Artexpo New York 2013’s sold-out show was a tremendous hit with exhibitors and attendees alike! Art sales were high this year, show traffic was up by 25%, Trade attendance was up 21%, and 91% of polled attendees said they enjoyed the event.

Here are just a few photos from the big weekend in NYC. (For those of you who attended Artexpo, you might see some familiar faces! Feel free to share on your website, blog or social media pages.)

Tons of attendees came out to see this year's array of art at Artexpo.

Joan Konkel - Booth 1234

Tibi Hegyesi's booth.

View full 2013 Photo Gallery

What Artists Said About the Show

It was a wild ride! Everything was in hyperdrive. The rush of people entering the exhibit the first night, the yellow cabs dotting the standstill traffic, watching a conceptual Broadway show. This was our ninth year exhibiting at Artexpo New York. And I am happy to announce that the show was a complete success. We sold all the pieces featured at the exhibition!
—Anna Razumovskaya
ANNA ART Publishing

Great show, good sales! I wish I’d brought more of my larger paintings—they all sold. I sold 9 pieces overall. I was surprised at the number of buyers, but I had no more works left after Saturday.
—Peter Colbert

Balancing Sculptures - Jerzy Kedziora

What Attendees Had to Say

I attended a good number of the presentations and panels, and I found the information invaluable. I am busily disseminating my newfound knowledge—and often just the important facts I needed to be reminded of—to my employees. I also feel the quality and quantity of the artwork on exhibit was right on. Something for everyone. I made a number of purchases and eagerly await their arrivals.
—Carla Hamilton
Four Corners Gallery

The presentation was very nice this year and the show seemed to have a certain spark to it. The range of art was diverse—there were many unique, independent artists in addition to the publishers, and that was something I enjoyed. I understand you’re going to move the show over to Pier 94 next year, and I think that will make it even better for 2014.
Gunnar Nordstrom
Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery

Dage and her sensual creations.

Moving to Pier 94 in 2014:
Three Shows in One!
As Gunnar mentioned in his quote above, we will be moving to Pier 94 next year to accommodate the growth of the show. Our 2014 event will feature three shows in one:
• Artexpo New York, our original, juried fine art fair featuring top publishers and gallery owners
• [SOLO], a highly competitive fair for independent artists
• DECOR Expo, a trade-only event featuring top trends and products for the fine art and framing industry

Our 2014 event will feature wider aisles, with even more room to showcase artists’ works. We also have exciting plans already in the works for live entertainment and new Topics & Trends seminars. To be a part of it all, submit your application to exhibit by June 1st and we’ll offer you 2013 prices on your booth space. Better yet: pay in full and you’ll save 5%.

See you at next year’s show!

Sandra Iafrate
Booth #365 Artexpo

Canadian resident Sandra Iafrate is making her US her debut with a big, bold statement at Artexpo! For her first year at the show, she’s showcasing bursting bouquets of vibrant florals painted on massive linen supports in her “Abundance” series.

Having moved to Virginia from Toronto last year, Iafrate says she was very excited to be showing her work in the U.S. and has been working with concept designs she planned several years ago.

“I love to get an oversized piece of canvas and tape it to the wall and just go,” says Iafrate, who says Abundance was inspired by her days as a student in the 1980s living near a boisterous flower market in East London.

“I can only describe the atmosphere on a Sunday morning as beautiful chaos: vendors shouting, colors and aromas all whirling about your head as you make your way through.”

The mix and mingle in Abundance is a great intro to spring in the 76” x 108” major piece, and two long pieces measuring 76”x34” each. With its sheer size, you can’t help but stop and smell the roses.

“I’m a big fan of bringing the outdoors in, especially in the city,” says Iafrate. Having lived in Toronto for 8 years, she said she has painted mostly nature, floral and foliage as the city folk want to bring in some gardens that they don’t have to water.

