ART MIAMI AND CONTEXT ART MIAMI REPORT STRONG EDITIONS WITH MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SALES OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY WORKS COMPLEMENTED BY INCREASED ATTENDANCE

(MIAMI, FL – December 12, 2018) – Art Miami, in its 29th edition as the leading international contemporary and modern art fair, alongside the 7th edition of sister fair CONTEXT Art Miami, took place December 4th through 9th and reported consistent high value sales, as well as strong attendance figures, with more than 84,000 prestigious art collectors, connoisseurs, advisors and museum professionals attending throughout the week.

Nick Korniloff, Director of Art Miami, said, “This was our most successful fair to date when you consider the volume of sales of important art works, the overall quality of the artists and respected international galleries that exhibited. Art Miami continues to remain as a key destination during art week for seasoned collectors when acquiring the most important fresh works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries.”

Renowned as one of the nation’s foremost international contemporary and modern art fairs, collectors streamed through the doors to view high-quality artwork from international dealers. As guests entered Art Miami, they immediately were met with a presentation from Landau Contemporary at Galerie Dominion of Antoni Clavé’s pieces on one side, and on the other, a large stainless-steel sculpture by Not Vital titled Head 1, Ed 2/3, exhibited with Galerie Forsblom. As guests continued, they came upon large-scale works by Retna and Jean-Michel Basquiat at Masterworks, and rare pieces by Andy Warhol, Lynn Chadwick, Jonas Wood and David Hockney at ARCHEUS / POST-MODERN. Arcature Fine Art received significant interest in the artist KAWS, placing several of his pieces, in addition to a Robert Indiana piece titled Stay 30, and a Damien Hirst spin painting. As they moved through the fair, visitors were drawn to Galería Freites to admire a series of sculptures from Manolo Valdés titledMeninas.

The high quality of the presentation ensured that extremely sought-after offerings at the fairs also included works by George Condo, Wifredo Lam, Jackson Pollock, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Marc Chagall, Ed Ruscha, Keith Haring, Frank Stella, Richard Serra, and more, with dealers reflecting on the fair’s success below:

• Irving & Miriam van Dijk, Gallery Directors of Priveekollektie Contemporary Art | Design, said, “After 10 years of participating in Art Miami, we will be happy to join Art Miami for its 30th anniversary edition next year. At this year’s fair, as a returning gallery from The Netherlands, we met our loyal international collectors and established new, exciting client relations. We’ve seen the quality presented at Art Miami grow every year, and continue to hear the same from the buying audience.”
• Christine A. Berry, Director of Berry Campbell Gallery, said, “Sales were brisk this year, and although attendance is always strong, this year we engaged with more museum directors and curators than ever before. Collectors were active in buying paintings by mid-century women artists like Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan and Helen Frankenthaler. We were delighted to sell a painting by newly rediscovered Color Field painter Larry Poons. We look forward to celebrating the 30th anniversary of Art Miami next year.”
• Brian Balfour-Oatts, Director: Post-War & Contemporary Art at ARCHEUS / POST-MODERN: “We made a large number of sales in the sub-$100,000 bracket, particularly for the work of David Hockney with five rare prints selling, including his ‘Coloured Flowers made of Paper and Ink.’ Other artists selling in this range included Ed Ruscha, Lynn Chadwick, Bridget Riley, Yuko Nishimura, Jesús Rafael Soto, Jonas Wood and a sculpture by young Belgian artist Saskia De Tollenaere, whose sculptural homage to Frida Kahlo was bought by an important corporate collection.”

The success of Art Miami is evident by the significant sales made throughout the week of work by 800 established, emerging, and cutting-edge artists, represented by 160 international galleries from nearly 30 countries, including most notably:

