NFL Legend Joe Namath, Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora, Jessica Goldman Srebnick and Scott Srebnick, Janet and Joey Goldman, Ellen Salpeter, Director, ICA, Stephanie Reed, VIP Relations, Art Basel, and artists Peter Tunney, Chad Muska, David Drebin, Mr. Debonair and Pablo Dona, were among the first through the doors at the VIP Opening on Thursday February 15th where they joined more than 4,500 guests in admiring work from 180 artists presented by 60 international galleries representing dozens of countries, including Germany, Chile, Russia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, The Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States. The preview benefited the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA). The fair was sponsored by Christie’s International Real Estate, “The Official Luxury Real Estate sponsor of Art Wynwood,” and together with its international affiliates, hosted an elegant booth at the main entrance of the fair, showcasing luxury residential property offerings from around the world.

Crowds admired and acquired important works on display from renowned artists such as Josef Albers, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Edouard Manet, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei, with many galleries reporting significant sales throughout the weekend.

Cernuda Arte placed Peasant Drinking Coffee (Guajiro Tomando Cafe) by Mariano Rodriguez from 1945 for $270,000 and Figures (Personajes) by Manuel Mendive from 2006 for $100,000, in addition to two pieces from 2017 by Sandro de la Rosa, including TailWind (Viento a Favor) for $20,000 and State of Grace (Estado de Gracia) for $20,000.

Local galleries European Design & Art and Avant Gallery reported strong sales. European Design & Art placed over $90,000 of works including five bronze works by Philippe Timmermans for a total sum of $64,500, while Avant Gallery placed their entire collection of Skyler Grey works, ranging in price from $40,000 to $7,500, including Snoopy's Louie Daydream Red & Blue, Chanel Olive Oyl Black and White, and Speed Roller, in addition to Christian D. Pope’s Door of Perception for $12,000.

In addition, The Lawley Art Group placed A Big Heart of Gold Too by Tanner Lawley for $35,000 and the artist donated $5,000 from the sale to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School GoFundMe. The gallery also placed four of his works in the first fifteen minutes of the fair including Loving You Howard, Loving You Matthew, Loving You Sam and Loving You Ellie, all from 2018 for undisclosed sums.

“Our exhibitors are delighted with the sales at this year’s Art Wynwood,” said Grela Orihuela, Fair Director, Art Wynwood. “We redesigned the layout due to the fairs new location and received excellent feedback from both exhibitors and guests who were thrilled with the easy flow from booth to booth. Our seventh edition was extremely engaging and a testament to the quality of work our galleries showcased.”

The annual Presidents Day Weekend fair brings a major contemporary art fair back to Miami for serious collectors and budding art enthusiasts to discover and acquire some of the most important works of the 20th and 21st centuries at the site of the 2017 edition of Art Miami on Biscayne Bay; one of the most prestigious and well-known waterfront locations in the City of Miami. It was announced during the fair that The Miami Yacht Show will be the fair’s neighbor at the Resorts World Miami waterfront property for Art Wynwood 2019 and beyond, where they will utilize the waterfront and concrete pads that Art Miami uses each December. Nick Korniloff comments, “The Miami Yacht Show and Art Wynwood will operate simultaneously and will work closely together to ensure that the attendee and exhibitor experience is a world class luxury lifestyle event. Each organization and their exhibitors will benefit from the well-heeled, high net-worth demographic that they individually attract.”