Bloomberg‘s New York Art Duo, Lindsay Pollock and Philip Boroff, went to ArtHamptons this weekend and declared it a small-time:
“This is a giant fair and Bridgehampton is a small town,” said Mark Borghi, who has a gallery on the Upper East Side and another a few doors down in Bridgehampton. “Logistically it’s very difficult. You can’t get the volume of people to make everyone happy.”
Fair-goers spotted among the 68 dealers in five white tents, according to dealers, included Jon Bon Jovi, the rock star; several “housewives” from reality television program “The Real Housewives of New York City;” actor Kelsey Grammer; and Russell Simmons, the hip hop entrepreneur.
East Hampton’s Vered Gallery, which originally planned to complete a silent auction of a Michael Jackson portrait by Andy Warhol at the fair, withdrew it from sale late last week. The artwork sold at Sotheby’s in New York in May for $278,500 and the gallery was offering it for a minimum of $800,000. Janet Lehr, a gallery partner, said there was interest but collectors needed more time to assess the value. […]
The fair, in its second year, attracted several well-known galleries like Manhattan’s D.C. Moore, Hirschl & Adler Modern and Borghi. They were outnumbered by regional businesses from Connecticut, California and beyond, often displaying art of dubious merit. While half the galleries that attended the first event didn’t return, the total number of exhibitors increased by about a third this year, organizers said.
Bon Jovi, ‘Real Housewives,’ Few Buyers Attend ‘ArtHamptons’(Bloomberg)
