FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MASSIVE CROWDS AND PLEASED EXHIBITORS AT ART CHICAGO & NEXT 2010
Chicago, May 13, 2010 – Art Chicago and NEXT welcomed nearly 50,000 visitors again this year as exhibitors reported steady sales. The two fine art fairs once again brought together curators, collectors and art enthusiasts from around the world to Chicago. “We are proud of our extensive arts programming, our cultural partnerships, the highlight sales and for the overall attendance which made for a great fair experience,” noted Tony Karman, vice president of Art Chicago, The International Fair of Contemporary and Modern Art. “The fairs have benefited greatly from the palpable return of confidence that had been lacking in the art world for the past couple of years and we look forward to building on this optimism as we prepare for next year.”
“It’s been a very successful fair. We appreciate the fact that Art Chicago has a broad view towards the art world, there’s a nice representation of what is going right now,” said Sergio Cernuda of Cernuda Arte, Coral Gables. “We are very pleased with the reception of our program in the city.”
“Art Chicago has continued to evolve,” said Jonathan Novak of Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. “I was pleased with this year's attendance as well as the sales.”
“It’s good to be here in Chicago,” said Martin Friedrichs of Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York. “We sold one substantial Motherwell, some American modernist pieces – one promised to a museum – and we made some good new contacts.”
Chicago gallerists also benefited from their presence at Art Chicago. “A collector from Paris who saw a piece by Angelo Musco in the booth bought out the entire show in the gallery,” enthused local dealer Carrie Secrist.
A few floors below Art Chicago, NEXT, The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, was also abuzz with visitors and sales. “This is my first year at the helm of the fair and it was gratifying to utilize my experience as an exhibitor,” said Ken Tyburski, Curatorial Director of NEXT. “My participation in the previous two editions gave me the ideal perspective on how to continue making NEXT such an effective venue for emerging galleries.”
“It was fantastic,” said Marissa Sage of Like The Spice, Brooklyn. “We met some great collectors we had wanted to meet, and we sold well!”
Christina Ray of Christina Ray, New York, concurred. “We enjoyed the fair as a whole. We have other friends taking part, and everyone is very positive about the experience. We hope to be back next year.”
“We’re very happy with the fair,” said Walter Maciel of Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles. “Coming from California, NEXT gives us the opportunity to touch base with a lot of Midwestern collectors, not just Chicago but also St. Louis, Kansas City, etc.”
“It’s our first time at NEXT and it’s been a very good experience,” said Andres Basurto of antena, Mexico City. “We’ve had a lot of good response, made many contacts and some important sales, and we definitely want to come back next year.”
“Our efforts to position the match of Art Chicago/NEXT as a requisite stop on the art calendar are succeeding,” noted Paul Morris, vice president of MMPI art fairs and co-founder of The Armory Show. “An impressive number of curators from regional and national art institutions attended, and we are thrilled by the support we received from Chicago’s institutions.”
ABOUT THE MMPI ART GROUP: MMPI is committed to the continued development and enhancement of its participation in the art world by bringing together some of the top minds in art fairs under one partnership. The MMPI family of art fairs includes The Armory Show, Art Chicago, Art Toronto, VOLTA, VOLTA NY and NEXT.
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Media Contact
Giovanni Garcia-Fenech
Director of Public Relations / MMPI art fairs
646.616.7433
ggarcia@mmart.com
