Superfine! Art Fair Aims to Humanize the Art World

When art collectors, dealers, and gallerists come to Miami Art Week the first week of December, the Superfine! art fair will remind them that significant changes are underway in how art is discovered, experienced, and purchased.

superfinelogoSuperfine! The Fairest Fair is a Miami-based contemporary art fair that wants to humanize the art world by building a platform for the passionate people who create and showcase art. The ultimate goal of the Superfine! art fair is to deliver high-quality, accessibly priced artwork direct to collectors and collectors-to-be.

During Miami Art Week December 1-4, 2016, Superfine! art fair will feature several large-scale installation projects by local and international artists.

Air sculpture by Asser Saint-Val

For example, fair-goers who approach the main Superfine! space directly across from Art Miami’s main tent will be greeted by a massive, surreal air sculpture by Haitian-born, Miami-based artist Asser Saint-Val.  A 20 x 20 ft. helium-filled sculpture will float above a queen-sized bed equipped with headphones and scented with fragrances by the installation sponsor CARON Paris.

Within the Superfine! art space, photographic artist Mark Reamy from Vermont will invite attendees to shuffle, dance, and interact with their own shadows and those of other fair-goers via his “See You on the Other Side” multi-media installation.

Artist Tyler Whitlock of Asheville, NC will showcase politically charged and profanely relevant mixed-media paintings that use his patented “glitch-collage” style.

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The Nice N’ Easy team of artists Jeffrey Noble and Allison Matherly are creating an immersive, environmental installation in the rear garden area of the facility. The “technicolor pastel picnic” will feature customized swing sets, a project mapped mural, and carefully chosen native plants. The immersive work will serve as both a functional seating area and nostalgia-driven backdrop for the fair’s programming, which includes educational panels, music, and social events.

A mobile art gallery housed in refurbished Shasta trailer will house a playfully dark and surreal micro-theater experience by artist Jen Clay.

The full list of exhibitors is posted on the Superfine! website.

Reaching collectors-to-be

The Superfine! art fair platform provides a space for artists, curators, and forward-thinking dealers to connect with emerging collectors who may feel excluded by more traditional art settings. The fair organizers believe “inspired, original artwork is an aesthetic necessity in the lives of everyone, not just a select few.”

Superfine! began in 2015 as a challenge to the art establishment. In the 60,000 square foot office building they refurbished in the Little Haiti district of Miami, they are creating an accessible means for galleries, artists, and designers to directly reach a targeted clientele within a dynamic setting.

Superfine! believes collectors are “the grease that makes the gears of the art world turn.” So they strive to give new collectors access to the best work out there.

In conjunction with Miami Art Week, Superfine! will host a Young Collectors’ Ice Cream Social on December 1 and a panel discussion entitled, “Sorry, I’m Not a Collector” on December 4. The panel will address the concerns of art-world outsiders who might want to become collectors and suggest actions that art establishments could take to attract the steady stream of new collectors they require to further the careers of their artists.

Superfine!’s year-round programming includes countless opportunities for emerging and established Miami collectors to connect with art throughout the year.  Their next big presentation is scheduled for President’s Day weekend in February.

Electric Objects Wants Everyone to Display Digital Art

Electric Objects is a digital art platform that wants to put digital art on a wall in every home. The company’s first two initiatives include the development of the EO1 display and Art Club collections.

EO1

EO1 is an Internet-connected screen designed specifically for art. In addition to displaying high-resolution images and digitally created art, EO1 can play video and animations. Priced at $299, EO1 fits elegantly into any home.

The matte 1080p high-definition display features ultra-wide viewing angles and ambient light awareness.  It is not too bright and not too muted. The EO1 was designed to look more like a luminous oil painting than a glowing monitor.

Electric Objects Display
The EO1 display. Art by Folkert Gorter.

With the free iOS or Android app, you can use your smartphone to change the art on the wall. You can explore thousands of artwork shared by the Electric Objects community or browse the curated collection of original work in Electric Objects’ Art Club. Display any art in the app with the tap of a button.

Art Club

Art Club is a collection of hundreds of original works of art made exclusively for Electric Objects. Through the Art Club, Electric Objects supports artists interested in making work for display on the EO1.

In 2016, the Electric Objects Art Club Fund expects to spend $100,000 to commission new works of digital art. Artists are selected through periodic open calls for applications. Selected artists receive a commission of $500 and a free EO1.

Electric Objects Display
Display by Electric Objects. Art by Zolloc.

