Regional & International Collectors, Museum Directors and Numerous Museum Groups Assembled at this year’s ART SAN DIEGO

The third annual ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair, presented by sponsor UBS Financial Services, experienced tremendous success.

San Diego, CA, September 14, 2011 -- The third annual ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair, presented by sponsor UBS Financial Services, experienced tremendous success - exceeding targets for attendance with over 8,000 visitors along with galleries reporting strong sales. ART SAN DIEGO was held over labor-day weekend at the beautiful Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. The diverse programming from ART SAN DIEGO and its partners ensured that visitors to San Diego were immersed in a cultural city thriving with artistic activity.

“ART SAN DIEGO aims to build a strong cross-disciplinary bi-national philosophy to support our program, we seek to compel, nurture, and launch highly promising regional artists from different backgrounds and generations, encouraging innovative, and experimental endeavors within the contemporary art practices among various arenas (Visual Arts, Film, Design, Architecture),” stated Marcela Quiroz Luna, Curatorial Director, ASD.

ART SAN DIEGO, while still a young fair, offers an exceptional array of exhibitors while aiming to attract a new generation of art collectors by introducing work that can be bought within the limitations of almost any budget. A strong emphasis is placed on providing stimulating conversations about art acquisition, educational opportunities for both novice and experienced collectors, and personal talks with artists, film-makers, and designers.

Prominent San Diego-based gallery Quint Contemporary produced one of the most exciting and successful booths at the fair. “The fair was a great success for us, both in our overall sales as well as placing works with both established as well as with new collectors. The presentation of Jean Lowe's Discount Barn was a megahit and it was a real treat to see everyone walk into the store and light up with smiles as they perused the shelves in search of a unique artwork by Jean Lowe for their enjoyment,” said Ben Malcolm-Strauss, Director.

Among the many cultural highlights of ART SAN DIEGO was the Spotlight Artist Program, featuring four visual artists, two designers, and two “Launchpad” artists. Spotlight Artists: Daniel Ruanova (TJ/MX), Mauricio Esquivel (MX), Hugo Lugo (SIN/MX), Tuca Vieira (SP/BRA) was extremely well received by our audience. Vieira’s mysterious night-shots of deserted Brutalist Architecture in Berlin, Germany; Esquivel’s poetic wanderings about migration processes and symbolic-cultural value (re)assessments; Ruanova playing with violent icons and Lugo still enamoring us with his lonely human battles, composed a solid yet humanly fragile dialogue around central themes in the contemporary art scene.

Launchpad Artists: César Vázquez and Jonathan Ruiz de la Peña—had a highly successful weekend receiving great reviews from museum directors and gallery owners, and selling almost all their works on display! Since they were present during the four day event, the audience had the opportunity to talk directly to them, get to know them better and hear the artists talk about their own work.

Spotlight Designers: Tanya Aguíñiga (TJ/LA) and Giacomo Castagnola (Peru/MX)—featured exciting creations that questioned furniture’s solely functional and operative qualities, merging its usual understanding with sharp social commentaries and insightful cultural critique. Aguíñiga and Castagnola were both part of our ‘Art Talks’ this year, a fruitful new project that gives the art fair visitors a unique and intimate opportunity to sit and talk—literally over-the-table—with some of the best artists in the California/Baja California region.

Numerous city-wide “Art Labs” allowed visitors to see San Diego in a new way. "The Art Labs captured the essence of San Diego's identity: adaptable, entrepreneurial, smart, and diverse. From highly conceptual to just plain fun, over two hundred people made art 'by any means necessary," said Susan Mryland, Art Lab Curatorial Director.