• Galerie Terminus placed Women, 2007 by Sigmar Polke for $3.8-million dollars, and Knüpfung mit Kieselsteinen, 1970 by Herbert Zangs for $46,000
• Osborne Samuel Gallery placed Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, 1946 for approximately $1-million dollars.
• Michael Schultz Gallery placed Electric Chair Series, 1973 by Andy Warhol for $540,000, Flieg Vogel Flieg, 2018 by Cornelia Schleime for $77,000, Flag, 2018, by Udo Nöger for $67,000, and two works by SEO: Die Faltung der Wirklichkeit, 2017, for $64,000 and Untitled, 2017 for $60,000.
• Cernuda Arte made more than 20 sales, including Fish, 1955, by Amelia Peláez for $500,000, How Can I Escape from Time, 2006, by Miguel Florido, and Path to Perfection, 2007, by Sandro de la Rosa.They also placed a piece by Manuel Mendive, a piece by Roberto Diago, and two works by Irina E. Gonzalez.
• Hollis Taggart placed 15 works in total, including a 1956 watercolor by Sam Francis for more than $500,000, two Alexander Calder works for approximately $100,000 each, a Theodoros Stamos piece for approximately $100,000, a Ron Gorchov for approximately $50,000 range, two small sculptures by Pablo Atchugarry for $40,000 and $55,000, a small Mark Tobey work on paper for $40,000, and two Michael (Corinne) West works for $40,000 and $30,000.
• Emmanuel Fremin Gallery placed 22 pieces totaling $400,000 in sales, including seven works by Drew Tal.
• Berry Campbell placed Desert Wall, Cave #96, 1986 for $175,000, and Horses at Pech-Merle (Cave #20), 1984 for $95,000, both by Elaine de Kooning, Untitled, 1975 by Larry Poons for $80,000, 7-X-79, 1979 by Alfonso Ossorio for $75,000, Villanova, 1990 by Dan Christensen for $65,000, Unctionpaleinbalmofsnows, 1979 by Stanley Boxer for $55,000, and Imola Three IV (Circuit Series), 1984 byFrank Stella for $35,000. All prices listed are retail.
• Nikola Rukaj Gallery placed pieces from Alex Katz’s Coca-Cola Girls series for more than $150,000.
• VERTES sold a work by Sam Francis priced at approximately $120,000.
• CHASE CONTEMPORARY placed paintings by Liu Shuishi for approximately $100,000, a Peter Beard for $90,000, and an Ole Aakjær for approximately $30,000.
• Sims Reed Gallery prints of Le Cow-boy, Le Cirque, Le Clown, and L’Enterrement de Pierrot from Henri Matisse’s iconic Jazz series for a total of approximately $100,000. In addition, they also placedAndy Warhol’s Electric Chair, screen print in colors, 1971, as well as several works David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Terry Frost, Humphrey Ocean and Declan Jenkins.
• Grosvenor Gallery placed Humming Birds, 2018, by Senaka Senanayakefor $80,000.
• Pan American Art Projects placed Untitled, 1985 by Louise Nevelson for $75,000.
• JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY sold six different works from Skylar Fein’s Giant Metal Matchbooks series, 2016-2017, for a total of $60,000. Andrea Schwartz Gallery placed Dream ⅕ by Julian Voss-Andreae for $58,000, Champagne Supernova by Piero Spadaro and Stacked by Tim Yankosky.
• RUDOLF BUDJA GALLERY placed Reincarnation, 2018 by Wulf Treu for $55,000.
• AMS – XS placed Nicolás Radic’s Aluminio, 2018, for $40,000, and Aluminum folded, 2018.
• Onishi Gallery placed Innocent Forest 06, 2018 for $30,000 and Blood 4, 2017 by Shun Sudo, as well as Rising Dragon, 2017 by Tokuda Yasokichi IV, Glumon #0.1.1, 2016 by NAOYA, and POI 01, 2018 by Yusuke Ochiai.
• David Klein Gallery placed Sphinx, Chimera, and Dangerous Liaisons, all 2018 by Rosalind Tallmadge, for a total of $30,000.
• Galerie Ernst Hilger placed two sculptures by Alex Katz from 2018, each for $30,000, and a variety of Shepard Fairey pieces ranging in price up to $25,000.
• ARCHEUS / POST-MODERN placed David Hockney’s Colored Flowers Made of Paper and Ink from 1971.
• David Benrimon Fine Art placed several works by Mel Bochner, including Amazing, 2018, Blah Blah, Blah, 2018, Haha, 2017, and Thank You, 2018. They also placed The Book of Love: One Plate, 1997 by Robert Indiana, Ballerina, from Portfolio California, 1988, by Ed Ruscha, Apple (F. & S. II 359), 1985 by Andy Warhol, and Untitled, 1966 and Study for Great American Nude #66, 1965, both by Tom Wesselmann.
• C24 Gallery placed a Mike Dargas painting, Bee Loved, 2018, and a Katja Loher video sculpture, Who will paint the white canvas of the bleached corals?, 2018.
• Cynthia Corbett Gallery placed seven pieces of Andy Burgess’ Modernist House series and his new Abstract Aspen works. They also debuted Isabelle van Zeijl’s The One photography project featuringFlower Orchid, of which three editions from a total of seven were placed.
• Goya Contemporary Gallery placed a work by Joyce J. Scott.
• Jean Albano Gallery placed Bonnie Lautenberg’s 1952 Singin’ in the Rain / Yayoi Kusama, The Sea, archival pigment print, 1 of 6, and 2001 Shrek / Fernando Botero, Nude in Mirror, archival pigment print, 1 of 6.
• Klari Reis’ Multicolour Petri dish series was placed, as were three ceramic wall-displayed flower pieces by Zemer Peled, and paintings by Eleanor Watson.
• LICHT FELD Gallery placed ArtStudent, 2014 and Turkishbath, 2008 by Marck, as well as Madeoff, 2014, Edition 2 of 3, by Fredy Hadorn.
• Priveekollektie Contemporary Art | Design placed Bloomed Wall, 2017 and Ruffled, 2014-2017 by Dominic Harris, Dew, 2017 and Ink Writer, 2017 by Reinier Bosch, and From the knees of my nose to the belly of my toes, 2018, Growing up gets me down, 2018, and Open to the public, 2018 by Alex Chinneck.
• Sladmore placed Poisson ‘Alma’ (Fish), 2018, by Edouard Martinet and No. 174 Boxing Boy with Hat, 2018, by Mario Dilitz.

