Though the Seattle Art Fair held its inaugural event at the height of summer—a sleepy time of year in the art world—the 4-day affair last August proved the most successful new show of 2015. Microsoft cofounder and art mega-patron Paul Allen was the dynamic force behind the nascent fair, luring such blue-chip galleries as David Zwirner, Pace, and Gagosian. The billionaire’s homegrown expo proved lucrative to say the least: By Sunday evening, red dots lined the walls, and more than a few big names had already vowed to return in 2016.
More than 15,000 people attended the inaugural fair last August.
Major purchases included Yayoi Kusama’s stainless-steel Pumpkin sculpture (left) for $1.2 million and a large painting collage by Oscar Murillo for $250,000.
This year’s show is scheduled to take place August 4 through 7 at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. It will feature 75 exhibitors (up from last year’s total of 62), including David Zwirner, Pace, and Seattle favorite Greg Kucera Gallery.
Seattle Art Fair, seattleartfair.com
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