AMSTERDAM.- Described by The Guardian as “jampacked with genius”, the third edition of Unseen closed its doors last night with participating gallerists, collectors and critics praising the top-quality work on display, the celebration of world premieres and the high numbers of attending international visitors.

NEW PHOTOGRAPHY
Fifty-three international galleries attended Unseen Photo Fair 2014, including Flowers Gallery (UK), The Empire Project (TR), East Wing (QA) and Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire (FR), and newcomers Galerie Nicola Von Senger (CH), Galerie van der Mieden (BE) and KANA KAWANISHI (JP). Galleries embraced the Unseen concept and presented an impressive array of new photography. As TIME LightBox said, “Unseen Photo Fair…is for its third year unveiling a cache of new work to the art world that not only promises to be unusual and enlightening but backs up its claim to promote groundbreaking new work.”

The new Unseen Premieres were a particular success. More than 60 bodies of work made their debut at Unseen 2014. Presentations by premiering artists including Inka Lindergård (b. 1985, Finland) and Niclas Holmström (b. 1984, Sweden), Dana Lixenberg (b. 1984, Netherlands) and Misha de Ridder (b. 1971, Netherlands) were well attended by an interested audience. As Bernadine Bröcker of Apollo Magazine commented, “The atmosphere at the fair is infectious: photography is exciting, inclusive, disruptive and fun.”

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
Unseen was attended by large numbers of international visitors and eager buyers. Robert Morat of Robert Morat Galerie (DE) said, “What is striking this year is how the audience has grown to be knowledgeable, interested and well informed.” There was a greater influx of top international visiting groups including the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Photographs Acquisition Group, Friends of the Kunsthalle Hamburg, Patrons of The Photographers’ Gallery, and a number of Amsterdam-based groups including Patrons of the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum and Rijksakademie. Chris Littlewood of Flowers Gallery said, "We have had good sales with several collectors coming here for the first time; they really enjoyed the atmosphere!" Charlie Fellowes of Edel Assanti (UK) commented, “Unseen continues to go from strength to strength, with good international attendance and noticeably more Dutch collectors than in previous years.”

UNIQUE COLLABORATION WITH LORENZO VITTURI
The large-scale installation that completed the Unseen Festival Square was the result of a prolific collaboration between Unseen and award-winning Italian photographer Lorenzo Vitturi (b. 1980). Vitturi’s installation was described by The Guardian’s Sean O’ Hagan as “the symbol of this year’s Unseen, which undercuts the commerciality of most art-photography fairs with moments of high mischief.” For the first time, Unseen offered limited-edition prints on sale from the campaign project. Strong sales of Vitturi’s work were also reported by the two galleries that represented him at Unseen Photo Fair, Flowers Gallery (UK) and Kahmann Gallery (NL).

AWARD WINNERS
German photographer Regine Petersen (b. 1976), represented by Galerie Jo van de Loo (DE) and East Wing (QA), was the recipient of the 2014 Outset | Unseen Exhibition Fund. Selected by a curatorial committee comprising of Ann-Christin Bertrand (Curator at C/O Berlin), Matthew Leifheit (Photo Editor at VICE) and Shoair Mavlian (Assistant Curator at Tate Modern), Petersen will have a solo exhibition at Foam 3h at the start of 2015. Dutch photographer Anne Geene (b. 1983) is the recipient of the New Talent Photography Award of ING Private Banking. The recipient of the Unseen Dummy Award 2014 was Swiss artist Simon Rimaz (b. 1987), with Unusal View of Unknown Subjects. Rimaz's book will be published by Lecturis and presented at Unseen 2015.

UNSEEN MAGAZINE
The Unseen Magazine, much more than a fair catalogue, was well received by Unseen visitors, providing insights into the works of artists, trends in the world of contemporary photography and the photography art market. “Read the magazine beforehand and enjoy the fair with all of the insights you have gathered,” said Merel Bem in the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.

GALLERY COMMENTS
Sawako Fukai of G/P Gallery (JP): "I am very happy with the fair, this is a special year for us because we also organised an exhibition on the festival site which went very well. We have sold many works for each artist we have brought."

Tom Woo of HADA Contemporary (UK) (exhibiting for the first time): "We are very, very happy with Unseen. We have met a lot of new clients whom were very enthusiastic. We have also made very good sales. The quality control of the fair by the organisation is excellent, and it is the quality that brings the people in. If I were a collector I would come here. Unseen has made a clear mark in its own niche and I hope that it will continue to grow and grow."

Kerimcan Güleryüz at The Empire Project (TR): "I am really happy with the attendance; the visitors have been very engaged. This has been my favourite fair from the very first edition."

Dorothee Nilsson of Grundemark Nilsson Gallery (DE) (exhibiting for the first time): "Unseen has been much better than anticipated. The guided tours and the collector's lunch for the VIPs were all really good, bringing in new collectors."

Robert Morat of Robert Morat Galerie (DE): “Unseen is like a homecoming to me.”