Cultural life is heating up in the Hamptons. Art Southampton welcomed thousands to its VIP opening Thursday night.
Following the success of its inaugural edition, the fair took on an even bigger space near the mouth of the Hamptons, the tony villages that comprise Long Island’s east end.
“The fair has doubled in size, and more importantly, it’s much more international,” says Nick Korniloff, the director of Art Southampton as well as its much bigger parent in Florida, the 23-year-old Art Miami.
This year, the fair is presenting eleven countries outside the U.S., with 21 of its participating galleries coming in from abroad.
Korniloff says Art Miami created Art Southampton after determining there was an underserviced market for “true investment-quality works of art” in the area.
Proceeds from the fair will benefit the Southampton Hospital. Many exhibitors have chosen to donate 5 percent of the sales of the works to the hospital.
Blouin ARTINFO spoke with Korniloff Thursday night, as well as gallerists Wilhem Grusdat from Munich’s Galeria Terminus, Ryan Ross of East Hampton’s Gallery Valentine and Dutch artist Marcelo Segall, represented by Amsterdam’s Leslie Smith Gallery.