NEW YORK, NY.- ArtHamptons concluded its 8th edition over 4th of July weekend, reporting massive attendance and record sales. With new dates and a new location in Bridgehampton, the Hamptons’ longest running fair demonstrated its strength as a leading modern and contemporary art fair, drawing crowds of roughly 12,000 attendees over the course of July 2-5, 2015. A record 5,000 attendees visited on July 4th alone, a promising indicator that the fair’s date change proved to be a welcome addition to the holiday weekend’s activities, and establishing the fair as the cultural highlight of the most popular summer weekend in the Hamptons. ArtHamptons 2015 closed on a high note Sunday, with the majority of exhibitors reporting robust sales, and a final sunny day illuminating the luxurious fair location behind the hedges on private estate grounds amongst some of the most exclusive real estate the East End has to offer.
Founder and Director of ArtHamptons, Rick Friedman, shared his sentiments about the success of this year’s fair:
"Our July 4the attendance set a fair record for single day attendance and gate sales, as nearly 5,000 guests streamed through the aisles and enthusiastically poured into the booths, making us their cultural highlight for the holiday weekend. I am honored that so many national and international visitors and local Hamptonites carved out a portion of July 4th to spend with us.”
Ultimately, ArtHamptons demonstrated sustained interest and high activity for art collecting in the Hamptons. Nearly 75% of the 67 international exhibitors reported strong sales activity, citing acquisitions by prominent New York collectors. Exhibitors were also impressed by sightings of influential institutional representatives, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, and Guild Hall, in attendance, as well as 55th Governor of New York, David Paterson.
“I’ve found the collectors here to be most decisive buyers,” stated Vanessa Axelrad, Assistant Director of first time exhibitor at ArtHamptons, Gallery 133. “They see what they like and they walk out with it, but they are also incredibly educated in art, asking a lot of technical questions about our artist’s work. It’s been an amazing experience.” The Toronto, Canada based gallery lamented only bringing 2 pieces by Neil Young, which quickly sold, but indicated 11 new commissions received from the weekend alone for the Canadian contemporary mixed-media artist. The gallery also had tremendous success with the photorealistic paintings of Samantha Sandbrook.
The perspective of local exhibitors was no less enthusiastic, with Nina Frand, Director of the Bridgehamtpon gallery, Counterpoint Contemporary Fine Art, reporting sales from their booth and proclaiming, “We’re very pleased. There’s been tremendous activity and interest!”
A veteran exhibitor at the fair, June Kelly Gallery, of New York, NY sold a major sculpture by Claudia DeMonte to a prominent New York collector of women artists. Ms. Kelly also reported new interest generated and pending sales for the work of Stan Brodsky, one of Long Island’s leading local artists and the ArtHamptons 2015 Honorary Artist, whom the gallery has represented for nearly 20 year and presented a 50-Year Retrospective of at the fair.
Bruce Lurie Gallery of Culver City, CA, a longtime exhibitor at ArtHamptons, saw continued success at the fair, selling multiple works by Justin Lyons, Nelson De La Nuez and Michael Suchta, each. Thomas Paul Fine Art of Woodland Hills, CA, reported sales of paintings by Michael Goldberg, Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell. Contempop Expressions Galleries of Tel Aviv, Israel, saw strong interest for Bob Tabor’s photography, placing numerous large format photographs with local collectors. Envie d’art of Paris and London, reported numerous sales of work by two photographers, Patrick Smith and Cecile Plaisance, and the painter, Michelle Williams.
Adding to the luxury experience of the fair, Participating Partner Tesla Motors was onsite, performing over 75 test drives of the 2015 Model S P85D over the course of the weekend and Gold Sponsors Sotheby’s International Realty and Heritage Auctions were also present, with the auction house showcasing an array of rare, non-art collectables and selling an $18,000 Hermès Birkin bag. The Roche Bobois designed VIP indoor/outdoor lounge established a colorful, dynamic setting for much of the fair’s special events and programming.
ArtHamptons and founder Rick Friedman have demonstrated a long standing spirit of philanthropy, and this year was no exception. The fair coordinated events benefitting 4 charities including Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, Southampton Cultural Center, and the First Look Opening Night Preview fundraiser to benefit Guild Hall and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. Director Rick Friedman himself presented Samuel Waxman, M.D. with $10,000 for his foundation in a short ceremony on Opening Night, recognizing the doctor’s achievements. The 40,000 square foot ArtHamptons tent commissioned for the fair, will also be donated next week to Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation to facilitate their annual fundraiser, all acts in paying it forward to the Hamptons community that has long championed their original fine art fair.
