Miami -- On Tuesday, December 2nd, Concept opened its inaugural edition aboard the SeaFair yacht, docked in downtown Miami's rapidly expanding Arts & Entertainment District at Bayfront Park. The VIP reception was attended by an illustrious audience of local and international collectors, artists, media professionals, Latin American celebrities and other members of the international art world. In light of the upcoming changes to South Beach's art fairs, Concept fair directors Lee Ann and David Lester's vision for the future of downtown Miami places them as first movers in this flourishing arts and luxury destination. The high caliber of fair attendees further substantiate downtown Miami as an arts and culture center and an able competitor for South Beach during Art Basel in Miami Beach.
Exhibitors were enthusiastic about the caliber of the attendees at the VIP vernissage for the blue chip Modern and Contemporary masters fair. Guests enjoyed an open bar sponsored by Remy Martin and Miami Rum Club, as well as Perrier, as they perused primarily secondary market work in the extravagant and tranquil setting of the SeaFair mega yacht, which boasts sweeping views of Biscayne Bay and over 20,000 sq. ft. of exhibition, dining and entertainment space. Steve Doyle of The Cambridge Yacht Group, sponsor of the Czech glass artist Jan Frydrych's solo presentation with Cambridge Fine Arts, noted seeing numerous prominent attendees from the yachting set. Doyle, a premier yacht broker, also unveiled his new addition to the fleet, a $1.2 million launch available for chartered private luxury water transportation. Glenn A. Fuller of Gladwell & Patterson, exhibiting Picasso's Guitare accrochée au mur in addition to several other original paintings and drawings by Modern and Impressionist Masters, was enthusiastic about what he viewed as a particularly discerning and engaged audience at the fair, stating: "We met several new collectors and found the crowd overall to be very serious and knowledgeable about the paintings. There's a real buzz at this fair that we've found lacking at others and an overall enthusiasm amongst this Miami crowd."Videos