ArtHamptons 2017 Has Been Canceled

The Georgia-based tradeshow company  Urban Expositions has canceled the tenth edition of its ArtHamptons fair, previously slated for June in Bridgehampton, NY, according to a representative of the company. Although there has been no official statement on the cancellation — the fair’s website says only, “2017 Dates Postponed” — the representative told ARTINFO that the company is “sitting out the Hamptons market this year” and will be sending out additional information in “the coming year.”

 Urban Expositions, which also produces such fairs as Art PalmSprings, Art Aspen, and SOFA Chicago, reported attendance of about 6,500 visitors over four days at its ninth edition in 2016, which was held at a private estate in Bridgehampton and featured 55 galleries from 11 countries. That represented an almost 50-percent decline in attendance from the year before — when the fair was held over the busier July 4th weekend, but also when the art market was going strong before the slump of 2016.

Having garnered a reputation for sartorial splendor, thanks to its request that attendees don “Hamptons Chic” attire, ArtHamptons has, in past years, struck a balance between East End opulence and price points that, while certainly not low, weren’t nearly as high as those at Art Southampton, which just last year saw Benrimon Projects sell an Andy Warhol “Marilyn” for $225,000. On average, works at last year’s ArtHamptons ranged from $10-50,000.

While the future of that fair is still in question, Urban Expositions is turning its attention to Art Aspen, the eighth edition of which takes place August 4-6 (opening night August 3) at Aspen Ice Garden.

 

BY LEAH ROSENZWEIG for Blouin ArtInfo