The Palm Beach Post covers their hometown art fair on the eve of yesterday’s opening:

John Pankauski, a West Palm Beach lawyer, contemporary art collector and member of palmbeach3’s host committee, attended Art Basel. He found dealers providing serious bargains and being upfront about economic tough times, which he suggested dealers emulate at palmbeach3.

A sign of the downturn in the contemporary art market is that Pankauski has been fielding calls from private dealers willing to sell not only emerging but mid-career artists at discounts to raise cash. Hot contemporary artists whose works were never easy to come by at Art Basel, such as painter Amy Bennett, were suddenly available, Pankauski noted.

It’s safe to assume that most people visiting palmbeach3 are neither dealers nor collectors — they’re art lovers and browsers. And for a $15 one-day pass, less than some local museums charge for high-season exhibits, you can visit a vast hall filled with artists who don’t generally get a lot of play here. Their names are the ones seen in gallery shows in New York, London and Paris, and in glossy advertisements in art magazines.

For a few days, Palm Beach County becomes ground zero for the latest trends and trendiness suffusing the art world. And there are a host of satellite parties, viewings and lectures to help make the fair a hip scene to be seen at.

Kaufman says to expect a strong showing of Pop Art from the ’60s through the ’80s among dealer booths. Furnishings and Parisian jewelry will also be on hand. And strung throughout the hall will be mini-exhibits, featuring watercolors by the legendary Romare Bearden, paintings by Cuba’s Manuel Mendive, photography by Nathalia Edenmont and Kaufman’s hand-picked exhibition of student works from the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.

Art for Sale! But is Anybody Buying (Palm Beach Post)