The success of CONTEXT Art Miami was clear from the significant sales made by more than 96 international galleries from nearly 21 countries.

Julian Navarro, Director of CONTEXT Art Miami, said: “For our seventh edition we enjoyed tremendous results with both record-breaking sales and attendance figures. This has been one of the strongest fairs to date. Thank you to everyone involved to raise the bar once again.”

Sales included:

• Markowicz Fine Art placed Broken Heart by KAI for $260,000.
• DURAN | MASHAAL placed a piece by Matthew Shlian for approximately $50,000, and pieces by Victoria Wonnacott and Adriana Oliver.
• Lawrence Fine Art placed Gala, 1959 by Amaranth Ehrenhalt, that had an asking price of $55,000-$65,000. They also placed all of Howard Schatz’s Dance Study, Balance, a limited addition of five.
• Spoke Art placed various screen-printed paper on panel works and screen prints from 2018 by Chuck Sperry for a total of $50,000.
• Peninsula Fine Art placed two pieces by Carranza priced up to $40,000.
• Hashimoto Contemporary placed Vibration, 2018 by Peter Gronquist by $35,000.
• Juan Silió Gallery placed several works by Rafa Macarrón, priced up to $35,000.
• Hang Art placed several pencil drawings by Katherine B. Young, priced up to $30,000, and Solarium, 2018 by Abigail McCallum.
• Retrospect Galleries placed Queens Time-Out II, 2018 for $25,000, as well as Queens Time-Out I, 2018, for $22,500, both by Gabriel Moreno.
• Art Angels placed ://_qWEEN by Madsteez aka Mark Paul Deren, for $25,000, in addition to Heroine Bleu-Gris by Jennie Vinter, Kids See Ghost Sometimes by Christopher Florentino aka Flore, Burglar Bait by Daniel Allen Cohen aka Safe, as well as pieces by Stikki Peaches and Beau Dunn.

• HEITSCH GALLERY placed The lust and the burden of the painter, 2018 for $19,000 and Alexa, be quiet, 2018 for $17,500, both by Antonio Marra. They also placed artworks from Roland Helmer, Moto Waganari, Yoshiyuki Miura, and Jürgen Paas.
• ANNA ZORINA GALLERY placed more than 10 pieces, with a selection placing for more than $18,000 each, and the remainder placing for more than $15,000.
• Black Book Gallery sold a work by Martin Whatson for $17,500.
• ​FP Contemporary placed On the Overseas Highway, 2018 by Carlos Ramirez for $15,000
• Lucía Mendoza placed Lukla Airport, Nepal, 2018 by Christian Voigt for $15,000, in addition to Oliver Czarnetta’s Spectacle, 2018, Anachron, 2018, Crossing, 2018, Updown, 2017 and Camouflage,2016.
• Alida Anderson Art Projects placed Sitemap, 2018, by Erwin Timmers, as well as several works by F. Lennox Campello including Daphne II, Catwoman Naked, Superman Flying Naked, Bellicose, The Lilith, The Incantation of Frida Kahlo, Eve and Asmodeus, from 2018, as well as Frida Kahlo and Marilyn Monroe, 2017, Supergirl Naked, 2017, Frida con sus Fridas, 2016, Obama Thinking, 2009, and Suddenly She Wasn’t Afraid Any Longer, 2009. Campello received a commission for a new building in Washington, D.C. They also placed Wonder, 2018 and Serendipity, 2018 by Michael Janis, Bull Terrier in Landscape II, 2018 by Tim Vermeulen, and Stop, No, End, 2018, by Amy Lin.
• Bivins Gallery placed Fortunes Contract by Not. Travis from 2018.
• Galeria Contrast placed two works of Spanish artist Rafel Bestard and two works of Spanish artist Monica Subide.
• GALLERY JUNG placed Spring Afternoon 1, 2, 2018 by Park Hyun O.
• Grosvenor Gallery placed Lotus Eyes, 2018, by Olivia Fraser, and Toucans, 2018 and Butterflies, 2018 by Senaka Senanayake.
• Liquid Art System received large groups of people admiring the selection and quality of their display and placed several works, including pieces by artists Marco Grassi, Antonio Sannino, and Peter Demetz.
• Rele Gallery placed The Priestess, 2018 by Victor Ehikhamenor.
• RHODES sold nine works from Lucy Sparrow, including the originals Mexican Wave and Ice-T.
• Sergott Contemporary Art Alliance placed Wave Series, 2018 by Shima Shanti.
• Simons Gallery sold three limited edition digital prints by Roberto Polillo, one of Duke Ellington, 1966, one of Sarah Vaughan in Lecco, 1967, and another of Thelonious Monk, 1964.
• Tauvers Gallery international placed a Motanka sculpture, History Repeats, 2017 by Ola Rondiak.
• The Light Gallery placed several works by Colombian artist Luis Efe Velez, and multimedia Peruvian artist Cecilia Paredes.
• Z GALLERY ARTS placed La Marie, 2017 by Khaled Alkhani, and Deb, 2018 by Kangi Connie Wang.

