The Houston Fine Art Fair concluded its 5th edition on September 12th at the NRG Center, with the closing day marking the transfer of ownership of the fair from Hamptons Expo Group to Urban Expositions, a leading event organizer that recently partnered with UK-based Clarion Events, and now manages 40 shows in the U.S. Urban Expositions finalized its acquisition of the entirety of Hamptons Expo Group’s holdings, including ArtAspen, ArtHamptons, and Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, in addition to the Houston Fine Art Fair this September. CEO of Urban Expositions Doug Miller, elaborated on the company’s expansion into the art fair market, “The Hamptons Expo Group fairs are in desirable cities that are important to galleries and the art community, and we believe we can leverage our activity across the fairs to deliver dynamic and high-quality events.” Urban Expositions will manage and produce all fairs from this point forward with the next fair being the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, February 11-14, 2016. HFAF will return September 22-25, 2016.

President of Hamptons Expo Group Rick Friedman, who has served as founder and director of the four art fairs and will remain involved in a consulting capacity, reflected on the conclusion of his long-standing and influential art fair venture noting, “It has been with great pride and pleasure that we’ve returned to the Houston market, and all of the amazing cities we have operated in, year after year, to deliver the highest caliber fine art experience possible. Each fair aims to celebrate the unique cultural identity of its city, while drawing galleries from around the world to engage some of the most vital art collecting demographics in the country.”

This final iteration of HFAF under Friedman proved both critically and commercially successful, with hundreds of works placed in Houston collections and over 85% of exhibitors reporting sales by the fair’s close on Saturday evening, with numerous pending sales reported and expected to continue through the next week. Local and visiting galleries placed notable historic and contemporary artists with prominent Houston collectors, including sales of a Guus Kemp by Zoya Tommy and an Alex Katz by Adamar Fine Art. Galerie Fledermaus from Chicago indicated strong interest in the Houston market for its 20th century program including Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, as well as their contemporary works.

Ultimately, HFAF 2015 provided viewers with an incredibly rich art fair presentation, with works that spanned from 14th century Imperial Inca textiles, and masters of the Impressionist and Modern era Degas, Picasso, Rockwell, and Dorothy Hood, through the late 20th century including Andy Warhol, Jim Dine, Ushio Shinohara, Rafael Barrios and leaders in the contemporary market including Robert Longo, Julian Opie, David Salle, Christopher Martin and Oleg Dou. The combination of local institutional support, and draw of incredibly diverse exhibitors presenting works of art that spanned centuries, are a strong indicator of the fair’s successful standing in the Houston market, and the region’s standing as a burgeoning international arts destination boasting a highly active and engaged demographic of art collectors and patrons.

About Urban Expositions
Based in Kennesaw, GA, and founded in 1995, Urban Expositions produces and manages a portfolio of 36 events. Urban serves seven industry sectors including Gift, Souvenir, Art, Aviation, Foodservice, Pet and Gaming.  Urban also produces SOFA CHICAGO, Chicago’s longest continuously running gallery-presented art fair, and Airport Revenue News, a publication focused on the airport concession industry. Urban has offices in Shelton, CT and Boca Raton, FL, and is represented by employees in California, Colorado and Illinois. www.urban-expo.com

About Clarion Events
Clarion Events can trace its roots back to 1947 and takes great pride in being one of the oldest independent event organizers in the UK. The teams at Clarion create uniquely effective and stimulating environments that can serve as a platform to build businesses and enhance customer relationships and experiences. More recently the firm has developed an international portfolio of brands and now delivers over 200 events in over 20 countries. www.clarionevents.com

About Hamptons Expo Group
The Hamptons Expo Group is based in Southampton, New York. HEG also produced ArtAspen, ArtHamptons, and the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair. In total, over 50,000 motivated art lovers and enthusiasts from across the nation attend their fairs, annually. The company was founded 9 years ago by art collector Rick Friedman with the concept of bringing the thrill and excitement of a major international art fair to affluent regional markets, where attendees can conveniently make art acquisition decisions near their residences.