APB 2020. An Art Fair to Collect Experiences

By Pietro Daprano

Art Palm Beach (APB) is an annual art fair in exponential growth that opens its 23^rd edition on January 30 through February 3, 2020, at Palm Beach County Convention Center. It will offer visitors the chance to enjoy an expanded art experience from research axes linked to the social impact of the works of specific artists who have undertaken on issues related to processes of change, transformation, innovation, and global relevance such as environmental stability. To this end, the fair organizers have designed a set of dynamic exhibitions focused on works by renowned masters of modern and contemporary art.

Tomás Sánchez, Meditador a las 8:00 am, 1995, acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of Latin Art Core.

From these premises, APB 2020 has decided to renew its commitment to artists, gallerists, collectors, and art enthusiasts, producing a complementary education and training program through the APB Power Talks. This program includes lectures by influential art professionals, guided visits to students from local schools and community workshops.

APB 2020 has been conceived as a rewarding event where exhibitors and collectors can establish new business strategies. Lee Ann, APB creator, and director with her husband, David Lester, announced that Corey Hampson joined the project as co-director, which will enhance executive management at all levels to the organization. Aboard APB, Corey Hampson said: “I am pleased to work with the Lesters who have been industry pioneers for more than 40 years in assisting dealers in developing a more creative, profitable, and innovative new approaches and opening new markets in the coming years.”

Furthermore, Lee Ann reported: “We are proud to announce, on the one hand, the inclusion of Azmara Club Cruises as the main sponsor of APB 2020, a company whose values are common to APB. Azmara Club Cruises represents a leading figure in the importance of authentic cultural immersion experiences and committed to environmental management. On the other hand, we are pleased to have the participation of Pietro Daprano as the artistic director of APB 2020 to guarantee the conceptual and production design of the event.”

Regarding this new alliance, it is worth mentioning the economic geography that APB 2020 offers, is strategic in the development of economic, social, and cultural opportunities by being located in Palm Beach County in the state of Florida. According to Bloomberg’s world leader in trade and financial data, Palm Beach ranks third in the wealthiest US codes, averaging $1.25M. It is estimated that 24% of the world’s millionaire families reside in Palm Beach.

Joan Miró, Untitled, 1960, mixed media on paper. Courtesy of Imaginart Gallery.

About the fairground atmosphere, Lee Ann explains: “APB 2020 will offer visitors an emotional center of artistic immersion, enjoying a creative experience of high level that will enhance the vision of art and a sense of environmental conservation. We are convinced that it is necessary to listen to what the planet tells us through art.”

Within this natural concept of interpretation of the ‘art ecosystem,’ APB 2020 managed to compose a team of leading experts dedicated to building the most significant and best art promotion platform in South Florida that will offer all the support, so gallerists make the most of their investments.

The advisory committee includes key figures in the art world, such as Kimberlee Cole and Bernardita Mandiola. Kimberlee has a long trajectory of analyzing the contemporary art market. On her profile, we can say that since the late 1980s, she worked with numerous institutions and organizations including the Lannan Foundation, Corcoran Museum of Art, Bass Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Art, USF Contemporary Art Museum and the American Association of Museums.

Bernardita is an independent curator, art historian, and international art advisor based in Los Angeles. She is currently the director of the prestigious non-profit AMA foundation, from Santiago de Chile.

Manuel Mendive, La Foresta Mágica, 2011, mixed media on canvas. Courtesy of Sultan Delon Fine Arts Gallery.

As for the APB 2020 curatorial committee, Lee Ann expressed enthusiasm in saying, “We have integrated a team of influential new figures such as Max Hernández Calvo and Pietro Daprano to conceptually manage the exhibition sections.”

Max Hernandez Calvo, an independent curator, researcher, and art critic, received the Cisneros Scholarship for Latin American curators (2005-2007). He has published articles and essays on contemporary art and culture in Peru, the United States and Europe.

Alejandra Mendez and Mahara Martínez have also joined APB 2020 team. Mendez is a professional with 15 years of experience in art management, advisory, art criticism, and art education. She worked for many years at GBG Arts, Caracas and has managed the careers of emerging and contemporary artists. For her part, Martínez brings her knowledge of the art market to strengthen the ties between Latin America and APB 2020. She has a solid understanding of the organization and management of international galleries and fairs in Santiago, Lima, and Miami.

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The Main Section of the fair includes the participation of more than 85 established galleries from all over the world.

APB Focus will be a new section that aims to strengthen the links between Latin America and the US contemporary art market. Galleries from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela will exhibit a wide diversity of contemporary artists.

APB Next Level is the section for new artistic proposals. Its purpose is to create dynamic exhibitions with young galleries to showcase the most innovative projects.

Fernando Botero, Centauro, 2013, Carrara white marble. Courtesy of Sultan Delon Fine Arts Gallery.

APB Flow is the experimental section of the fair. Here the latest art of new media and video will be presented. It is a proposal that seeks to maximize the interaction of the viewer with the work. The art fair also includes a space for large installations.

APB Kabinett intends to offer collectors a museum solution, a type studio format that serves in showing selective works of modern art.

APB Editorial is a fascinating section that will offer a wide range of both traditional and alternative editorial projects such as, artists’ books, magazines, photographic books, artistic collaborations, limited editions, among others.

APB Eco will be linked to APB Power Talks that will undoubtedly influence the exhibition sessions. Its action operates under the slogan “Art can also save the planet.” It marks the next step in the evolution of the art market, constituting the APB eco-program, an initiative that promotes the research of artists interested in environmental conservation and energy saving, while imagining ideas about sustainable development as a creative solution for life.

Another initiative offered by the APB Power Talks program is the APB Visionary Award that pays homage to the trajectory of artists whose works have significantly impacted art, culture, and society.

Trish Duggan and Bert Vallien, Ship, 2018, cast glass and objects. Courtesy of Habatat Gallery.

The list of galleries at APB 2020 includes HABATAT (Vivian Wang, Trish Duggan, and Bert Vallien), Matthew Swift Gallery (Peter Lyos, Zygmund Jankowski), Steidel Contemporary (Jennifer Mccurdy, Micheal Rich), Guarisco Gallery (Kyu-Hak Lee), Imaginart Gallery (Joan Miró and Jaume Plensa), Latin Art Core Gallery (Tomás Sánchez, Wifredo Lam, and Jesús Soto), Sultan Delon Fine Arts (Fernando Botero and Manuel Mendive), GBG Arts Gallery (Luis Mille, Ben Abounassif and Mareo Rodriguez), LYV Gallery (Luis Wells and Leon Ferrari), GalleryLabs (Hilda Marinsalta) and Imaginario (Maitemazz,  Oi Fortin), among others.

APB 2020 represents an essential platform for promoting modern and contemporary art. It is the place to collect art experiences that inspire and mark the cross-section that artists, gallerists, and collectors are looking for in the art market.

ArtPalmBeach 2020. Palm Beach County Convention Center. 650 Okeechobee Boulevard. West Palm Beach, Fla, 33401.

Hours: Collector’s Preview: January 30, 2020 / Public Hours: January 31 - February 3, 2020, 12-7pm.

Pietro Daprano is an artist and curator based in Miami. He obtained a BFA at Armando Reverón Institute in Caracas, Venezuela. He is the director of Portfolio Rew Pro and the digital network Latin American Photography.