CONTEXT Art Miami exhibitors reflect on the fair’s success below:

• Anna Zorina, Director of Anna Zorina Gallery: “Anna Zorina Gallery has been a part of CONTEXT Art Miami for the past four years. The new location of the fair and this year’s improvements in the layout, infrastructure and lighting made the presentation of the international galleries and artists the best yet. It is our personal experience that 2018 has been the most successful.”
• Bernard Markowicz, Director of Markowicz Fine Art: “Broken Heart by KAI is the masterpiece of his collection. It was made for that fair, to make a statement, and it was sold to a private Miami collector. Thanks to CONTEXT Art Miami for organizing such an amazing fair.”
• Jacquelin Napal-Comeau, Owner of Art Angels Gallery: “It was an honor to be able to take part in CONTEXT Art Miami. The synergy between the galleries and collectors was incredible.”

The two fairs served as the “Official Kickoff” to Miami Art Week and welcomed more than 15,000 guests to the VIP Preview. Sponsored by Christie’s International Real Estate and benefiting the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), this year marked the eighth consecutive year that PAMM has been the fair’s exclusive VIP Preview benefactor. To date, Art Miami LLC has donated more than $150,000 to further the museum’s collection and mission, and the partnership remains an integral part of Art Miami’s larger commitment to Miami.

During the Preview, a crowd of people, including Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary, Jason Newsted and ABH, applauded as Galerie Terminus and Galerie Barbara von Stechow removed the red covering of The New Horizon Project, to unveil a BMW E3 that features a unique paint coat designed by Heiner Meyer and executed by legendary German aerosol artist and car-racer Walter Maurer, commemorating the car’s 50th anniversary. The car had not been seen before and has been perfectly restored to be fully functional.

Throughout the fair, prominent figures in entertainment, sport, music, business, and culture viewed the impressive selection of works, including: Forest Whitaker, Brooke Shields, Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary, Ally Hilfiger and her husband Steve Hash, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, Audrey and Martin Gruss, Lawrence Moens, Irma Braman, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and his wife Aileen Kennedy, Alice Louise Walton, Eileen Guggenheim, Dennis and Debra Scholl, Kim Heirston, Marvin Ross Friedman and Adrienne Bon Haes, Lauren and Bob Roberts, Janna Bullock, Michael and Carolynn Friedman, Pretty Little Liars actress Claire Holt, Omar Miller, Nusret Gökçe, nicknamed Salt Bae, The Kaplan Twins – Allie and Lexi Kaplan, Josh Altman of the Altman Brothers, Brandon Boyd, NFL player Gosder Cherilus, Chip Bowers, President of Business Operations, Miami Marlins, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Chubb’s Ori Ben Yishai and Mary Parsons, Alan Dershowitz, Franklin Sirmans, Director, PAMM, with colleagues Jaime Bayo and Sharon Holm, Dr. Jill Deupi, Director, Lowe Art Museum, Dr. Victor Deupi, past President of the Cintas Foundation and current Professor at University of Miami, Jody H. Grass, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Boca Raton Museum of Art,  Shepard Fairey and his wife Amanda, Jason Newsted formerly of Metallica, ABH, Kara Ross of UNLEASHED, Beau Dunn, Mr. Brainwash, Bradley Theodore, and Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Gera Sneller.

