International Contemporary Art Fair draws 23,500 visitors; 88 percent of galleries report strong sales.

Art Wynwood, the Wynwood Arts District’s highly anticipated International Contemporary Art Fair closed its doors late Monday, Feb. 20 following extraordinary sales by 88 percent of participating galleries and more than 23,500 visitors during the inaugural five-day fair. Many of the 50-plus exhibitors also noted strong leads and anticipated follow up sales with serious collectors in the days and weeks following Art Wynwood. Showcasing a diverse range of fresh and edgy works by established and emerging international contemporary artists from more than 13 countries around the globe, Art Wynwood shined a spotlight on Midtown Miami and the Wynwood Arts District as a flourishing international cultural destination.

“We have received an incredibly positive response from those who visited and participated in the inaugural edition of Art Wynwood,” said Nick Korniloff, Director and Partner of Art Wynwood. “While we only scratched the surface of its potential, collector enthusiasm and the high volume of sales solidified our belief that Midtown Miami’s Wynwood Arts District has truly evolved into a year-round cultural destination for collecting contemporary art, particularly during President’s Day Weekend.”

Art Wynwood emerged in Miami with a ribbon cutting by Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado that kicked off a stellar VIP Preview on Thursday, Feb. 16. Attended by more than 5,100 collectors and art enthusiasts, a palpable feeling of excitement filled the air, and Art Wynwood exhibitors began reporting strong sales minutes after opening. Following each day’s increasing attendance figures and notable sales, Art Wynwood exhibitors, artists and host committee members celebrated with nightly gatherings and after parties at Wynwood pioneer Tony Goldman’s Wynwood Walls, Bakehouse Art Complex and db Bistro Moderne Miami.

Among the illustrious visitors that attended the inaugural fair were representatives from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami Art Museum and Bass Museum of Art, among others, as well as esteemed art collectors and host committee members including Tony and Janet Goldman, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Jonathan and Criselda Breene, Walid and Susie Wahab, Belkys Nerey, Ron English, Tom Clancey, Carole Seikaly, Alan Randolph, Dr. Leonard Tachmes, Fernando Wong, Carlos Betancourt, Marvin Ross Friedman, Adrianne bon Haes, Sam Hollander, Sean Gelb, Miami Beach Mayor Mattie Baur and Miami Beach City Commissioner Michael Gongora, to name a few.  

Sales highlights throughout the five-day fair included the following:

·       Miami-based Cernuda Arte sold Sandro De La Rosa’s “Mi Pasion,” Giosvany Echevarría’s “Murmullo Camasino,” Ramon Vázquez’s “Paisaje Fantastico, Numero Uno,” Tomás Sánchez’s “Lakeshore,” Dayron González’s “Una Ventana Demasiada Alta” and  “Anonimato y el silencio,” as well as Alfredo Sosabravo’s “De Repente en el Verano” and “Fanáticos de Cine,” together totaling more than $400,000­­­­­

·       London-based Waterhouse & Dodd sold Alexander Calder’s “Aim” for more than $100,000, as well as three of Gregory Scott’s pieces, Jean-Francois Rauzier’s “Chapelle Hoch” and “Molitor,” and Etsuko Ichikawa’s “Trace 7411” and “Trace 8911” for undisclosed amounts 

·       New York-based Westwood Gallery sold seven pi­­­eces by Boris Lurie and six works by Michael DesRosiers, together totaling six figures 

·       Miami-based 101/exhibit sold Charles Pfal’s “Revolution” and “Valentine” each for six figures as well as Jason Shawn Alexander’s “In Progress,” “A Quiet Mind,” and “Sisyphus Combine” for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based Mark Borghi Fine Art sold Ed Moses’ “Vest-A” for $58,000, “Blu-Veil” for $42,000, as well as “Franklin Usher” and “Who Cross” for undisclosed amounts

·       Caracas-based Ascaso Gallery sold a piece by Jesus Soto for $75,000 and one by Victor Valera for $15,000

