MIAMI, FL.- From the moment Art Miami opened with the VIP Private Preview on November 29th, high-profile collectors flooded the aisles to experience the greatly anticipated fair. This trend continued for six days with record-breaking sales, attendance, and a multitude of events from the fair’s premier sponsors. Art Miami, Miami’s longest running contemporary art fair and anchor fair to the City of Miami, concluded its 22nd edition reporting 55,000 collectors, museum professionals, curators, artists, celebrities, interior designers and art enthusiasts over the course of the week. Distinguished for its quality, depth and diversity, Art Miami presented an incredible showcase of renowned modern and contemporary art from the 20th and 21st centuries.

The 22nd edition of Art Miami took place from November 29 – December 4 in a state-of-the-art 125,000 square foot pavilion in Midtown Miami’s burgeoning Wynwood Arts District. The fair featured modern and contemporary paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and prints from Europe, Asia, Latin America, India, the Middle East and the United States from 110 galleries in 18 countries, showcasing 1,000 artists from 60 countries around the world. There were 400 artists represented from nearly 100 cities in the United States. This year, Art Miami featured a number of compelling additions including: famed interior designer Juan Montoya’s design for the Mandarin Oriental, Miami’s VIP Lounge; Julia Draganovic’s curated projects including Persol’s Art Video | New Media Lounge showcasing “ZOOOM! Decoding Common Practice;” and a thought-provoking collection of artwork in the indoor/outdoor sculpture exhibition.

“We are extremely pleased with sales and attendance this year at Art Miami,” said Nick Korniloff, Director of Art Miami. “We attribute the phenomenal success of this year’s fair to the superb quality of works from blue-chip, mid-career and emerging artists. Art Miami 2011 demonstrated that high-profile international collectors continue to attend our fair to acquire art. We have heard from many galleries that 2011 was a banner year for them, and they are already looking forward to participating in Art Miami 2012.”

Throughout the fair exhibitors reported on the enthusiasm and outstanding reception of the fair by attendees. Hollis Taggart, owner of Hollis Taggart Galleries, stated, “This show has been well attended and has had a very strong energy throughout. Sales have been strong and the contacts made this year exceed any previous show. Many people commented that the Art Miami show was ‘user friendly and more open and spread out than the Art Basel, Miami fair – you can actually buy things here.’ Well-organized and managed by Nick Korniloff, the Art Miami show has grown and evolved into one of the truly elite art fairs in America.”

Michael Schultz, owner of Galerie Michael Schultz stated, “In the past I have experienced many art fairs in America (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Art Basel Miami) but above all, Art Miami is the most American and authentic fair to me. I have been watching the fair over the past four years as a visitor and recognized that the variety and the quality have always improved. Now, I take part myself with my gallery and I do not regret anything at all. Nowhere else in the world, you can find such professional and interested people as here at Art Miami."

William Shearburn, owner of William Shearburn Gallery stated, “Nick Korniloff has done an amazing job at re-branding this fair over the past three years—all of that effort is showing this year. The look is elegant, clean and sophisticated. Yesterday, when I was meeting with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, they told me ‘your show looks amazing, and the buzz on the beach is to get over to Art Miami.’”

Vincent Vallarino, owner of Vincent Vallarino Fine Art stated, “We saw very good people, important collectors we’ve known from the past, and new collectors that are quite knowledgeable. The attendance throughout the fair was very good and the aura of the fair was completely energized.” McCormick Gallery/Vincent Vallarino Fine Art, has exhibited at Art Miami for several years, and sold a record of eight abstract expressionist paintings from important artists from the 1950s in four days.

James Barron, owner of James Barron Art stated, “We had a great Opening Night of the Fair. We sold several important works within the first 5 minutes to major American collectors. On our first full day (Wednesday), we had reserves and sold several paintings with museum trustees and collector committees. With the stock market being shaky, people are investing their funds in superb quality works at the right prices, and that is what we are exhibiting.”