On Thursday, December 6, Art Miami and Chef Daniel Boulud hosted a special four-course dinner with wine pairings at Boulud Sud Miami to celebrate the Art Miami 2018 Lifetime Visionary Awardrecipients Dennis and Debra Scholl. Jorge Pérez, who was named the inaugural recipient of the award, showed his support alongside his wife Darlene Pérez, as did Brooke Shields, David Kratz, President, New York Academy of Art, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary and his wife Linda, and Kara Ross. Nick Korniloff presented their award along with a check for $5,000 from the Perry J. Cohen Foundation to support the continuation of the Scholl lecture series at the Pérez Art Museum of Miami. 

Special projects at Art Miami included:

• The New York Academy of Art presented an exhibition curated by Academy Trustee Brooke Shields and President David Kratz of drawings, paintings and sculpture created by alumni of the Academy’s MFA program. On December 6, Ms. Shields and Mr. Kratz hosted a curator’s reception, and guests included Shepard Fairey, who purchased Rabbit, 2018 by alumna Susan Siegel. Attendees were served Jon Bon Jovi’s Hampton Water rosé wine. At the end of the fair, 32 of the 55 pieces were placed with collectors. Through major exhibitions, a robust lecture series and an ambitious educational program, the Academy serves as a creative and intellectual center for artists dedicated to highly skilled, conceptually aware figurative and representational art.
• Avant Mining and Interprospekt presented DeXtinction, an exhibition that brings the archaic and primordial into our postmodern present, highlighting the beauty and magnificence of Earth’s natural treasures. Pieces on display included artifacts and jewels from more than a hundred million years ago. A mother and juvenile Allosaur that are 120-million years old are available, as is an astonishingly well-preserved Dinosaur Egg Nest from the Cretaceous period, 75 million years ago. These amazing artifacts are offset by the dazzling beauty of hand-selected minerals and gems from the Zigras and Pohl collections. Avant Mining will feature sustainably and ethically mined quartz crystals, which are considered the finest in the world. Also featured is a 75-million-year-old Ammolite from Canada, which possesses a rare opalized surface displaying all colors in the light spectrum. Humanity’s collective actions drastically affect the fate of the planet, and this collection of ancient treasures symbolizes the unification we need now, while reconnecting us to the natural world.

• Christie’s International Real Estate, the world’s leading luxury network, was once again the main sponsor of the fair and hosted an interactive booth at Art Miami showcasing top properties from around the world, in conjunction with their top affiliates. christiesrealestate.com
• Chubb hosted an interactive on-site booth at the fair with contemporary artists, where a different artist created work each day to represent the theme of Protecting Your Passion. Artists included Mr. Brainwash, Udo Nöger, Cey Adams, Martin Tardy, Alonsa Guevara, and Al-Baseer Holly (ABH).
• UNLEASHED is a non-profit organization founded by jeweler and donor activist Kara Ross. UNLEASHED created an interactive augmented reality experience for Art Miami 2018 featuring one of the main subjects from the #ConnectingThread film series on Refinery29.com, celebrating entrepreneurship and creativity. unleashed-world.com
• JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts, the official luxury hotels of Art Miami, hosted a special exhibition in the hotel lobby of emerging and mid-career international talents in conjunction with the fair. Presented works included Frederico Uribe’s bullet shell animal sculptures, Giraffe, 2018 and Panda Bear, 2018 presented by Adelson Galleries of New York, as well as a selection of Alex Katz’s Shopper series, presented by Nikola Rukaj Gallery of Toronto, and four works from Avant Gallery, including Al-Baseer Holly (ABH)’s Put Me Back Together, 2018.
• Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) was once again the philanthropic benefactor of the VIP Previews for Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami. Pérez Art Museum Miami promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas.
• Gallery Wendi Norris and Art Miami were proud to collaborate in support of Mosaic Miami, a local non-profit arts community resource center located in Miami’s historic Little Haiti neighborhood. ArtMiami featured Drawn Below, a video by artist Ana Teresa Fernández. The partnership calls attention to this important intergenerational arts center so that patrons of the arts can help the venue continue its programming in this underserved community.
• Artsy.net was the official online partner of Art Miami, CONTEXT and Aqua. Collectors and art enthusiasts can use Artsy to browse exhibitor booths, make sales inquiries on available artworks, and access fair information online via Artsy.net and the Artsy app for iPhone and iPad. artsy.net
• Young At Art Museum presented an immersive art space for fairgoers’ children ages 6-12, based on YAA’s upcoming exhibition ArtCade. Once inside, kids had the opportunity to create digital artwork through hands-on projects led by educators from the Young At Art Institute and experience interactive artworks by contemporary artists.

