Art Wynwood, the Wynwood Arts District’s highly anticipated International Contemporary Art Fair, made its debut last night with overwhelming attendance and sales by 40 percent of participating galleries. Vying to get a first look at what the fresh and edgier inaugural fair has to offer, art collectors lined up outside Art Miami Pavilion and peered through the glass to catch a glimpse of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, alongside Art Wynwood Director Nick Korniloff and Wynwood pioneer Tony Goldman, signal the launch of the fair with a ribbon cutting ceremony. In celebration of the fair’s launch and in gratitude for the district and city of Miami’s support, a generous donation of more than $25,000 was made to The Wynwood Arts District Association, Miami Art Dealers Association and Bakehouse Art Complex.

“We are extremely pleased with Art Wynwood’s opening night,” said Carole Hochman, Director of New York-based Barry Friedman Ltd. “There were very strong collectors and familiar faces in the crowd, which gives us great confidence Art Wynwood has a promising weekend and future ahead”

Noting a palpable feeling of excitement in the air, Art Wynwood exhibitors began reporting strong sales minutes after opening, with New York-based Forum Gallery announcing that it pre-sold William Beckman’s “The Bull Series, #7” for $95,000 leading up on the fair as a direct result of fair marketing efforts. Throughout the evening, exhibitors buzzed about the outstanding turnout, strong interest in their collections, as well as sales highlights including the following:

• Miami-based Cernuda Arte sold Dayron González’s “Una Ventana Demasiada Alta,” Giosvany Echevarría’s “Murmullo Camasino,” Ramon Vázquez’s “Paisaje Fantastico, Numero Uno,” Tomás Sánchez’s “Lakeshore,” Alfredo Sosabravo’s “De Repente en el Verano” and “Fanáticos de Cine,” together totaling $350,000
• New York-based Mark Borghi Fine Art sold Ed Moses’ “Vest-A” for $58,000 and “Blu-Veil” for $42,000

• Caracas-based Ascaso Gallery sold a piece by Jesus Soto for $75,000 and one by Victor Valera for $15,000
• Miami-based Rudolf Budja Gallery LLC sold two pieces by Martin Granditz and one by Richard Petibaun for undisclosed amounts

• London-based Unix Fine Art sold Desire Obtain Cherish’s “Addicted at Birth” for $35,000
• Miami-based Kavachnina Gallery sold Pepe Moran’s “Seeds I,” “Seeds II,” and “Seeds III,” together totaling $20,000, and Salustiano’s “Black N.3. Iris” for $26,000
• Barcelona-based Villa Del Arte Galleries sold a work by Johan Thunell for $21,000
• New York-based Sundaram Tagore Gallery sold Tom Doyle’s “Ballyduff,” “Ballyhornam,” and “Ballymacoda,” totaling$20,000
• London-based Cynthia Corbett Gallery sold Lluis Barba’s “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Gauguin” for $18,500
• New York-based Black & White Gallery sold Isidro Blasco’s “Aerial New York” for $15,000 within minutes of the opening
• New York-based Denise Bibro Fine Art sold Dusty Boynton’s “Old Friends” for $12,000
• Miami-based Now Contemporary Art sold Roman Vitali’s “Gumball Machine” for $8,000 and “Flower” for $4,000
• Amsterdam-based Witzenhausen Gallery sold  Jeff Ross’s “Aerial #5” for $10,000
• New York-based Westwood Gallery sold Michael DesRosiers’ six works of mixed media on paper totaling $5,700
• New York-based Barry Friedman Ltd. sold Michael Eastman’s “Blue Arch” and Ian Ingram’s “Self-Portrait As Father” for undisclosed amounts
• Mexico City-based Alfredo Ginocchio Gallery sold Hugo Lugo’s “Cuaderno Para Ensayar el Vacio, Estudio #23” and “Cuaderno Para Ensayar el Vacio, Estudio #27” for undisclosed amounts
• The Netherlands-based Priveekollektie sold Viktor Timofeev’s “Pattern” for an undisclosed amount
• Coral Gables-based Tresart sold Luis Martínez Pedro’s “Aguas Territoriales,” Loló Soldevilla’s “Sueño Astral” and “Untitled, After Composition,” as well as untitled works by Pedro de Oraá and Claudio Castillo for undisclosed amounts
• Miami-based Bernice Steinbaum Gallery sold one of Peter Sarkisian’s digital works for an undisclosed amount
• New York-based De Buck Gallery sold Zevs’ “Liquidated Merrill Lynch-Black” and William Sweetlove’s “Cloned Bouly” for undisclosed amounts

Galleries including Buenos Aires-based Aldo de Sousa Gallery, London-based Olyvia Fine Art, and London-based Waterhouse & Dodd, to name a few, have works in the vicinity of six figures on reserve.

Guestsof honor, host committee members and esteemed art collectors including Tony and Janet Goldman, Jonathan and Criselda Breene, Walid and Susie Wahab, BelkysNerey, Ron English, Tom Clancey, Carole Seikaly, Alan Randolph, Dr. Leonard Tachmes, Fernando Wong, Carlos Betancourt, Marvin Ross Friedman, Adrianne bon Haes, Sam Hollander, Sean Gelb, Miami Beach Mayor MaddieBaur and Miami Beach City Commissioner Michael Gongora, among others, were greeted upon arrival by models styled in Luis Valenzuela’s EcoArtFashion collection and sounds of Indian performing artist Bollydoll’s voice echoing throughout the Pavilion. While enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, attendees perused the more than 50 galleries’ collections and mingled in the VIP Lounge, where Tony Goldman unveiled what he calls “The Flying Murals of Wynwood,” featuring six 8’ x 24’ murals by international artists.

Art Wynwood has drawn international support and attention for its impressive program of performances, paintings, photography, sculpture, art video and new media, conceptual art and street art by 500 celebrated and emerging artists, as represented by more than 50 galleries from Argentina, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, Venezuela, United Kingdom and the United States.  Art Wynwood will be open to the general public from Friday, Feb. 17 to Sunday, Feb. 19 from 11 am to 7 pm and on Monday, Feb. 20 from 11 to 6 am. For more information on Art Wynwood and for a full list of exhibiting galleries, please visit www.art-wynwood.com.

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