Electric Objects introduces new collections two or three times a week. They immediately invite EO1 owners to display the art in their homes.

Electric Objects has displayed the work of Art Club Artists at NADA Miami, the New Museum in New York City, and at the Electric Objects showroom in New York.

To learn about open calls, sign up for the Electric Objects artist newsletter.

Acanvas Expands In-Home Art Discovery with Hi-Res Display Platform

ARTISTS. Art discovery options are expanding with the launch of the Acanvas art-streaming app and self-charging art-display platform. Acanvas is making it possible for art lovers to display a steady stream of classic or contemporary art from Fine Art America.  Acanvas developed the art discovery platform to making learning about new artists as easy and as accessible as streaming music.

“With Acanvas, interior design and technology come together to bring millions of works of art to empty walls everywhere,” said Dan Lee, CEO and co-founder of Acanvas. “Our self-charging battery system makes our display as easy to hang as any traditionally framed print or painting.”

The display platform consists of a Wi-Fi connected, 23-inch, high-definition display from LG Electronics USA. The onboard, battery system features a motorized, retractable cord that connects to a portable charging dock. The slim, easy-to-mount display can be customized with matte frames that match the owner’s décor.

Acanvas-charging dock-withpuckinserted

From the Acanvas app on an iOS or Android mobile device, users can select “Art Stations” curated by Fine Art America and stream a continuous flow of art to the display. From the app, users can control how long each piece is displayed before it is replaced by another one.

While viewing art in a Pandora-like “art station” such as seascapes, bold primaries, and dynamic abstracts, users can learn more about different genres of art and discover new artists.

A-Canvas-Stations

Users can also browse for specific art to add to their personal libraries within the Acanvas app. Or, users can hang and showcase personal photos from anywhere, either within the home or remotely. The first units are expected to ship during the fourth quarter of 2016. Pre-orders are currently being accepted.

About Acanvas

Acanvas is an emerging start-up based in Santa Clara, California. The independent company began as a research project within the LG Silicon Valley Lab (SVL). The Acanvas platform is supported by a partnership with Fine Art America.

“Acanvas allows us to further our mission of connecting people to the art and artists they love,” said Sean Broihier, CEO of Fine Art America.

Fine Art America, which was established in 2006, has become one of the world’s largest online art marketplaces. Hundreds of thousands of artists and photographers have uploaded millions of images to the Fine Art America website and thousands of new members and images are added each week.

Studio F Provides New Art Marketing and Display Opportunities

Studio F is a new art marketing platform through which artists can sell their work as high-quality vinyl decals and wrapped canvases on fathead.com. Part of the Fathead family of companies, Studio F uses the marketing prowess and reach of the Fathead brand along with Fathead’s digital graphic technology to reproduce curated artists’ work as decals that buyers can display as frameless wall art, furniture enhancements, or window art.

Colorful Launch over Thanksgiving Weekend

To demonstrate the full potential and scale of Studio F’s creative capabilities, Detroit artists Ellen Rutt and Patrick Ethen were commissioned to create RADIANT CITY, a large-scale public art installation that in downtown Detroit. The artists were commissioned to help create an exciting experience to unveil Studio F and the transformative nature of the product.

Fathead launches Studio F, a new artist portal, with stunning exhibit RADIANT CITY in downtown Detroit (PRNewsFoto/Fathead LLC)
Fathead launches Studio F, a new artist portal, with stunning exhibit RADIANT CITY in downtown Detroit (PRNewsFoto/Fathead LLC)

The installation was open November 25-27 during the festivities surrounding America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van.

Rutt and Ethen designed over 300 one-of-a-kind patterns that were sampled from Detroit architecture, printed on Fathead vinyl, and applied to the tops of tables by IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer. Using downtown Detroit’s beautiful, historic Grand Circus Park as their canvas, Rutt and Ethen arranged the tables to form an enormous mosaic and immersive color field around the Russell Alger Memorial Fountain.

“The patchwork quilt is a powerful metaphor for Detroit,” says Ethen, “there are so many people, ideas and cultures at play. This city is best understood as a plurality—nothing less than the sum of its parts.”

The duo explored Detroit to archive a collection of patterns from all over the city. “It’s important for us to make work that’s imbued with a sense of place,” adds Rutt, “There’s such a rich creative history in Detroit, so much inspiration surrounding us already, that sourcing patterns from local architecture was an obvious choice. RADIANT CITY symbolically references the present cultural climate, the energy and passion that is so tangible here.”

