Superfine! DC opens tonight at Dock 5 at Union Market on Halloween night.
All the details of the fair here!
LOCATION
Union Market
1309 5th Street Northeast
Dock 5 Event Space
Washington, DC 20002 MAP
I asked Alex Mitow, Director of Superfine! a few questions about the fair, DC and the DMV art scene:
What were your "lessons learned" from the inaugural DC art fair?
To be frank, I think the biggest lesson learned was a really positive one. We always had high hopes and expectations for DC as a market for the kind of art collecting experience we provide, but we were blown away by how excited and supportive the overall DC community was. We and our exhibitors learned not to pre-judge a city's taste in art and to really challenge the local market in terms of content, since a lot of works that veered towards risqué and very, very contemporary sold extremely well at last year's fair. DC's taste in art is as diverse as the city itself.
How many returning galleries and artists do you have in the second iteration of the DC art fair?
Around 40% of 2018 galleries and artists returned for 2019 and based on early renewal rates we're expecting 60-80% renewal for 2020. We expect booths at the 2020 fair to be nearly sold out by the end of 2019's fair. There are a lot of our favorites from 2018 who couldn't participate this year due to travel or other obligations, but will be returning in 2020.
The Greater Washington DC area (known locally as "the DMV - for District, Maryland, Virginia") has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world, and a vibrant local art scene complimented by a terrific museum presence, and yet commercial art galleries and artists struggle to survive. As you acquire lessons and experiences in various cities doing the art fairs, what is your take on what's the "missing" part in the DMV art scene?
Honestly, we agree 100% with you on DC as a city that has the wealth, income, and interest to support a vibrant art scene. DC is a very viable market that's been overlooked by the big fairs. As I mentioned, our educated bet on DC last year paid off and we've doubled down on our investment into the city and the fair, which is our top-producing fair in the United States, by not only adding to the number of exhibitors but also bulking up our programming for this year's fair to include Superfine! X - an installation program featuring DC artist District Dodger, along with curated experiential works by artists selected by Philadelphia's Paradigm Gallery, and an interactive WunderCube co-designed by Sean Christopher Ward, one of our most frequent exhibiting artists (he hails from Wichita.) Hearkening back to my earlier point, I really think a key is not underestimating the diversity of potential collectors and their tastes in a city as vibrant as DC. We are also huge proponents of a transparent and inclusive art market which is something that I believe all of our exhibitors share with us, and even from what I've seen over the past year there have been a ton of amazing things going on in DC that share and promote our values -- with results that follow.
Can you highlight three exhibitors at the 2019 fair?
I'm always thrilled to work with Nina O'Neill at Monochrome Collective. She's done some amazing projects of her own in DC this year and is a fierce artist advocate (with great fashion sense to boot!) and I'm looking forward to her booth this year, which is focused on sculpture -- primarily by DMV artists including Gary Kret, Stefanie Lifshutz, Monroe Isenberg, and Michael West.
Scott Hutchison is another returning DMV artist, and I'm unabashedly in love with his surreal compositions. Lastly, New York artists Chloe Cockburn and her husband Marc Scheff are presenting a duo booth in DC's fair. They're a valued part of the Superfine! family and Marc also created a unique archival print that'll be gifted to our early bird Master Pass buyers. It's really neat how Superfine! has begun to turn into a family affair - we also have a mother and daughter sharing a booth (Phoebe and Caralena Paterson) and I'm excited to see how their unique styles play off of each other.
All the details of the fair here!
LOCATION
Union Market
1309 5th Street Northeast
Dock 5 Event Space
Washington, DC 20002 MAP
I asked Alex Mitow, Director of Superfine! a few questions about the fair, DC and the DMV art scene:
What were your "lessons learned" from the inaugural DC art fair?
To be frank, I think the biggest lesson learned was a really positive one. We always had high hopes and expectations for DC as a market for the kind of art collecting experience we provide, but we were blown away by how excited and supportive the overall DC community was. We and our exhibitors learned not to pre-judge a city's taste in art and to really challenge the local market in terms of content, since a lot of works that veered towards risqué and very, very contemporary sold extremely well at last year's fair. DC's taste in art is as diverse as the city itself.
How many returning galleries and artists do you have in the second iteration of the DC art fair?
Around 40% of 2018 galleries and artists returned for 2019 and based on early renewal rates we're expecting 60-80% renewal for 2020. We expect booths at the 2020 fair to be nearly sold out by the end of 2019's fair. There are a lot of our favorites from 2018 who couldn't participate this year due to travel or other obligations, but will be returning in 2020.
The Greater Washington DC area (known locally as "the DMV - for District, Maryland, Virginia") has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world, and a vibrant local art scene complimented by a terrific museum presence, and yet commercial art galleries and artists struggle to survive. As you acquire lessons and experiences in various cities doing the art fairs, what is your take on what's the "missing" part in the DMV art scene?
Honestly, we agree 100% with you on DC as a city that has the wealth, income, and interest to support a vibrant art scene. DC is a very viable market that's been overlooked by the big fairs. As I mentioned, our educated bet on DC last year paid off and we've doubled down on our investment into the city and the fair, which is our top-producing fair in the United States, by not only adding to the number of exhibitors but also bulking up our programming for this year's fair to include Superfine! X - an installation program featuring DC artist District Dodger, along with curated experiential works by artists selected by Philadelphia's Paradigm Gallery, and an interactive WunderCube co-designed by Sean Christopher Ward, one of our most frequent exhibiting artists (he hails from Wichita.) Hearkening back to my earlier point, I really think a key is not underestimating the diversity of potential collectors and their tastes in a city as vibrant as DC. We are also huge proponents of a transparent and inclusive art market which is something that I believe all of our exhibitors share with us, and even from what I've seen over the past year there have been a ton of amazing things going on in DC that share and promote our values -- with results that follow.
Can you highlight three exhibitors at the 2019 fair?
I'm always thrilled to work with Nina O'Neill at Monochrome Collective. She's done some amazing projects of her own in DC this year and is a fierce artist advocate (with great fashion sense to boot!) and I'm looking forward to her booth this year, which is focused on sculpture -- primarily by DMV artists including Gary Kret, Stefanie Lifshutz, Monroe Isenberg, and Michael West.
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Reach Beyond by Scott Hutchison
17.5 x 29"
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