"The Seattle Art Fair, started last year by Paul G. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, has a proud inner geek," Kirk Johnson writes for the New York Times.

Allen explained in an interview with the Times: "There's always this interesting tension between fairly intellectual pursuits like science, and more visceral pursuits like art, and how they respond and bond to each other."

The second edition of the fair opened on Thursday evening to a crowd of some 4,000 collectors, curators, and art world luminaries from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. With over 85 national and international galleries – an increase from some 60 in its inaugural year - the show attracted steady crowds over the weekend.

A few sales highlights from opening night: David Zwirner (New York) sold works by Wolfgang Tillmans and R. Crumb. Pace (New York, London, Beijing, Palo Alto) sold work by teamLab—who are also presenting an interactive installation as part of the Seattle Art Fair’s Projects. Adams and Ollman (Portland, Oregon) sold work by Ellen Lesperance. Forum Gallery (New York) sold work by Alan Magee. Greg Kucera (Seattle) sold works by Marie Watt, Roger Shimomura, and Mark Calderon. Koki Arts (Tokyo) sold work by Ryoichi Nakamura. PDX Contemporary Art (Portland, Oregon) sold work by Joe Rudko, James Lavadour, and Jeffry Mitchell—who also has an installation of ceramics featured among the Seattle Art Fair Projects. Peter Mendenhall Gallery (Los Angeles) sold work by Daniel Douke. Rebecca Hossack (London) sold work by Phil Shaw. Woodside/Braseth Gallery (Seattle) sold work by Brandon Zebold.
 
The fair kicked off with the Beneficiary Preview that raised over $100,000 for the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).