After the exhibit closed, some of the art-topped tables in RADIANT CITY for Studio F were donated to Humble Design, a non-profit group that provides furnishings and design services to families transitioning out of homeless shelters. The remaining tables will be sold on  December 1 in celebration of #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. All proceeds will go to Humble Design.

RADIANT CITY for Studio F was a colorful launch celebration for Studio F. Fathead worked with Minneapolis based advertising agency Fallon Worldwide to develop the launch idea and choose Ellen Rutt and Patrick Ethen as the first artists to be featured on the Studio F website.

“Studio F is the next evolution of Fathead,” said Joanna Cline, chief marketing officer, Fathead. “We can now offer our quality products, stellar marketing support and customer service to the artistic community.” Established artists and “artists to watch” will be able to expand their art collections to this dynamic new online gallery.

Information about how to apply for inclusion in the Studio F gallery and earn commissions for the sale of your work can be found on the Studio F website.

LINKS

Studio F

 

Register for Free Thriving Artist Summit January 5-18, 2015

Thriving-Artist-Summit-Square-1-LargeArtist and designer Bonnie Glendinning is striving to empower artists while making art more accessible to a broader universe of buyers.

She founded The Thriving Artist Summit and Thriving Artist Academy to help you develop the business skills you need to build the type of art career you really want.

Bonnie is also the founder of Artmuse.com, an online, curated gallery that sells museum-quality prints to anyone who appreciates quality contemporary art but isn’t yet comfortable investing in higher-priced originals.

Thriving Artist Summit

The Thriving Artist Summit (January 5-18, 2015) is a free, online gathering designed to help artists, designers, and makers take their creative businesses to the next level. Through a series of hour-long interviews that Bonnie has conducted, artists, experts, and mentors will discuss how to:

  • build your brand for your ideal buyers
  • price for real profit and growth
  • increase sales marketing, PR, and social media
  • diversify into licensing, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sales
  • get into galleries and shows
  • raise project funds
  • develop your creative practice

Some of the artists, experts, and mentors who will be featured in the 2015 Thriving Artist Summit include:

  • Brand Strategist Shenee Howard
  • Photographer and Selfie Expert Vivienne McMaster
  • Agent, Author and Artist Lilla Rogers
  • Publisher Tom Morkes
  • Fine Artist and Illustrator Lisa Congdon
  • Mixed Media Artist Tamara Laporte
  • Jewelry Designer and Mentor Tracy Matthews
  • Business Strategist Tara Gentile
  • Teacher Karen Gunton
  • Artist Owen Garratt
  • Choreographer and Teacher Gina Morris
  • Writer Kristen Fischer
  • Artist and Designer Jessica Swift
  • Author and Teacher Samantha Bennett
  • Gallery Owner Jason Horejs
  • Marketing Mentor Ilse Benun
  • Art Marketing Advisor Barney Davey
  • Designer and Editor Jess Van Den
  • Business Strategist April Bowles-Onin
  • Artist Coach Gwenda Joyce
  • Indie Retail Expert Clare Yuille
  • Creative Business Coach Lisa Jacobs

If you are too busy to listen to the interviews during the first half of January, you can sign up to get a discount for purchasing the Summit audios for anytime access.

Artmuse

Through this online gallery of colorful modern art, art lovers can buy museum-quality, limited-edition art prints at prices starting at just $25 for the smallest size.

Bonnie Glendinning founded Artmuse.com in 2009 to help artists reach a wider audience and enable visitors to discover new artists. One of the gallery’s missions is to help build relationships between artists and collectors. As she explains in the guidelines for artist submissions: “We want buyers to learn about you as an artist, enjoy your art, and collect your art throughout your career.”

The site’s philosophy is to showcase contemporary art one artist at a time: “Art is to be savored, not consumed….We believe that the more collectors can learn about you the artist, the greater their interest will be in collecting your art.”

Artmuse looks for artists who are committed to their artistic vision, philosophy, and craft. While they aren’t seeking a specific style or medium, they do look for a “combined continuity of intention, inspiration, execution of an artistic vision, and perspective.” Your art should also work well in printed form. This typically includes drawing, mixed media, painting, photography or watercolors.

LINKS

The Thriving Artist Academy

The 2015 Thriving Artist Summit

Artmuse.com

Artmuse.com: Artist Submission Guidelines

Blog Post on The Thriving Artist: The Power of Possible Thinking

 

Create Your Own Art Exhibition in a Virtual 3D Gallery

ARTISTS. Exhibbit’s immersive 3D online galleries provide an elegant way to show your art and grow your online presence. Gallery owners, artists, curators, and private dealers can use exhibbit software to set up “virtual exhibitions” that can be viewed year-round by art lovers worldwide. Visitors to the “galleries” sense they are seeing your art in a real gallery setting.