SALES HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2011 INCLUDED:
• Galerie Michael Schultz sold Gerhard Richter’s painting “Abstraktes Bild” for $1.6 million
• Osborne Samuel sold Lynn Chadwick’s sculpture “Stairs” for more than $1.5 million
• Galerie Terminus sold Keith Haring’s “T.c.” (Dog) for $1.2 million, Tony Cragg’s “Mental Landscape” for $500,000, Guenther Uecker’s newly created nail on wood piece for $480,000
• Galerie Forsblom sold Keith Haring’s painted aluminum sculpture, “Untitled” (Self Portrait, 1989) to a private collector for $850,000, Jason Martin’s painting “Kreyòl” for $135,000
• Galleri Andersson/Sandstrom sold Tony Cragg’s stainless steel sculpture “Points of View” for $390,000
• Galerie von Braunbehrens sold several works from artists Daniel Cherbuin and Marck totaling $461,500
• Bridgette Mayer Gallery sold Kenneth Noland’s painting titled "Blue Painted Blue" (1959) for $350,000
• William Shearburn Gallery sold Jules Olitski’s painting “Prince Yellow” for approximately $350,000
• LewAllen Galleries sold Milton Avery’s “Leo Lerman in Mitzi Solomon’s Studio” (1948) for $325,000
• Rosenbaum Contemporary sold Robert Indiana’s sculpture for approximately $325,000
• Mark Borghi Fine Art sold Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work for approximately $250,000
• Osborn Samuel sold Henry Moore’s sculpture for approximately $250,000, two Henry Moore bronze sculptures totaling $200,000, William Turnbull’s bronze sculpture “Small Spade Venus,” for approximately $150,000, Henry Moore’s drawing “Three Reclining Figures/Three Standing Figures” for $100,000
• Mike Weiss Gallery sold six Yigal Ozeri paintings totaling $240,000
• Hollis Taggart Galleries sold Theodoros Stamos’s painting “Low White Sun Box” for approximately $225,000, an important Adolph Gottlieb, a study for the stained glass windows at Park Avenue Synagogue for $225,000
• Michael Goedhuis sold Wei Ligang’s ink and acrylic paper “Qin Fan Yuan Wen, Ri Mu Kong Shan Xiang” (2011) for $225,000
• Eli Klein Fine Art sold two of Liu Bolin’s “Dragon Series” (Photographs in 9 Panels) totaling $160,000
• James Barron Art of Rome sold a series of three paintings from Julie Olitski’s Homage to Kermit Champa for more than $160,000
• Contessa Gallery sold Chuck Close’s jacquard tapestry “Lucas” (2011) for $150,000
• Westwood Gallery NYC sold David Datuna’s “White American Flag” (2011) to a high-profile Netherlands collector for $150,000
• Pace Prints sold 45 of Yoshitomo Nara’s “Doggy Radio” sculptures totaling more than $112,000
• McCormick Gallery/Vallarino Fine Art sold Hans Hofmann’s “Untitled” (1962) oil on board for $100,000

ATTENDEES
Among the prominent crowd seen at the VIP Opening Night Preview and throughout the week included: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Will Smith, Marilyn Manson, Moby, Jane Seymour, Alice Walton, Director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Don Bacigalupi, Eli Broad, James Rosenquist, Collector and Curator Beth Rudin DeWoody Earl and Carol Mack, Ted and Ruth Baum, President of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation-CIFO Ella Cisneros, Real Estate Executive Jorge Perez, Martin and Constance Margulies, Collectors Doug and Dale Anderson, CIFO Board Member Manuel de Santaren, Nicole Miller, Steven Perlman, New York Real Estate Developer Hadley Martin Fisher, Roberta Model Amon, Michael Stein, Michael Shvo, Ted and Barbara Alfond, Chief Curator of the Colby College Museum of Art Sharon Corwin, Executive Chairmen of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group Ron Dennis, Juan Montoya, Louis Aguirre, George Cohon, Carolina Stubbe, Michele Oka Doner, Carola Hinojosa, Kim Heirston, Judy Auchincloss, Daisy Olarte de Kanavos, Ralph and Muriel Saltzman, Todd Wyman, Interior Designer Christopher Coleman, Photographer Michael Eastman, James Byrd, Patricia and Phillip Frost, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Otsberg, Mike Eidson, Stephen and Diane Volk, Darren Kimball, Mark Rosen, Dr. Jorge Daaboul, Silvana Facchini, Consuelo Escrihuela Chumilla, Silvia Tcherassi, Arty Takian, Andrea Dorigo, Milena Cavicchioli, Paolo Alberti, Niklas Goldbach, Daniele Veronesi, Federico Uribe, Alex Arrechea, Frank Boehm, and more.

