UNTITLED, ART Closes with Solid Sales and Sold Out Booths, Emmanuel Van der Auwera wins Otazu Art Prize and other Highlights

Tuesday’s VIP and Press Preview brought the highest attendance since its inaugural edition in 2012, with 7,000 in attendance. Strong sales were reported to both familiar and new faces, private collections, and institutions. Numerous exhibitors reported sold out booths, including first-time exhibitors Latchkey Gallery (Damien Davis), Harper’s Books (Marcus Brutus and Spencer Lewis), Moskowitz Bayse (Eleanor Swordy), as well as returning participants Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery (Jose Parla), Fort Gansevoort (Zoya Cherkassy) and The Hole (Jonathan Chapline). Attendance for the run of the fair was markedly increased, with more than 45,000 visitors overall.

“It was a very successful fair. We sold out all our works by Jenna Gribbon, Jocelyn Hobbie, and Zak Smith and multiple works by John Wesley and Cristina De Miguel.” – Andrew Freiser, Fredericks Freiser Gallery. The energy was such that first-time exhibitor, James Danziger, owner of Danziger Gallery, was moved to remark that Tuesday’s preview was their “best opening day in any fair in Miami in ten years.”

INSTITUTIONAL ACQUSITIONS

Shulamit Nazarian had sales of Amir H. Fallah to The McEvoy Collection, San Francisco, an installation by Wendy White to the Taguchi Art Collection, Tokyo, and one painting each by Summer Wheat and Amir H. Fallah to Jorge Pérez as promised gifts to PAMM. Fallah was also popular at Denny Dimin Gallery, which sold five major paintings to international collectors. Fridman Gallery confirmed four separate museum acquisitions of hand-sculpted prints by Nate Lewis.

San Francisco-based exhibitor David Spalding of Haines Gallery remarked, “The positive response at UNTITLED, ART to the work of Marco Castillo–the Los Carpinteros co-founder’s first solo presentation at a fair–has been deeply validating, with strong sales and new relationships with collectors.”

STRONG SHOWING AMONG AFRICAN AND LATIN AMERICAN ARTISTS

Works by African artists had a strong showing: Ghanaian painter Patrick Quarm sold out at albertz benda during the preview, and Claire Oliver Gallery sold over 30 works on paper by Nigerian artist Adebunmi Gbadebo. Ilkenna Malbert, Gallery Manager at Addis Fine Art, a first-time exhibitor from Ethiopia presenting a solo booth of Tariku Shiferaw remarked, “UNTITLED, ART provided the gallery with an opportunity to interact with a fresh index of collectors and the curatorial practice behind the fair upheld a high quality of presentations throughout the fair. Of the fairs we have exhibited in, this is our favorite.”

A new exhibitor, SGR Galeria from Bogota, sold works by Paulo Licona, Luciano Denver, and Juan Uribe. Mexico City based-Galería Enrique Guerrero sold a large, multi-canvas painting by Isauro Huizer, Portas Vilaseca Galeria sold works by the PIPA Prize-nominated, Brazilian artist Iris Helena and Lima-based Ginsberg Gallery sold multiple works by Wynne Minerva, who was awarded the Fountainhead Residency this year.

“For the third year in a row, we had fantastic success at Untitled Miami Beach topped by 20 sales of South African artist Zanele Muholi’s work, many to new buyers following Muholi’s strong presence at the Venice Biennale and upcoming solo exhibition at the Tate Modern. There was also tremendous activity with Mickalene Thomas, who opened an exhibition at the Bass Museum concurrent with our presentation of her new work at the fair. In addition, there were sales of gallery artists Ori Gersht, Rachel Perry and Sharon Core, with follow up sales ongoing. We saw strong sales throughout the fair, with our best days being Tuesday and, surprisingly, Sunday.” – Yancey Richardson, Yancey Richardson Gallery

SCULPTURE SALES HIGHLIGHTS
At ross+kramer gallery, 50 small ($9,000 – $13,000) and large ($50,000) En Iwamura ceramic heads sold out. James Harris Gallery sold a Tony Feher sculpture for $55,000 and Eduardo Secci Gallery sold a large Richard Dupont figure sculpture for $350,000.