Exhibbit was founded by Amanda Lane and Peter Worrall to provide online art viewers with a richer more realistic experience. They also wanted to give give artists a easy way to take control of their online presence without making it a full-time job.

ExhibbitScreenGrab

Lane and Worrall understand how much work is involved in creating a real-world gallery exhibition because they have exhibited their own art. “Although we sold well, the return for the many months of work we put into it just was not enough,” recalls Lane.

Recognizing that others in art world felt the same way, they decided to create a better way. Because Lane and Worrall both have backgrounds in 3D animation for film and television, they realized that 3D models and interactive environments could come together to provide new ways of viewing art online.

As she designed the look of exhibit’s galleries, Lane said she was striving to create “Something more akin to the emotional experience that you feel when visiting a real gallery. You can move around and view the art at your own pace and compare the artworks in a single environment.”

Exhibbit offers three types of self-managed plans: Curator; Curator Plus; and Custom.

Curator: Display up to 12 artworks in a single, continuous exhibition in a marble gallery design. Viewers can see the gallery through a link that you publicize.

Curator Plus: Choose from three gallery designs, embed the gallery in your website, and run multiple, consecutive exhibitions. This option includes an e-commerce link to third-party software.

Custom: Exhibbit galley will custom design a unique gallery just for you. It can be virtual replica of your existing art gallery.

Exhibbit also offers specialized virtual gallery services for art fairs, dealers, and other arts organizations.

“In today’s world, those who market good-quality products in an elegant manner get noticed,” said Lane. She believes individual artists should play an active role in building their online presence, because “Putting your art on art sites along with hundreds, even thousands of artists is not enough.”

To attract visitors to your exhibbit gallery, Lane suggests spending a few hours a week communicating on social media and updating your content. “If you update your content and share it regularly, you will grow your brand online.”

Getting Started

Exhibbit has developed a tutorial to help new users set up their first exhibition.

“Good quality photographs of your artwork are essential,” says Lane. “We strongly recommend files between 5 and 8 MB. Make sure they all have the same exposure and the background is cropped out before saving them as uncompressed jpegs.”  Image theft is unlikely because anything higher than screen resolution can’t be downloaded.

Before uploading your images, have the information ready to add for each item. Name each file with the title of the artwork, choose a title for your exhibition, and write a paragraph about it.

According to Lane, “The Exhibbit model supports both the gallery and artists. An exhibition can be embedded in both the artist’s and gallery’s websites for both parties to utilize at the same time. The gallery and artist can work together, using exhibit’s built-in marketing tools to share views from the exhibition and link to the experience.”

LINKS

exhibbit

 

Magazine Declares June Professional Artist Month

ProfessionalArtist_Pro_Artist_MonthProfessional Artist magazine provides independent visual artists with the strategies they need to make a living with their artwork. For the second year in a row, they have declared June “Professional Artist Month.”

Throughout the month, artists are invited to connect and interact with Professional Artist through activities, advice, giveaways and a dedicated art contest.

“The inaugural Professional Artist Month was such a success that we knew we had to build on that momentum for 2014,” Publisher Jannett Roberts said. “Last year, our focus was to bring our readers even more resources to empower them in their creative careers. This June, it’s all about celebrating these talented professionals and engaging with them on a deeper level.”

Highlights of the 2014 Professional Artist Month include:

  • “Art-Felt Words” e-cards: Free digital postcards to share with friends, family and fellow artists via email and social media
  • “SmART Advice” showcase: A collection of inspired insights, motivational messages and words of wisdom from readers all month long
  • “Portrait of a Professional Artist” contest: An opportunity for artists to have their work featured in an upcoming issue of Professional Artist magazine
  • Daily giveaways : 30 chances to win great prizes, plus a special Professional Artist Store coupon for all participants
  • Exclusive subscription offer: A limited-time deal that includes a set of three free digital pocket guides with the purchase of a one-year subscription to Professional Artist

3-PocketGuides

ProfessionalArtistMagCoverEach issue of Professional Artist magazine presents practical business advice on subjects such as art marketing, art law, portfolio development, exhibition presentation, communication skills and sales techniques.

Articles to help artists feel encouraged and motivated are also  featured, as well as a comprehensive list of calls to artists.

LINK

Professional Artist Magazine

Professional Artist Month Activities