Groups from the following Museums attended the fair: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (New York), Museum of Art and Design (New York), Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Lowe Art Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Moscow Museum of Modern Art, El Museo de Art Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA); Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Phillips Collection (Washington DC), Columbus Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, MOCA Detroit, Oklahoma City Museum, Mobile Museum of Art, ArtTable, The Fine Art Fund Group (London), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), McNay Art Museum (Texas), Dallas Museum of Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Bellevue Arts Museum, 21c Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Museum Biedermann, Mint Museum, Taubman Museum of Art, Kreeger Museum, The Kennedy Center, The Akron Art Museum, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The de la Cruz Collection, The Frost Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Colby College Art Museum, Spellman College, Miami Art Museum, MOCA Miami, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Museum of Art of Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs Art Museum, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art, Ringling Museum (Sarasota).

2011 ART MIAMI EVENTS
On Tuesday, November 29th, Art Miami hosted its Opening Night VIP Preview that benefited The Lotus House Women’s Shelter, a local and vitally important Miami charity. Nearly 8,000 attended this high-profile first night of Art Week in Miami. More than $20,000 was raised for Lotus House on Opening Night, and Art Miami cumulatively has raised more than $96,000 over the four-year charitable partnership.

“We are so grateful for the contributions from this year’s Art Miami fair, as the donations received provide a much needed gift to our shelter, making all that we do possible,” said Constance Collins Margulies, Director of the Lotus House Women’s Shelter. “The funds raised truly make a difference for so many women and children in need by providing resources essential to reclaiming and transforming lives.”

“We are very excited to have supported the Wynwood Art Fair and the Lotus House Women's Shelter,” said Korniloff. “The funds raised from Art Miami’s sponsorship and Opening Night VIP Preview exceeded all previous donations from past years and totaled nearly $55,000. I would like to especially thank Jorge Gonzalez and Art Miami's official host hotel, the Mandarin Oriental, Miami, for donating $10,000 to the Lotus House Women's Shelter for the second consecutive year. This generous donation will be utilized by Constance Collins Margulies to continue her mission of changing lives for the better and making a better Miami for all of us.”

On Thursday, December 1st, Director of the Miami Art Museum Thom Collins hosted the Art Miami Museum Professional + Curators Brunch honoring Faith Ringgold in the VIP lounge. Sotheby’s International Realty also hosted a private cocktail reception in Art Miami’s VIP Lounge for almost 200 high-profile international clients. On Thursday evening Mandarin Oriental, Miami, hosted a VIP cocktail reception to honor the specially curated Asian art exhibition by Brian A. Dursum, curator and director of The Lowe Museum in the hotel’s lobby. The exhibition featured work from some of China’s most exciting contemporary artists. The evening was hosted by General Manager Jorge Gonzalez and benefitted The Lotus House Women’s Shelter.

On Friday, December 2nd, Art Miami hosted the Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs Cocktail Reception. Guests included Katharine Dickinson, Chairman of the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Michael Spring, Director of Miami-Dade Country Department of Cultural Affairs, and artist Xavier Cortada. The evening celebrated Art Miami’s role in the arts and economic vitality within the Miami community.
Throughout the week, Balthazar magazine hosted VIPs in in the Balthazar Lounge. Featured singer/songwriter, Francis Agbu closed the lounge each night with his soulful tunes. The magazine also launched its international edition at Art Miami, dedicating its cover to Art Miami’s Director Nick Korniloff.