UNTITLED 2013 Reports Record Attendance And Sales During Art Basel Miami

UNTITLED

UNTITLED. one of the better satellite fairs taking place last week during Art Basel Miami week drew to a close on Sunday, with strong sales and attendance figures, throughout the five-day event. More than 18,000 visitors including major collectors and curators attended to view booth installations and purchase from over 90 international galleries and not-for-profit spaces, curated under the direction of Artistic Director and Curator Omar Lopez-Chahoud. Visitors and exhibitors enjoyed the fair’s pavilion designed by architecture firm K/R with its spacious layout, abundant natural light and prime location on the beach.

UNTITLED. began with an extremely well-attended private preview and benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Marina Abramovic Institute, hosted by Marina Abramovic , on Monday night. More than 1,800 guests attended including notable figures in the art world such as art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso; collectors Beth Rudin DeWoody, Norah and Norman Stone; New York gallerist Sean Kelly; independent curators Clarissa Dalrymple and Neville Wakefield; and Andy Warhol Museum’s Executive Director, Eric Shiner among many others. Over a third of the limited edition prints by Marina Abramovic were sold during Monday evening’s benefit and sales increased throughout the fair. (see top photo)

A steady flow of visitors continued through the last day of UNTITLED., including art world figures such as Ian Berry of the Tang Museum, Chrisse Isles from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Mary Ceruti of the Sculpture Center, Bill Arning of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Irene Hoffman of SITE Santa Fe, José Roca of Tate Modern, Christian Rattemeyer of The Museum of Modern Art , Patrick Charpenel of Fundación Jumex, Holly Block of The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Pablo León de la Barra of the Guggenheim Museum, Tobias Ostrander of Pérez Art Museum Miami, Franklin Sirmans of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, amongst others. Collectors highlights include Susan and Michael Hort, and Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown.

“The second edition of UNTITLED. has been an enormous success, so much so that exhibitors and visitors doubled this year. Our curatorial approach and the open floor plan really stood out to visitors. This year we have expanded to include more international galleries, with many coming from Latin America including Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Brazil,” said Jeffrey M. Lawson, Founder and Director of UNTITLED.

Exhibitors were delighted by the high volume of new and familiar clients alike who visited the fair over the course of five days. Significant sales were made throughout the fair. Among the most notable were paintings by Ryan Mosely (from $7,500 – $40,000) and sculptures by Malia Jensen (from $4,000 – $24,000) at Tierney Gardarin from New York; a work by Luis Felipe Ortega for $20,000 at Marso from Mexico City; and all mixed media tapestries by Ebony G. Patterson for $18,000 at moniquemeloche from Chicago. Strong sales were reported by Dodge Gallery from New York with works by Cordy Ryman; Dittrich & Schlechtriem from Berlin selling works by Julian Charriére and the doctored family photos by Zach Nader at Brooklyn based Microscope Gallery,who sold a number of works. There was also museum interest in a major optical installation on Balzer Art Projects’ booth.

Galleries participating at UNTITLED. for the first time were off to a terrific start including UK based Vigo which sold out its booth of all existing works by Ayan Farah and strong sales at New York gallery Kravets/Wehby. Samsøn from Boston also reported steady sales throughout the fair. Royale Projects: Contemporary Art from Palm Desert, CA nearly sold out its entire booth of works from Joshua Callaghan, Karen Lofgren, David Allan Peters and Phillip K. Smith IIII.  Luis de Jesus Los Angeles sold multiple works on paper by Margie Livingston and Chris Engman. Romer Young from San Francisco sold all of its works by Letha Wilsons, while Michael Jon from Miami now has a waiting list for Sayre Gomez. Emerson Dorsch from Miami also sold multiple videos by Victoria Fu, whose work will be exhibited in the upcoming Whitney Biennial. Additional sales include large scale paintings by Halsey Hathaway and Ben Berlow at Rawson Projects of Brooklyn, NY; and Richard Hull’s crayon drawings and Elijah Burgher’s drop cloth paintings to private collectors from Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago, at Western Exhibitions of Chicago.

Galleries that have returned to UNTITLED. for the second edition also reported healthy sales such as Buenos Aires gallerist Nora Fisch who sold work by Amadeo Azar to a major private collection in Miami, and Andrew Rafacz from Chicago nearly sold all works by Robert Burnier and Naza Farin Lotfi. Halsey McKay Gallery from East Hampton, NY sold a large sculpture by Graham Collins to a public collection in Montreal for $20,000.

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