Thursday, January 20, 2011

VIP Art Fair

 The world is getting smaller every day, in almost every way. The VIP Art Fair is exacerbating this trend with leaps and bounds. Consider the possibilities of collectors, artists, students, curators, dealers and gallery owners coming together in one place (albeit a plasmic space of digital reality) to celebrate, view and connect about contemporary art.
 Art fairs have a long history of effectively creating communities who are able to connect about visual arts and other artistic endeavours. Perhaps this is the new wave of internet-integration of so many elements of our lives. The ease and advantage here is that one can attend the VIP Art Fair in the privacy of their own home, but still have the capacity to make human connections. 
  James Cohan, co-founder of VIP Art Fair in collaboration with Jane Cohan, Jonas Almgren and Alessandra Almgren was quoted on Artdaily.com, explaining further: “For anyone passionate about art, the Fair is a transformative experience: it delivers all the excitement of world-class art fairs with the convenience and personalization of the Internet. We’ve invited the most prestigious international galleries, both established and emerging, to come together for an online event, creating a virtual community that will allow collectors, curators and the public to access distinguished galleries and learn about their artists, all with unparalleled ease and absolute discretion.”
 This "unparalleled" ease and access to works is made available by advanced video and photographic technological access to works housed within the participating galleries, which are internationally located. Additionally collectors are able to connect with gallery owners and artists with a chat feature, and video conferencing in an inagural round-the-world event.



 The internet-access art fair is free to the public, requiring registration for participation, and a fee for advanced interactive elements such as video conferencing. Early registration is strongly encouraged, and can be done at the VIP Art Fair homepage. Participating galleries include David Zwirner, Galerie Max Hetzler, White Cube, Gagosian Gallery, Gallery Kovanagi, Hauser and Wirth, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Xavier Hufkens, Fraenkel Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ, Gallery Hyundai, James Cohan Gallery, and many others. These galleries represent many major contemporary artists from around the globe.
 The VIP Art Fair opens January 22 and runs through 30 January, 2011.

3 comments:

  1. So fascinating. I loved learning more about what's happening in the art/business world from Warren Winegar's visit. I watched the video and was fascinated by all the tools that we have now. But still, I feel that we are losing something tragic in the one-on-one, in-person interaction with the artwork. It is all so much more accessible but at the same time more easily consumable. I just feel that the marketing medium doesn't mirror the production process or objective, which for me is a key aspect of the value of the work.

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  2. Kalisha- I totally agree. I think there's a lot to be said for physical presence and actual human interaction. I think that physicality is a vital element of most art.

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