In addition, Iafrate is showing contrasting abstracts in a series of five paintings, which are reminiscent of waterfalls. A dramatic contrast of several values hued in pthalo blue with a textured vertical ‘fall’ in white. This series entitled, Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders), which is the translation of the name of the mystic and strong wonder of the World, Victoria Falls. She recently visited the Falls in Zimbabwe, saying that the movement, power and noise from the rush of white water was exhilarating enough to help create this as an abstraction upon her return.

For more information, please visit www.sandraiafrate.com
Artexpo Booth #365

Join us as we kick off the show this year with Artexpo After Dark, sponsored by GE Capital, Bombay Sapphire, Barefoot Wine and Tucker Robbins. Enjoy wine, cocktails and light fare! You’ll have the opportunity to mingle with the artists, enjoy refreshments and be among the first to see this year’s all-new selection of paintings, sculptures, glassworks and more. Cocktail attire is requested, so put on the dog! (Note: Thursday is Trade-only, and Friday is open to the general public.)

Relax and have a seat on elegant, eco-friendly, artisanal furniture by Tucker Robbins. Tucker’s designs are made from extraordinary materials and are worked by hand rather than by machine. Each piece may have a utilitarian function, but it also has a story to tell and draws the eye out as a work of art.

If you’d like to learn more about financing packages to make art and luxury purchases more affordable for your collectors, this is the perfect opportunity. A representative from GE Capital will be on-hand to tell you all about consumer-financing programs that offer you fast and easy financing solutions to help your clients bring home the fine art they love. The Luxury Financing program empowers gallery owners to offer art lovers flexible financing options on a dedicated line of credit. With 6, 12, 18 and even 24 months to pay (without interest), it’s easier than ever for art aficionados to take home the masterpieces they want when they want to.

While you’re mingling, be sure to enjoy cocktails made with Bombay Sapphire’s signature gin. Ordinary gins might boil their botanicals directly in the spirit, but Bombay Sapphire’s one-of-a-kind flavor is created through the Vapour Infusion process. Lemon peel, coriander, grains of paradise and other precious botanicals are held separate from the spirit in perforated copper baskets, and when the heated vapours rise, the distinctive flavor of the botanicals are released. The result? A complex aromatic liquid that delivers a broader, more balanced flavor.

There will be plenty of wine and bubbly on tap too, thanks to Barefoot Wine. Enjoy fine whites, reds and blush while you meet and greet this year’s exhibitors. From Sauvignon Blanc to Riesling, Red Moscato, Merlot, White Zinfandel, Moscato Spumante and more, you’ll find plenty to wet your whistle.

See you after dark!

Click to read Mayor Bloomberg's welcome letter to Artexpo.

We are delighted to announce that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has written us a warm letter, welcoming the Artexpo staff, artists and guests to the city and Pier 92.

Said Bloomberg:

Our unparalleled arts institutions and the many talented artists who live and work here embody the creativity and innovation that defines our City, and that is why we are delighted to lend our support to the Artexpo, the largest fine art trade show in the world.

You can read the full letter here.

Thank you for the warm welcome, Mayor Bloomberg! We hope to see you at Artexpo.

"NYC-117" by Tibi Hegyesi

Today’s Artwork of the Day is “NYC-117,” a 40″x40″ oil painting by Tibi Hegyesi, who will be joining us as a return exhibitor at Artexpo New York 2013 next week.

Tibi Hegyesi is an established visual artist with a Master degree in Fine Arts and visual communication. His works are featured in reputable galleries, art fairs and art magazines from around the world and are on display in numerous private and corporate collections in North America, Europe and the Far East.

Tibi’s artistic distinctiveness lies in his ability to capture the essence of the world around him through vibrantly contemporary visuals of an unseen depth of field and richness of color and a captivating emotional feel.

This year at Artexpo New York, Tibi is launching a brand new collection of cityscape oil paintings as a tribute to the realistic art that brought him fame and acclaim as a young artist. He also brings a few new, large-scale landscape and floral themed paintings done in fused acrylic, the unique painting medium that has become Tibi’s trademark in the latest years.

We look forward to hosting Tibi at Artexpo New York 2013. His art will be on display in Booth 262 in the main Pavilion. You can find out more about his art at tibi.ca.

