An iconic play for the 10-year old art fair known for breaking down art market conventions, the locale hearkens back to the democratic, artist-organized Times Square Show of June 1980 that galvanized the careers of breakaway artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The 4,000 expected visitors won’t find these now-household-names at Superfine. What they will discover are 130+ super-talented, always-eager artists whose work – while exceptional, and hand-curated by Superfine’s plucky founders – is priced to sell to an audience often excluded from the gallery world.
Superfine’s lucky 7th New York outing is no Central Park picnic blanket of an event.
Think 30,000 square feet of emerging art, plus performance pieces curated by downtown stalwart and arts champion ChaShaMa, a smart mod-meets-retro musical backdrop selected by fair organizer Alex Mitow, a thoughtful local beer and wine list – all contributing to a warm, comfy art-shopping environment that serves to facilitate, lubricate, and encourage direct interactions (and transactions) between artist and audience.
To wit: more than 40% of visitors who pass through Superfine’s doors walk out as collectors of one or more Superfine artists.
By making this – and all of their events around the US – an experience that prioritizes enjoyment and appreciation of the artists and their stories, Superfine’s brand of hospitality unique to the art world puts the artist on center stage of the most fun, but still artist-focused, art market in town.
With the 4-day event taking over the 3rd floor of a skyscraper building at 151 West 42nd (you might know it as the one with the giant H&M logo on the top), capacity is limited and the organizers expect tickets to sell out in advance.
Termed FUTURE WONDERLAND, the fête marries glitz with a touch of whimsy. A wisp of cotton candy floats above flutes brimming with champagne in a nod to Superfine’s start as a cheeky Art Basel Miami outsider a decade ago. Variety entertainers clad in mirrorball gear wink knowingly at Times Square’s hedonistic era and perhaps even at Club USA, the Mugler/Gaultier designed boîte par perfection that once camped a few blocks north on 47th street during TSQ’s pre-Giuliani salad days. And most importantly, opening night represents a chance for those who are really there for the art to scope out the best pieces, chat up the artist they’ve been Insta-crushing on, and get a masterpiece off the walls and into the backseat of the cab before anyone else can.
With a fresh look and feel for 2024, Superfine’s brand has evolved thanks to creative director and co-founder James Miille, who took inspiration from early 20th century magician + sideshow act bills to create a feel that’s at once modern and throwback. In honor of its 10th anniversary, Superfine has invited friends, curators, and rulebreakers of the art-verse to nominate artists and artworks from the fair’s preceding decade for an anthology book published by SNAP Collective, a San Francisco and Munich-based art book publisher.
Superfine is as committed as ever to artist independence, interconnection, and buyer empowerment. Booths are repped by the artists themselves, not dealers. 90% of the artwork on offer falls into a new-collector-friendly range from $150 and $3000. 100% of revenue from art sales goes directly to the artist. Also check out https://rethymnoguide.gr/
Perhaps the current iteration of Superfine in New York can best be summed up in one of the fair’s new 2024 maxims:
We see art in your future.
The Superfine Art Fair is open to the public May 3-5, 2024 at 148 West 43rd Street in New York City
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