Art Joins the Online Revolution

By P. Joseph

Art galleries from 30 countries converged digitally last month for the world’s first ever online art fair.

The VIP Art Fair featured 7,500 works by more than 2,000 artists from 138 leading contemporary art galleries around the globe.

Galleries from locations as diverse as Sydney, Shanghai, Cape Town, Athens, London, Reykjavik, New York and Sao Paulo were all present for the week-long fair.

Prices ranged from $5000 for work by emerging artists to more than $1 million for pieces by world-renowned figures including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gilbert and George.

Co-founded by New York-based art dealers James and Jane Cohan and Internet entrepreneurs Jonas and Alessandra Almgren, the Art Fair provided a platform for galleries to offer their work to new audiences worldwide.

Visitors to VIPartfair.com paid $20 to log on ($100 on preview days). They could then view art works, zoom in on details, play videos and speak to dealers in real-time via Skype.

The fair ran from January 22 – 30th.

"Prices ranged from $5000 for work by emerging artists to more than $1 million for pieces by world-renowned figures including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gilbert and George."

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"Prices ranged from $5000 for work by emerging artists to more than $1 million for pieces by world-renowned figures including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gilbert and George."

By P. Joseph