·       New York-based Black & White Gallery sold Shimon Okshteyn’s “Flashlight” for $28,000 and “Hats” for $30,000, as well as Isidro Blasco’s “Aerial New York” for $15,000

·       Toronto-based Lausberg Contemporary sold Herbert Mehler’s “WV 336” for $45,000, Regine Schumann’s “Colour-Mirror Toronto” for $18,000, and a piece by Harald Schmitz-Schmelzer for $10,400

·       Miami-based Kavachnina Gallery sold Pepe Moran’s “Seeds I,” “Seeds II,” and “Seeds III,” together totaling $20,000, Salustiano’s “Black N.3. Iris” for $26,000, and a sculpture collection by Noemi Sanguinetti for an undisclosed amount

·       London-based UNIX Fine Art sold Desire Obtain Cherish’s “Addicted at Birth” for $35,000 and “Marilyn Vanity Fair” for an undisclosed amount

·       London-based Cynthia Corbett Gallery sold Lluis Barba’s “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” for $18,500 and Andreá Stanislav’s “Horse Heads” for $15,000

·       Memphis-based David Lusk Gallery sold Carroll Todd’s “Persephone” for $24,000

·       Miami-based Hardcore Contemporary Art Space sold Gaston Ugalde’s “Coca Cola” and “Cabeza Chamanica,” together totaling $22,000

·       Barcelona-based Villa Del Arte Galleries sold a work by Johan Thunell for $21,000

·       New York-based Sundaram Tagore Gallery sold Tom Doyle’s “Ballyduff,” “Ballyhornam,” and “Ballymacoda,” totaling $20,000

·       Quebéc-based Galerie LeRoyer sold two prints of Nick Veasey’s “Mini, AP” together totaling $18,000, as well as Manolo Chretien’s “Phantomatic” and Martin Rondeau’s “Img_224_Roots” for undisclosed amounts

·       Amsterdam-based Leslie Smith Gallery sold an untitled mixed media piece by Zhuong Hong Yi for $17,500

·       Miami and Paris-based Waltman Ortega Fine Art sold Francois Bard’s “Portrait of a Woman” for $15,000

·       New York-based Denise Bibro Fine Art sold Dusty Boynton’s “Old Friends” for $12,000, as well as Daniel Borlandelli’s “Mixed Particles,” “Sudden Combustion,” and “Sudden Fusion,” for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based ACA Galleries sold Jack Stuppin’s “Bodega Head from the North,” “Golden Hill,” and “Olana Forest” for undisclosed amounts

·       Mexico City-based Alfredo Ginocchio Gallery sold Hugo Lugo’s “Cuaderno Para Ensayar el Vacio, Estudio #23” and “Cuaderno Para Ensayar el Vacio, Estudio #27” for undisclosed amounts

·       The Netherlands-based Priveekollektie sold Viktor Timofeev’s “Pattern” for an undisclosed amount

·       Dublin-based BlueLeaf Gallery sold Tom Climent’s “Elgar’s Cabin,” an installation by Bethany Krull, as well as Claudia Alvarez’s series “Innocence, Mia,” “Innocence, Little Girl in Pink,” and “Innocence, Girl Watching” for undisclosed amounts

·       London-based Olyvia Fine Art sold Edward & Nancy Kienholz “The Block Head” and Lee Dong Jae’s “Icon” for an undisclosed amount

·       Miami-based Bernice Steinbaum Gallery sold Peter Sarkisian’s “Book 1” and “Book 2,” as well as Enrique Gomez de Molina’s “Paloma” for undisclosed amounts

·       Miami-based Art Nouveau sold Abel Ventoso’s “E 9” and Rafael Barrios’ “Centrifuge” for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based Barry Friedman Ltd. sold Ian Ingram’s “Self-Portrait As Father,” Arno Rafael Minkkinen’s “Laurence, Ta ‘Cenc,” as well as Michael Eastman’s “Yellow Room,” and “Blue Arch” for undisclosed amounts