"Expressions" by Artexpo 2013 exhibitor Alexis Silk

Today’s Artwork of the Day is “Expressions,” a series of 5 x 10 x 5 hot sculpted blown glass sculptures by Artexpo New York 2013 exhibitor Alexis Silk.

Alexis’ colorful, provocative sculptures are timeless. Working in cast bronze, hot sculpted blown glass and steel, she explores interrelationships of humanity, culture and industry. Her primary subject is the human figure—dynamic or in repose, classical, familiar and rich with meaning. In her works, intrinsic beauty combines with conceptual depth.

One of the leading young sculptors currently working in hot glass, Alexis was born in Seattle in 1983 and moved to Berkeley, California when she was 10 years old. In 2001, she entered the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She quickly identified sculpture as her passion, with a focus in foundry. A student of human form, she learned to combine her close knowledge of anatomy with a passion for fire and an unquenchable thirst for meaning.

Conceptually and artistically, Alexis likes to push the boundaries of what is deemed possible. Her glass figures are sculpted entirely freehand while the glass is piping hot on the end of blowpipe or punty rod. Her largest figures are close to half her body weight and take a team of five or six assistants to handle the glass while she sculpts.

Since receiving her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2005, Alexis has continued to study with glass masters like Pino Signoretto, Richard Royal and Boyd Sugiki. She’s been working full time as an artist since 2006. Today, her innovative work is displayed in museums, galleries, private collections and fine art shows around the country.

We look forward to sharing her work with you this March at Artexpo New York 2013!

"Unanswered Prayers" by Anna Paola Pizzocaro

Today’s Artwork of the Day is “Unanswered Prayers 05” by Artexpo New York 2013 exhibitor Anna Paola Pizzocaro. The New York-based artist’s “Unanswered Prayers” series invites the viewer into a world rich with dreamlike, oceanic images juxtaposed against wildlife, human figures and an urban backdrop.

Waking and dreaming are one in these fine art photography images, which are as surprising and unpredictable as the ocean itself. Jellyfish somersault in an abandoned building as oceanic light filters through the window. Flamingos flock into a room with wine-dark walls and ankle-deep water. A polar bear climbs onto a leather couch to avoid a salty rush of waves. Here’s what Anna has to say about her photographic explorations, and about fine art photography in general:

Today, the manipulation of photographic images is omnipresent in magazines and advertising, in medical imaging, and increasingly in the snapshots of vacations, weddings, and graduations that we email to friends and family and upload to social networking websites. It is not surprising that artists have used these new tools to realize their work and promote reflection on the medium’s past, present and future. Whether imagining alternate realities or reinterpreting classic works of art, artists today are pointing the way toward a new conception of photography as a malleable medium with an exquisitely complex relationship to visual truth.

Anna has an MFA in Art History and Aesthetics from the Sorbonne, along with a post-graduate degree in post-production and animation from the Ensad School of Arts (Ecole National Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs) in Paris. Upon graduation, she did digital work in commercials and TV for several years and then went on to pursue her art in New York City, where she lives and works today.

We look forward to hosting Anna from March 21-24 this year at Artexpo New York 2013! Until then, feel free to visit her online at www.annapaolapizzocaro.com

Litsa Spanos of Art Design Consultants, Inc.

At the Artexpo offices, nothing makes us happier than hearing from artists and gallery owners who have exhibited at one of our shows and had tremendous success. Just this week, we received an email from Litsa Spanos, President of Art Design Consultants, Inc. (ADC). Litsa is an award-winning gallery owner, educator, art consultant and custom framer, and she participated as a speaker last year in our Topics and Trends education series. Here’s what she had to say about exhibiting in our 2012 show:

Don’t miss Artexpo 2013. My experience last year was wonderful. As a speaker, I was able to share my secrets owning an award-winning gallery to many art dealers, galleries and artists. I also had a booth where I showed and sold contemporary paintings on copper. It was a complete sell-out in the first two days. The best and most rewarding part was that I developed new customers who also purchased art from me for the entire year afterwards. If you want to be inspired, increase your revenue and develop lasting relationships, I urge you to be part of Artexpo this year!