Special projects at CONTEXT Art Miami included:

• CONTEXT Art Miami Special Presentations highlighted the work of multidisciplinary international artists that explore bold and responsive subjects. Through global conversation, the selected group examines contemporary issues with a unique voice. The group includes: Cecilia Paredes | The Light Gallery, Christian Voigt | Lucia Mendoza Galeria de Arte, Elio Rodriguez | 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, Eric Zener | Gallery Henoch, Estefanía Martín Saénz | Gema LLamazares Galeria, George Rouy | Anna Zorina Gallery, Kangi Connie Wang | Z Gallery, Lyle Owerko | Art Angels, Marcolina Dipierro | DS Projects, Maria Agureeva | Galerie Isabelle Lesmeister, Mario Soria | N2 Galería, Nikoleta Sekulovic | Rebecca Hossack Gallery, Rafa Macarrón| Galeria Casa Cuadrada, Susan Chrysler White | Kim Foster Gallery, Meredith Pardue | Laura Rathe Fine Art, Victor Ehikhamenor | Rele Gallery.
• CONTEXT Sculpture Park is a dynamic curated program of installations and sculptures by artists represented by CONTEXT’s 2018 exhibitors. The program offers experimental and innovative developments in contemporary sculpture throughout the fair’s public outside areas. The CONTEXT Pavilion displayed work from Kenor Romero presented by N2 Galería, Kim In Tae presented by Liquid art system, Stefan Yordanov presented by Retrospect Galleries. The CONTEXT Outside Public Area displayed work from Jimenez Deredia presented by Galería Alfredo Ginocchio, Julian Voss-Andreae presented by HOHMANN, KAI presented by Markowicz Fine Art, Kim In Tae presented by Liquid art system, and WhIsBe presented by Art Angels.
• CONTEXT Video is an energetic curated program for video art, experimental film, and moving image works by artists represented by 2018 exhibitors. The program presented a contemporary view on the medium and was shown within the main floor of the fair. Artists included Les Joynes, Ronen Sharabani, and Ange Leccia.
• CONTEXT Sound Positions started at the fair in 2014, and is a strong platform for the presentation of Sound Art in the fair editions in Miami and New York. This year’s Sound Positions was curated byContour Editions, creating an immersive and intimate experience for listening to works by emerging and established sound artists. The program is presented on the Fair’s main floor. Artists include Andy Graydon, Cecilia Lopez, and Merche Blasco. Find out more at contoureditions.com.

For the second consecutive year, Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami were held at the beautiful waterfront location of One Herald Plaza, nestled between the Venetian Causeway and MacArthur Causeway, just east of Biscayne Boulevard. The fairs offered an unprecedented level of convenience and a renewed connectivity to the activities and collectors on Miami Beach with accessible parking, a complimentary shuttle service between the fairs and JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts, and Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM.) In addition, Art Miami featured amenities that improved guests’ experience, and allowed them to spend an entire day at the fairs. There were six hospitality areas, including a waterfront café, an indoor café, outdoor dining space, a cocktail lounge, and an outside cocktail deck overlooking beautiful Biscayne Bay.

Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami hosted curated breakfasts, intimate cocktail receptions in the VIP lounge, and private tours for museum groups and professionals throughout the week, including the Pérez Art Museum Miami, The Bass Museum, Chubb, Cook Maran, Duke University Alumni, and Wesleyan University Alumni.

The 2018 VIP Preview Beneficiary was the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The 2018 Sponsors and Partners were: Christie’s International Real Estate, Chubb, Artsy.net, JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts Miami, Boulud Sud, Moët & Chandon Champagne, Resorts World Bimini, UNLEASHED, New York Academy of Art, ARTIKA,  Spuntino Catering, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, LaCroix Sparkling Water, Boca Raton Museum of Art, The Bass Museum, Independent Collectors, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA), Museum of Contemporary Art, Modern Luxury, Miami Herald, ArtNexus, Art Circuits, GMCVB, Selecta Magazine, Art Districts/ArtPulse, Art Hive, Art & Antiques, GRØSS Magazine, Create! Magazine, Palm Beach Illustrated, Art and Culture, and Quest.

