international affiliates.
DIAMONDS UNLEASHED, a “profits with a purpose” brand founded by renowned jewelry designer Kara Ross to promote and support women’s empowerment, hosted an interactive booth at Art Miami. Through DIAMONDS UNLEASHED and Art Miami, a symbol of a diamond was transformed into multiple art forms spreading the mission of women’s empowerment. DIAMONDS UNLEASHED partnered with talented artists, CFDA jewelry designers and Norma Kamali creating pieces that embody unique interpretations of a diamond. Each piece was auctioned off through Charity Buzz and proceeds went to DIAMONDS UNLEASHED Donor Advised Fund benefiting Girls Who Code, GirlUp and She’s the First.
Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami displayed an exciting array of innovative installations, programming, events and exhibitions.Highlights from the shows are as follows:
SOUND POSITIONS: Curated by Christoph Cox, Sound Positions created immersive and intimate situations for listening to work by an international selection of emerging and established sound artists. The exhibition featured 12 listening stations, each dedicated to the work of one artist including Tomomi Adachi (Japan), AGF (Germany), Blevin Blectum (United States), Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere (Mexico/United States), Mattin (Spain), Michael Pisaro (United States), Marina Rosenfeld (United States) and Samson Young (Hong Kong).
SCULPTURE GARDEN: Curated by Claire Breukel, the exhibition entitled To Jump Rope questioned the politics of human movement, nostalgia, humor and sinister undertones and featured three site specific works from Patricio Majano, Abigail Reyesand Fredy Solano. Proceeds of the sales of these works benefited Y.E.S. Grants for artists.
CONTEXT PROJECTS: Curated by Valérie Lamontagne, the exhibition gave fairgoers the chance to view 3D wearable designs from different designers including Chromat (who has dressed Beyonce, Madonna and Taylor Swift), Francis Bitoni (who styled Dita von Teese in a 3D printed gown,), Behnaz Farahi, (who helped on NASA funded projects), Artist of the Year at London International Creative Competition Awards winner Tiffany Trenda, and Anouk Wipprecht, who received massive acclaim for her robotic spider dress powered by Intel-Edison.
GALLERIES ASSOCIATION OF KOREA, as a meeting of nationwide galleries, was founded in 1976 with a sense of duty to the establishment of order in the circulation and to foster a sound art market, as well as to promote the understanding and popularization of art and contribute to the global advancement of the culture of art. It was registered as a social organization of the ministry of culture and information in 1979. By being promoted to a corporation in 1991, its social obligation has been strengthened. Participating galleries included ARTPARK, Baik Song Gallery, Galerie Bhak, Galerie GAIA, Gallery Jung, Gallery LEE & BAE, Keusman Gallery, LEEHWAIK Gallery, Paik Hae, Young Gallery and PYO Gallery Seoul. THE CHILDREN ARTS CENTER provided a safe playroom on-site at Art Miami for children ages 3-13, who were introduced to art while their parents visit the fairs. Children enrolled in the program had exclusive access to participate in activities such as art explorations, games, puzzles and storytelling.THE MIAMI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL had a booth in the Art Miami Café and a percentage of sales of Corina Hernandez’s works went to the hospital.SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS featuring Fidia Falaschetti, Fabien Castanier Gallery; Guztavo Velez, Galeria LGM, Renee Stout, Accola Griefen, Juliane Hundertmark, Knight Webb Gallery, Mary Jenkins, Fabien Castanier Gallery, BOUNTY KILLART, METROQUADRO, Arno Kortschot, Kostuik Gallery, Miguel Angel Madrigal, Galeria Enrique Guerrero, Matthew Langley, ALIDA ANDERSON ART PROJECTS, Max Leiva, ten|Contemporary, Carlos Estevez, LaCa Projects; Van Hoang, Cantor Fine Art, MARCK, LICHT FELD Gallery.
A series entitled Friday Art Talks took place on the afternoon of December 2nd, beginning with From Object to Idea: New Ways of Collecting Contemporary Art moderated by Paco Barragan, the editor of ARTPULSE magazine and a well-known curator and art critic, who discussed with prominent art collectors including Francie Bishop Good, Mario Cader-Frech, Dan Mikesell, the ways in which to build a contemporary art collection. The talk entitled Korean Pop Arts vs. American Pop Art was moderated by the Korea Arts Management, which investigated the Korean and American pop art scene by bringing foremost Korean and American pop artists from different contexts together. This discussion curiously considered how their work might be different or relate, each offering their unique perspective on producing and exhibiting artwork. Attendees got a chance to meet both Korea’s and America’s foremost artists. The final talk in the series, Art Connect, acted as a networking reception hosted by the Korea Arts Management Service and the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Sponsors & Partners
The generous 2016 sponsors and partners for Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami include: VIP Preview Benefactor Pérez Art Museum Miami, Christie’s International Real Estate, JW Marriott Marquis, Hotel Beaux Arts, Diamonds Unleashed, Artsy, db Bistro Moderne, Spuntino Catering, Russian Standard Vodka, Gancia, Angelo Poretti, Perrier, Retrouve, Miami Children’s Health Foundation, MIAMI (Modern Luxury), AroundTown, The Art Newspaper, ArtNexus, Art+Auction, Arte Al Limite, ArtInfo, VENÜ, The Miami Herald, Artillery, Fine Art Connoisseur, Whitewall, Aesthetica, Art & Antiques, ArtPulse, ArtDistricts, Uber, Perry J. Cohen Foundation, ICA Miami, Miami History Museum, Boca Raton Museum of Art, MOCA, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Turon Travel and Bourlet Art Logistics.
Art Miami LLC is a partnership consisting of art and media industry veterans Nick Korniloff, Mike Tansey and Brian Tyler. In addition to three fairs during Miami Art Week, Art Miami, CONTEXT Art Miami and Aqua Art Miami, the company annually produces the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary in January; Art Wynwood during Presidents Day weekend in February; Art New York and CONTEXT New York at Pier 94 in New York in May; Art Southampton in July; and Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco in October.