VIP Art Fair - Exclusively Online

In recent years the art market witnessed the emerge of online venues with the purpose of permiting new artists to show and sell their works without passing through the traditional galleries.
Now a project catered for the major traditional galleries has been created, which will allow them to show their artworks online and fully interact with the public and especially with art collectors.

Conceived by James Cohan, active in the contemporary art world for more than 25 years as a dealer and founder of the James Cohan Gallery in New York in 1999, between other activities, the VIP Art Fair will, in similarity to its traditional counterparts, be open during one week, with the main difference of happening exclusively online and permiting less expenses to exhibitors and visitors.

Gathering some of the best world renowned art galleries, including Almine Rech, Anna Schwartz, David Zwirner, Emmanuel Perrotin, Fraenkel, Hauser & Wirth, Hyundai, James Cohan, Larry Gagosian, Luisa Strina, Koyanagi, Marlborough, Max Hetzler, Sadie Cole HQ, ShangART, Sommer Contemporary Art, White Cube, Yvon Lambert, and Xavier Hufkens, among others, in a total of 139 galleries from 30 countries, this online event is bound to become a case study in the art market and which paths it may take from now on, especially when such influent names are involved.

Featuring a revolutionary design, VIP Art Fair will offer art collectors the opportunity to view artwork through an innovative technology that presents artworks in relation to other works of art and to the human figure. Inquisitive visitors will be able to zoom in to examine details of a painting’s surface, get multiple views of a three-dimensional work, and watch videos of a multimedia piece. Galleries will provide comprehensive details on artworks and artists, including biographies, catalogue essays, artist films and interviews, and in-depth information that will empower collectors.

An important aspect of this online international contemporary art fair is going to be the interactivity between dealer and collector. Each dealer will have the ability to hold conversations with collectors via instant messaging, Skype, and telephone to discuss works on offer in the virtual booth (10 to 20 works).
Specially-created Private Rooms will permit dealers to share works from their gallery's backroom inventory (between 40 and 70 works) in real time with their clients.
Online payments will not be offered through this platform during this art fair.

The VIP Art Fair can be explored through different perspectives, including the obvious online tours, which can be based on featured works, tours created by collectors, critics, or even by curators from participating museums. Visitors will be able to build their own personalized tours of the Fair that showcase their favourite works and share with friends or post them in the VIP Lounge. Other ways to navigate the site wil include the Fair Map and advanced searches based on criteria of interest, such as artist’s name, medium, or price range.

The Fair will open on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. EST and conclude on Sunday, January 30, 2011, at 7:59 a.m. EST. Browsing the Fair is free of charge. To access interactive capabilities, visitors must have a VIP Ticket, which on January 22 and 23 will cost $100 and thereafter will cost $20. You can request an invitation here.

VIP Art Fair was founded by James Cohan, founder of the James Cohan Gallery in New York in 1999 and board of directors of the Art Dealers Association of America, Art 21 and Independent Curators International; Jane Cohan, industrial designer by training and partner at James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai, where she manages press relations and acts as artist liaison; Jonas Almgren, involved in the launch of Vantive (IPO 1995), InterWeave (sold 1997), E.piphany (IPO 1999), PremierGuide (sold 2007), and One Art World (2005); and Alessandra Almgren, starter of the Home Theater Research Group in 1998 and co-founder of One Art World.
Its directors are Noah Horowitz, Adjunct Professor of Art Business at the Sotheby's Institute of Art, New York, and author of "Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market", and Stephanie Schumann, who brings her experience from The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Drawing Center, and The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, where she is a founding patron and chair of the museum’s young benefactors group.
Other names include Sidney Blank, Marco Raab and Olaf Kreitz, all from Supermetric.

The promotional video for VIP Art Fair was created by When in Doubt Productions in collaboration with Force of Feather