______________________________________

Aqua Art Miami Celebrates 14^th Edition with Strongest Sales and Attendance to Date

Emerging Artists and Galleries Showcased Highly Sought-After Works at Aqua Hotel in Miami Beach

(MIAMI, FL – December 14, 2018) – Aqua Art Miami, a sister fair of Art Miami, marked an incredibly successful five-day event for their 14^th edition at the Aqua Hotel (1530 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139), which took place Wednesday, December 5 through Sunday, December 9, 2018.

This year, the fair reported impressive attendance and sales with more than 11,600 collectors, curators, art advisors, artists and museum professionals attending throughout the week, of which more than 4,500 attended the VIP Preview on December 5, 2018.

Grela Orihuela, Director of Aqua Art Miami, carefully curated a selection of 52 international galleries that highlighted 135 emerging and mid-career artists from 12 countries in the intimate exhibition rooms that open into the beautiful courtyard of the classic South Beach hotel.

Numerous galleries reported strong sales throughout the fair, with works by Tanner Lawley, Michael Albano, Valeria Krasavina and Elizabeth Guipe Hall proving to be in high demand. Aqua Art Miami continues to solidify itself as a unique fair with mass appeal for those looking to procure works by young, emerging and mid-career artists.

“Aqua gives young artists and galleries the opportunity to engage with an international group of collectors and an enthusiastic audience through Miami Art Week,” said Orihuela. “We curated an engaging variety of artists and galleries that show work by people who are thinking outside of the box and creating new art that pushes boundaries.”

Bridgette Mayer, Director of Bridgette Mayer Gallery, said, “We usually exhibit blue chip artworks, but this year I decided I wanted to show our primary contemporary art program of emerging and mid-career artists, and Aqua Art Miami was fantastic. Besides being a fun and lively crowd and environment, I found many of the attending art patrons excited to engage in, look at, and purchase emerging and known artists from around the world.”

Steven Cohen and Curtis Cox of The Parsons Close Project said, “We experienced an environment of creativity and inclusion in the art community at Aqua Art Miami that we would never have expected. It was profound for us. It is challenging at best for a pair of emerging artists to get our work out there for people to see and interact with, and Aqua launched us on a trajectory that we can only hope to live up to in the continued work we will aspire to produce in the coming months and years.”

Sale highlights included:

• BP PROJECT: MARYAM ALAKBARLI placed 13 paintings by Maryam Alakbarli from between 2012 and 2017 for a total of $34,000.
• Space 776 sold 31 works for a total of more than $16,000, including Nine’I’, 2018 and The plural of five concentric circles, 2017 by Mao Yo Wen, two untitled works from 2017 and 2018 by Jongmin Joy Kim, and 19 pieces from Elizabeth Guipe Hall’s Way finding series, 2017-2018.
• Gallery Quinze placed five pieces by David Ferreira, including three large works, for a total of $13,900 to one buyer, and another large piece for $5,100.
• Imlay Gallery placed four handwoven textiles cast in concrete works by Crystal Gregory, including Variation on a Theme 1 for $8,700, and four paintings by Heather Jones.
• The Lawley Art Group placed 16 pieces from Tanner Lawley’s personalized Loving You Series for a total of $7,525, as well This Heart of Gold, 2018 by Tanner Lawley for $7,500 and Luminosity, 2018 by Peter Skidd.
• Uncommon Beauty Gallery placed The pipeline equation, 2018 by Taher Jaoui for $7,000, Changing Experience, 2016 by Viktoria Sorochinski, Heartless, 2018 by Andrea Hurtarte, Mariana 2015 and HAPE,2018 by Evelyn Sosa, and Sitting blue, 2018 by Nina Klein.
• EXHIBIT A placed Sinuous 35, 2018, by Jeremy Holmes for $5,600, and The Squirrels – Green, 2018 by Angus M. Powers.
• The Parsons Close Project placed six pieces by Steven Cohen, including Gravity III, 2018 for $5,600, Whitehouse of Mirrors, 2018, Internal – External, 2018, Gravity I, Badia Cotobuono, 2012, digital print, andCuban Café, 2012, digital print, as well as 24 pieces of jewelry and two vases by Curtis Cox.
• Stella Ripley placed three paintings by Melisa Taylor Metzger, including in City and in Forest 23, 2018 for $5,000, Frost and Decimals, 2018 and Mangata, 2018, as well as Hot pink, 2018, Gold Pyrite, 2018, andElectric Blue Folds, 2018 by Chloe Hedden.
• Elizabeth Clement Contemporary placed several works from Michael Albano’s new black and white series, created especially for Aqua Art Miami, for more than $5,000 each, as well as John Guthrie’s Turn Me On, 2018 for approximately $5,000.
• Ben Gallery placed Untitled: The Little Girl, 2018 for $5,000, and Made in China no. 2, 2018, both by Pascal, and two works by Ben Chen – Fan wall No.06, 2017, and God’s Kiss No.2 (small), 2018.
• Alessandro Berni Gallery placed six pieces.
• ArtHelix Gallery/SHIM placed It’s a State of Mind, 2018 by Cabell Molina and Marco, 2018 by Matty Davis.
• belenmorenoSTUDIO placed the original painting MIAMI, 1984 by Janene Gentile and two limited edition prints from Andra Douglas’ Butchard Series, Ignited Summer and Double Dolly.
• Blackship placed nine Fine Frenchie prints by Valeria Krasavina from 2018, Not everything that shines is gold, 2018 by Keyser Siso, and one work by Marco Bracho from 2018.
• BoxHeart Gallery placed two pieces.
• Ceramic International Guild placed fourteen pieces.
• Gitter & Frascona placed two works by Michael Gitter and Alex Frascona: Blue Lagoon, 2018 and Seewater, 2018.
• John Sanchez Studio placed There She was Caffeine, 2018 and La Bodega Sketches by John Sanchez.
• reference: contemporary placed Fresh Prints (3 pieces) by Kal Mansur from 2018.
• RW Art placed 35 pieces.
• Skip Hartzell Gallery placed six of Skip Hartzell’s dog works, including four sculptures, one scarf and one small-format painting, all from 2018.
• STEPHEN WILSON placed three pieces.
• Wynwood 28 | Art Gallery placed Juan Del Balso’s Escapando, 2018.

