Greenspan, Tuymans ‘Eyes,’ 1,141 Artists Mark VIP Fair
The online VIP Art Fair is returning for its second cyber outing. The fair, whose initials stand for “viewing in private,” invites visitors to browse the virtual booths of about 130 exhibitors from 36 countries, Feb. 3 through Feb. 8.
“The difference from a regular art fair is that your feet don’t get tired,” said Jane Cohan, a co-founder along with art dealer James Cohan and Internet entrepreneurs Jonas and Alessandra Almgren.
Technical problems affected its 2011 debut, including a jammed live-chat system between buyers and dealers.
“The system had a lot of glitches so it was easy to lose interest quickly,” said Lenore Schorr, Los Angeles-based art collector.
VIP 2.0, previewing on Feb. 2, has more sophisticated technology and a simpler interface. The company also increased its staff, hired a chief executive officer, Lisa Kennedy, and received $1 million in investment. The chat platform is hosted by an outside company on a separate server, which should prevent the main website from getting overloaded.
“I think they took into account everything that didn’t work and made it better,” said Magdalena Sawon, co-owner of Postmasters Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan, who is participating in the fair for the second time.
More than 50,000 people from 139 countries have registered. Free access allows searching the website by artist or price range, devising personal tours and sharing links to artworks on Twitter and Facebook.
Chat Functions
It costs $50 to use the live-chat function, unless you’ve received a complimentary pass from the exhibitors.
Like last year, prices range from less than $5,000 to more than $1 million. More than 90 galleries have artworks priced at less than $10,000. The biggest surprise: Gagosian gallery, offering Hirst’s spot prints at $3,000 to $7,000.
There are 10 artworks priced at $1 million or more, down from 50 in 2011. This group includes a 2001 Luc Tuymans painting, “Eyes.” New York’s Van de Weghe Fine Art lists a 1990 Richard Prince joke painting at $1.3 million.
Alan Greenspan
Postmasters will devote its booth to New York artist William Powhida. His giant 44-by-90-inch print “Griftopia,” based on Mike Taibbi’s 2010 book, depicts Alan Greenspan, Lloyd Blankfein and other major players involved in the recent financial crisis. It comes in an edition of 13; the first three will be priced at $4,500.
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