·       Amsterdam-based Witzenhausen Gallery sold Jeff Robb’s “Aerial #5” and Hendrick Kerstens’ “Flange” for undisclosed amounts

·       Baltimore-based C. Grimaldis Gallery sold Chul Hyun Ahn’s “Roller Coaster” for an undisclosed amount

·       New York-based Dean Project Tim Berg and Rebekah Myers’ “Waste what, want what” and Tim Berg & Rebekah Myers’ “Against the Tide” for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based De Buck Gallery sold Zevs’ “Liquidated Merrill Lynch-Black,” Ruby Anemic’s “Thank you Thank you Thank you,” William Sweetlove’s “Cloned Bouly,” Dion Johnson’s “Open,” Regine Schumann’s “Colormirror Black & White,” as well as Victor Matthew’s “Vortex PA XIII” and “Vortex PA IV” for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based Hollis Taggart Gallery sold a work by Alexander Calder for an undisclosed amount

·       New York-based Magnan Metz Gallery sold three untitled pieces for undisclosed amounts

·       New York-based Nancy Hoffman Gallery sold two pieces by undisclosed artists for undisclosed amounts

·       Miami-based Bakehouse Art Complex sold Jason Snyder’s “Tentacles II” and Mike Rivamonte’s “Vioture” for undisclosed amounts

·       Miami-based Now Contemporary Art sold Augusto Equivel’s “Gumball Machine,” “Jelly Bean Dispenser,” “Horse” and “Duck Shower,” as well as Roman Vitali’s “Black Roses” for undisclosed amounts

·       Miami-based Pan American Art Projects sold a sculpture collection by Noemi Sanguinetti and three pieces by Leon Ferrari for undisclosed amounts

·       Miami-based Rudolf Budja Gallery LLC sold Richard Pettibone’s “Brillo Painting,” Wulf Trev’s “Biscayne Blvd.,” Marten Grandit’s “Chanel,” Jona Cerwinske’s “Street Art,” as well as two pieces by Martin Granditz and one by Richard Petibaun for undisclosed amounts

·       Coral Gables-based Tresart sold Luis Martínez Pedro’s “Aguas Territoriales,” Loló Soldevilla’s “Sueño Astral” and “Untitled, After Composition,” as well as untitled works by Pedro de Oraá and Claudio Castillo for undisclosed amounts

Art Wynwood was held during President’s Day Weekend, Feb. 16 – 20, 2012, at the 100,000 square-foot Art Miami Pavilion in Midtown Miami’s burgeoning Wynwood Arts District. The five-day inaugural International Contemporary Arts Fair drew international support and attention for its impressive program of performances, paintings, photography, sculpture, art video and new media, conceptual art and street art by 500 celebrated and emerging artists, as represented by more than 50 galleries from Argentina, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, Venezuela, United Kingdom and the United States. Plans for Art Wynwood 2013 are already underway with confirmed sponsorship by JW Marriot Marquis Miami and others.  For more information on Art Wynwood and for a full list of exhibitors, please visit www.art-wynwood.com.

Art Wynwood Partners and Sponsors:

Art Wynwood was generously supported by its Official Luxury Partner Superyachts.com, as well as JW Marriot Marquis Miami; Hotel Beaux Arts Miami; Turon Travel; Museo Vault; Kushner Moving Group; Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau; Miami Art Dealers Association; Wynwood Art Dealers Association; Goldman Properties; Lombardi Properties; The Miami Herald; Wynwood Walls; db Bistro Moderne; Joey’s; Wynwood Kitchen and Bar; Bakehouse Art Center; Société Perrier; The Miami New Times; and Midtown Miami. 

About Art Miami, LLC:

Art Miami, LLC, is a partnership consisting of art and media industry veterans Nick Korniloff, Mike Tansey and Brian Tyler.  Art Miami, LLC, produces Art Miami (www.art-miami.com), Miami's longest-running contemporary show.