At the fair entrance, viewers came upon InkMinx Mobile Tattoo Tent by artist Shanzey Afzal, presented by ArtHelix Gallery/SHIM Network. Afzal identifies as the only trained and certified female Muslim tattoo artist in the United States. Brazilian-American graphic performance artist Claudia Vieira wrapped the hotel’s outer wall and entrance with a continuous line of black vinyl tape to create a “living” drawing. As part of the social hub, American photographer Angela Strassheim offered digital and Polaroid portraits to fairgoers.

On the upper balcony of the fair, Katarra Peterson offered a modern interpretation of the Rapunzel fairy tale with her Uppity hair braiding project, also presented by ArtHelix Gallery/SHIM Network. Visitors helped her weave lengths of braided hair into a rope, and the artist provided her “assistants” with crystal ball and palm readings, general wisdom, and spiritual consulting.

The SHIM Video Collective launched its inaugural exhibition in the hotel lobby, featuring an international group of emerging and established video artists, hand selected by a panel of video curators. The presentation included pieces from X-Film Femmes, the global video art collective dedicated to presenting new works from budding and recognized experimental female filmmakers. Represented in the XFF screenings were filmmakers Taimi Nevaluoma, Dorottya Szalay, Gabriela Gaia Meirelles, Bonnie Rychlak, and more. Multimedia performance artist Bea Pernia, presented by Blackship, provided a lively soundtrack on the evening of the VIP Preview.

Aqua Art Miami also hosted a selection of curated special projects and enchanting performance pieces throughout its duration:

• Steven Cohen and Curtis Cox, the longtime lighting and production directors for the biggest names in music, made their artistic debut as a collaborative presentation known as The Parsons Close Project,which featured Cohen’s paintings and assemblies, and Cox’s ceramics and jewelry.
• Military veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shared their stories with New York-based artist Susan J. Barron, who honored them through her large-scale mixed-media portraits inDepicting the Invisible: A Portrait Series of Veterans Suffering from PTSD, presented by HG Contemporary. Barron’s work shines a spotlight on thirteen American veterans who have survived the trauma of war or terrorism. The artist’s oversized black-and-white photographic portraits are painted with the subjects’ stories, in their own words.

• 

   

  Kevin Berlin hosted a discussion on the Worldwide Premiere of HOPE DIES LAST 2 – New Works of the Russian Ballet. Berlin’s paintings focus on the interior and secret lives of ballet dancers – depicting their hidden thoughts in sensual, mostly black and white paintings, sculpture, and works on paper.

• A book signing and cocktail reception was held with mixed-media artist Stephen Wilson, best known for his artistic explorations in embroidery work, supplemented with cutting-edge modern technologies, like laser cutting and 3D printing. High fashion influences are prevalent in his work, expressed through his use of designer-branded packaging and luxury fabrics including Hermès silk, Chanel wool, and limited-edition Gucci boxes. The artist signed copies of his new book, Stephen Wilson: Luscious Threads, available from Scala Arts and Heritage Publishers.