Thanks for those wonderful words, Litsa! Connecting art and design has always been an important mission for Spanos and her company—and Artexpo offers a venue where Litsa can network with artists, designers and buyers from all over the world. Litsa and her team provide artwork and extensive custom framing services to private individuals and corporate clients. You can find out more at www.adcfineart.com

Spanos has won numerous awards for ADC, including #1 Art and Framing Retailer of the Year, by Décor Magazine, winner of highly coveted “Excellence in Art Marketing” by Art Business News, along with others. We’re honored to be hosting her again this year! Get tickets or register to attend as a trade professional.

"Circle the Sun" by Artexpo New York 2013 exhibitor Hans Petersen

Today’s Artwork of the Day is “Circle the Sun” by Artexpo New York 2013 exhibitor Hans Petersen—an award-winning artist who trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Bright, bold and infused with dynamism, this piece is emblematic of Petersen’s work—and the CoBrA Movement that so strongly influences his art. A collective of Northern European artists, CoBRA is dedicated to complete freedom in color and form.

Ever an innovator, Hans has also developed his own signature style of painting, which he calls “ART-I-TECTURE.” Here’s how he explains it:

I process different aspects of architecture and environment and translate them into abstract, graphic, expressionistic paintings. As the title ART-I-TECTURE suggests, I rely on my knowledge of architecture and color to create visions of real and imagined images.

For his groundbreaking work, Hans claimed a SOLO Award at Artexpo New York 2012 last March. Here he is, accepting his certificate:

Hans Petersen claiming his SOLO Award at Artexpo New York 2012.

After studying in Copenhagen, Hans spent time as a graphic designer. His work brought him to New York City in 1976, where he launched a highly successful career in design. In 2005, however, he picked up his brushes again and returned to painting full time. Today, he is well known for his vibrant, fearless works, which seem to dance off the canvas.

Paintings with impact bring me pleasure. I strive to infuse a distinctive energy and character into my work to achieve excitement for myself and for others. If it goes unnoticed, it simply wasn’t worthwhile painting.

Hans Petersen’s vivid paintings are sought after by discriminating collectors and represented by galleries in Stamford, CT, Charlotte, NC and Copenhagen. His work are also featured in private collections throughout the United States and Denmark. He is represented by the NAC Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, where he had a solo exhibit of his work in December 2012. Says his Business Development representative,

We feel his work is best suited to urban areas with affininty for contemporary art and modern architecture.  We are also exploring licensing in home decor, textiles and apparel.

You can find Hans Petersen online at www.hanspetersenart.com and see his works up close this March at Artexpo New York 2013. Register as a trade attendee or get tickets.

With the dawning of the New Year, we’re thrilled to announce an all-new Artexpo New York 2013! From March 21-24, we’ll be transforming Pier 92 into a four-day celebration of fine art from all around the world. Our PR and marketing machines are revved up and spreading the word, and we’re still accepting submissions to our juried show. If you’re thinking of applying, now’s the time! You can learn more about exhibiting and submit your application here.

In our 35th year, we’ve established a solid tradition of excellence, and we’ve also learned some important lessons along the way. We strive to improve Artexpo year upon year, and for our 2013 show we are offering the following upgrades:

1) We are now a juried event. We’ll be showing only the highest-quality work at Artexpo.
2) We’ve adjusted our floor plan to ensure wider aisles and the highest aesthetics.
3) We’ve enlisted Mogul PR—a high-profile, integrated communications agency and lifestyle group—to increase traffic and bring greater exposure to our exhibitors.

Continuing last year’s successful partnership, Artexpo New York will be located adjacent to The Architectural Digest Home Design Show again this year, so attendees and exhibitors alike can look forward to an exciting weekend of art and design at the Piers!

We’re also going to be rolling out another four days of back-to-back educational offerings and events, so stay tuned for show updates right here in our blog.

Questions about Artexpo? Feel free to comment below or email info@artexponewyork.com