“Presenting an Art Lab at the airport was not only about supporting the arts in San Diego, but also about being connected to the community. While the primary function of the Airport Authority is to provide air service needs to the region, our unique location weaves us right into the urban hub. Being mindful of, sensitive to, and a part of the San Diego community through the presentation of art programming humanizes the airport and provides opportunities for travelers and visitors to experience the cultural richness of where we live,” said Constance Y. White, Art Program Manager, San Diego International Airport

One of the exciting components of ART SAN DIEGO is the opportunity to showcase some of San Diego’s leading established and emerging artists through the San Diego Art Prize Exhibitions. Patricia Frischer, coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, which presents the SD Art Prize, says, “We were encouraged by sales of art by the SD Art Prize recipients. The donations made by the Quint Gallery in appreciation of our work to promote Adam Belt and Jay S. Johnson will help to underwrite the cash component of the prize for next year. ART SAN DIEGO fair very kindly donated the booth space at the fair to make this exposure possible.”

ART SAN DIEGO would like to extend a special thank you to our 2011 exhibiting galleries and sponsors

ART SAN DIEGO 2011 Exhibitors include: EDS Galería (Mexico City), NODO Galería (Tijuana), En Masse (Montreal), JDC Fine Art (San Diego), 21st Editions (Massachusetts), Tanya Aguiñiga (Los Angeles), Fu Xin Gallery (Shanghai), Castor (Toronto), David Weeks Studio (New York), Leanne Hull Fine Art (La Jolla), Galería Rubbers Internacional (Buenos Aires), JVS Gallery (San Diego), DTR Modern Galleries (Boston), Walter Bischoff Galerie (Berlin), ECOH (Mexico City), Ana Tzarev Gallery (New York), Gemmell Studio (San Diego), Aldo de Sousa Gallery (Buenos Aires), Diehl Gallery (Jackson), Koplin Del Rio (Culver City), Giacomo Castagnola (San Diego/Tijuana), Betsy Lane Art Consultant (Del Mar). AMIC | Arts Management International Corporation (Osaka), Symbolic Collection Gallery (San Diego), Joseph Bellows Gallery (La Jolla), La Caja Galería (Tijuana), 1500 Gallery (New York), Consorcio de Arte (Buenos Aires), Robert Green Fine Arts (Mill Valley), Ginocchio Gallery (Mexico City), Pristine Galerie (Monterrey), Toca Galería (Mexico City), Joanne Artman Gallery (Laguna Beach), Quint Contemporary Art (La Jolla), Mindy Solomon Gallery (St. Petersburg), SUMO (Mexico City).Mauricio Esquivel (Mexico City), Jonathan Ruiz de la Peña (Tijuana), César Vázquez (Tijuana), Tuca Vieira (New York), Daniel Ruanova (Mexico City), Hugo Lugo (Mexico City), Rubén Ortiz-Torres (San Diego/Los Angeles), Tristan Shone (San Diego), Jay Johnson (San Diego), Adam Belt (San Diego). David Weeks (New York), Tanya Aguiñiga (Los Angeles), Castor (Toronto), Giacomo Castagnola (San Diego/Tijuana), and SDSU School of Art, Design & Art History Furniture Design Program, Museum Works (Chicago), Artist League Studios (Minneapolis).

SPONSORS: Presenting Sponsor: UBS Financial Services. Exclusive Sponsors: Hub International Insurance Services - Insurance Advisor; Chubb Personal Insurance - Insurance Sponsor; Winston Art Group - Art Appraisal Advisor Group; San Diego Magazine - Media Sponsor; and Art Pulse, Charity Partner, Hilton San Diego Bayfront – Hotel Sponsor; Lincoln – Car Sponsor, Charles Koll Jewellers – Jewelry Sponsor, Craters & Freighters – Art Shipping, ArtWorks San Diego – Art Handling, St. Petersburg Vodka – Beverage Sponsor.

For more information about ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair
http://artsandiego-fair.com
For more information about ARTS MONTH San Diego/SEPTEMBER, please visit : http://artsmonthsd.com

ART SAN DIEGO would like to extend a special thank you to our 2011 exhibiting galleries and sponsors

Contact:
Jennifer von Stauffenberg
Olive PR Solutions, Inc.
350 West Ash Street, #103
San Diego, CA 92101
619-955-5285
jennifer@oliveprsolutions.com
http://www.oliveprsolutions.com

This release was published on openPR.