UNTITLED, ART’s 2019 Otazu Art Prize, was awarded to Emmanuel Van der Auwera for his work titled VideoSculpture XXI (Vegas), 2019, presented by Belgium-based Harlan Levey Projects. The artist will also design a label for a new special-edition wine that will be showcased at the 2020 edition of UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach. “Emmanuel’s work often applies documentary, fictional, and deconstructive approaches to investigate how we interact with the intersection between the digital and physical realms. He is one of the brightest individuals I have ever met. I want to extend my sincere thanks to UNTITLED and the Otazu Foundation for developing this wonderful initiative to promote emerging artists.” – Harlan Levey, Harlan Levey Projects

SUCCESS AMONG AMBITIOUS PRESENTATIONS

Los Angeles-based NINO MIER presented a special “exercise your right to vote” booth that pitted the works of married painters Jana Schroder and Andreas Breunig against one another. Visitors to the booth cast votes on their preference and the periodic tally resulted in rehangs of the gallery’s presentation throughout the fair. After one day, the gallery had sold five paintings between the two artists at $24,000 per painting. UK-based Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery presented a plant-filled booth that became a hit with visitors on Instagram, and the gallery sold nine large paintings by Audun Alvestad at $12,000.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles sold Federico Solmi’s animated work American Circus to a European collector for $38,000. American Circus was featured as the Times Square midnight moment during July of this year. BEERS London sold 16 of 17 paintings by Andrew Salgado. Galerie Lisa Kandlhofer sold a large Greer Patterson painting at around $20,000, Il Chiostro sold a conceptual work by Maco Di Giovanni for $17,500, Sapar Contemporary sold three of four Marela Zacarias wall sculptures at $7,000-$18,000 each and Six historical works by Monika Buch sold at Spanish exhibitor Galería Rafael Ortiz. 

UNTITLED, ART 2019 SPECIAL PROJECTS SALES

Upon entering the fair, visitors quickly encountered a special section of works by 89-year-old, Everglades-based artist Dick Jay, curated by Jordan Stein. The salon-style presentation of works painted on Plantation Island represents the first public showing of Jay’s work. Five paintings were purchased, marking the first sales in the artist’s career.

Catharine Clark Gallery, of San Francisco, confirmed the sale of Deborah Oropallo and Andy Rappaport’s nine-channel video installation FLIGHT, which was conceptualized as a site-specific special project for UNTITLED, ART Miami Beach, as well as Phantom Flag by Stephanie Syjuco to 21c Museum Hotels.

UNTITLED, ART also launched Monuments, a new initiative that focuses on bringing large-scale, site-specific installations to the public in front of the pavilion. Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares, presented by Luis de Jesus Los Angeles, installed 16 different national flags on a motorized chain and steel platform for a kinetic sculpture titled it is not down on any map; true places never are.

The Facebook Art Department considered the impact of sea-level rise in an interactive installation titled Futurescape Miami: Skyline to Shoreline. The installation featured artists Brandon Ballengée, Cody Blocker, Thom Wheeler Castillo, Xavier Cortada, Misael Soto, Hughen/Starkweather, Jay Nelson, and Pekka Niittyvirta + Tim Aho.

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR UNTITLED, ART MIAMI BEACH 2019

“UNTITLED is the new NADA. At the former, the quality seems to improve from fair to fair”.
artnet News, Kenny Schacter

“A collector I talked to midweek – one who, as far as I can tell, had no incentive to snow me– was disappointed that everything he saw at the opening of UNTITLED, Art on Tuesday was sold out when he came back the next day.”
artnet News, Tim Schneider

“Of the major fairs in Miami this year, Untitled has the most Latin American galleries—around 15% of its exhibitors—versus roughly 9% at ABMB and 5% at Nada.”
The Art Newspaper, Margaret Carrigan

“The eighth edition of this highbrow showcase is the only Miami art fair to truly take place on Miami Beach — seaside at 12th Street and Ocean Drive. It features more than 120 exhibitors from a range of far-flung places, from the Philippines to Ethiopia.”
New York Post, Mark Ellwood

“Another strong contender for Art Basel Jr. is the Untitled fair, whose galleries’ offerings tend to be a bit more thoughtfully gestated than much of NADA’s throw-it-all-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks aesthetic.”
New York Times, Brett Sokol

“Untitled, Art Miami Beach is the fair this week that for me invites discovery. I’m always able to find a new artist I haven’t seen elsewhere to either collect or collaborate with, making it my favorite fair to tour with our members.”
The Cultivist, Joey Lico, Global Curator & Sr. Director, Americas

Contact: David Simantov