Tommy Hilfiger, Joe Namath at Inaugural Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary Art Fair

(Foto: Cortesía)

Celebrating its inaugural year, the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary (PBM+C) art fair, presented by Art Miami LLC and sponsored by the City of West Palm Beach, opened its doors on Thursday January 12th and continued through the 15th, and was immediately recognized as a leading international contemporary and modern art fair. Attendance of prestigious art collectors, connoisseurs, advisors and notable museum professionals surged through the weekend, while galleries reported significant sales of investment quality blue chip, contemporary and Post-War works.

City of West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio, PBM+C Founder and Owner Nick Korniloff and his wifePamela Cohen, Art Miami LLC partners Mike Tansey and Brian Tyler, Christopher Roog – Director of Economic Development in WPB, and Andrew Aiken – President & CEO and Bridget Baratta – Chief Development Officer, at The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, opened the fair with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, while collectors, art connoisseurs and art world luminaries were greeted with champagne and a sampling of Chef Erik Petterson’s Italian menu from EVO upon arrival. 

(Foto: Cortesía)

More than 17,500 attendees, including Tommy Hilfiger and NFL legend Joe Namath, admired work from nearly one-thousand artists presented by more than fifty international galleries throughout the four days. Six thousand guests attended the fair’s VIP preview, which was sponsored by Christie’s International Real Estate and benefitted The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, to which Mr. Korniloff presented with a check for $25,000 at the VIP opening on behalf of the Fair.

Crowds flocked to the tent site to see important works on display from renowned artists such as Josef Albers, John Chamberlain, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, with many dealers reporting sales within the first hour of the fair, including Cultural Council Spotlight Luncheon speaker artist Bernie Taupin, who placed three major works before 6pm during the VIP Preview through Waterhouse & Dodd. 

Mrs. Audrey Gruss said, “The Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary fair has a wonderful energy and resonates with the excitement of finding young artists. I was drawn to the work of a young Japanese artist, Hidenori Tsumori from the Yufuku Gallery in Tokyo, and feel that it can hold its own among our collection of well-known modern and contemporary artists.”

(Foto: Cortesía)

The fair’s ownership team presented Mrs. Ruth Baum with a portrait of her and her husband Ted Baum by breakout visual and recording artist ABH (Al-Baseer Holly). The portrait was given as a sign of appreciation for their philanthropy to the arts, The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, and their continued support of the Art Miami group of fairs run by Mr. Korniloff. The commissioned portrait of the Baums introduced the “Portraits for Perry” project, where ABH will donate 50% of sales from commissioned portraits to the Perry J. Cohen Foundation (PJCF), who will use the proceeds to fund the “Perry J. Cohen Wetlands Laboratory at Jupiter Community High School.”

The special exhibition, ‘Francis Picabia Loan Exhibition Curated by Jeffrey Deitch,’ which featured premiere examples of works by Francis Picabia on loan from the collection of Jeff & Mei Sze Greene, proved to be one of the most popular. 

Joe Namath was seen supporting his son-in-law and street artist Edwin Baker’s break out exhibition, "A Baker’s Dozen," that was presented by Worth Avenue gallery Arcature Fine Art and benefitted the Perry J. Cohen Foundation.

(Foto: Cortesía)