(ArtfixDaily.com)
The inaugural Asia Week New York Contemporary concluded its nine-day run on
an upbeat note with healthy sales and an enthusiastic response from collectors.
Initially launched to coincide with TEFAF New York and Frieze, this new adjunctto the well-established Asia Week New York surpassed participating dealers’
expectations and all are keen to return for a second edition next year.
“After more than three years of planning, it was a wonderful confluence to havethe opening of our exhibition, Beyond Kutani featuring Nakamura Takuo andTakegoshi Jun, coincide with Asia Week New York Contemporary,” said Joan
Mirviss of her namesake gallery. “It was exciting to welcome many new faces toour events and see the artists engaged in conversation with a different group ofart enthusiasts. Nearly eighty percent of the pieces have been spoken for withthirty-seven works sold. Both artists have been represented by our gallery forabout twenty years, so their work has already entered numerous U.S. museum
collections and enjoys a strong following among western collectors.”
Nana Onishi, whose eponymous gallery is located in Chelsea, the center of theworld's contemporary art market, drew upon the many people who visited theart fairs during the week. “We saw more people than usual including art advisersand curators,” said Ms. Onishi. “On the opening day of Asia Week New York
Contemporary, we organized a live performance for our artist Shun Sudo -- incollaboration with a New York based make-up studio MLE Studio -- whopainted on a live model using his bright, graffiti-pop style art.” Onishi reported
that she met new collectors and sold a number of pieces during the week.
Said Carol Conover, the managing director of Kaikodo LLC, “We sold a numberof works which we otherwise would not have in May, and were delighted that
Asian art curators brought their Western contemporary art colleagues to look atpieces together.” Collectors snapped up four works by Wang Wuxie "CasualIdeation" to three new clients and "Spirited Away" by Wu Qiang.

“Sales were swift from the moment our exhibition opened,” reported Katherine
Martin, director of Scholten Japanese Art. “The back-to-back events with artist
Paul Binnie in attendance over the weekend were a big hit with collectors. Whilemost of the visitors were from the tri-state region, some came from considerable
distances in order to take advantage of the opportunity to meet the artist.”“Our experience of the dynamic initiative of Asia Week New York Contemporary
was dramatically rewarding both in terms of the range of those interested
enough to visit us, despite other major fairs, and the unexpected level of sales
that ensued,” said Michael Goedhuis, whose namesake gallery is based inLondon. Among the paintings he sold were the Wei Ligang “Gold GroundDiptych,” the Qin Feng and a large Qiu Deshu.
“We found it to be a valuable platform for us to connect with potential clientsand have several pending offers that would not have been generated had we notparticipated,” said Peter Kang of Kang Collection Korean Art, while Navin
Kumar, of the eponymous Indian and Southeast Asian art gallery, met newcollectors and looks forward to exhibiting next year.
For more information, visit www.asiaweekny.com