About Bridge Art Fair

The goal of Bridge Art Fair, the independent international exposition of new art, is to broaden the exposure of emerging and contemporary art and artists by providing a showcase for the best from both established and up-and-coming galleries, artist collectives, and artist-run spaces. Connecting the global art community, Bridge Art Fair has a deep commitment to contemporary work in all media, including but not limited to painting, prints, photography, sculpture, installation, drawing, film, video, new media, and conceptual art. Never cookie cutter, each edition of Bridge Art Fair also spotlights a different international focus. The Bridge Focus section of each fair is defined both by geography and culture, providing each show with its own distinctive curatorial premise.

BRIDGE LONDON:

2 Spring Gardens, Trafalgar Square
FOCUS: THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS
SPECIAL EXHIBITION: AFRICA
Application Deadline: May 15, 2008

Bridge is pleased to announce its second annual London edition, concurrent with the spectacularly popular Frieze Art Fair. Bridge will once again take over the luxurious, five-star Trafalgar Hotel in Trafalgar Square, with an estimated 50 to 60 international exhibitors transforming the historic hotel into a contemporary art center. In the midst of cancellations of other American efforts in London, Bridge promises an even more visible second-year effort.

Bridge London 2008 builds on the tremendous success of Bridge London 2007, which featured exhibitors from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US. Media coverage included Art Newspaper, the New York Times, ABC, BBC, CNN, Fox News, and Art Info. Sales figures were well over a million dollars, with high-profile buyers including Beth DeWoody and a number of major US museums. Lloyd’s TSB, the fair’s sponsor, was inherent to the success of Bridge London, inviting many important clients and offering special art-purchasing programs.

Bridge is pleased to announce our Focus: The Commonwealth of Nations and Special Exhibition: Africa. In London 2008, this special exhibition will proudly showcase young African artists who would not otherwise have the opportunity to reach a centralized global audience. Bridge is also pleased to expand its Projects section, a program which provides artists direct public exposure at the fair. Since its inception, Bridge Projects has launched several budding art careers.

Located at the geographic center of the city across from the National Gallery and National Portrait Galleries, Bridge is only a brief walking distance to the Zoo Art Fair at the Royal Academy near Piccadilly Circus. All of this is only a thirty-minute walk from Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park.

BRIDGE MIAMI:
December 4–7

The Catalina and Maxine Hotels
1732 Collins Avenue
FOCUS: MEXICO, BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA
Application deadline: July 14
Bridge Miami 08 application >>

Due to its enormous commercial success, Bridge is pleased to announce our third installment in Miami Beach. Held at both The Catalina and Maxine Hotels, Bridge Miami leads the South Beach satellite art market, located a mere two blocks from Art Basel. Visitors can browse nearly 80 rooms of international emerging and contemporary art while enjoying the two-story Red Bar in The Catalina Hotel and the always-hopping Maxine Restaurant next door.

Bridge Miami 08 builds on the incredible success of Miami 07, where nearly 80 exhibitors totaled sales in excess of three million dollars, reaffirming Bridge as a luxury brand and securely situating Bridge as the flagship show on Collins Avenue.

The Focus section of Bridge Miami brings together in one location the best from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Taking Mexico as its North American jumping-off point, the Miami Focus includes the South American countries of Brazil and Argentina as selective southern counterpoints. Bridge Projects will also provide a showcase for the works of a hand-picked group of individual artists.

Arguably the largest convergence of contemporary art and design takes place during Art Basel Miami in this annual, star-studded, citywide celebration of new art internationalism. Consistently a muscular destination market, Miami shows absolutely no signs of stopping. Despite a perceptible softening elsewhere in the American art marketplace, Miami continues to astound as far and beyond the top-performing art fair circuit in the United States.

March 27–30, 2008
The Waterfront,
222 12th Avenue &
269 11th Avenue, New York

***Exhibitor List***

Bridge Art Fair Premiers in New York
Featuring more than 50 International exhibitors

Known for spectacular shows of emerging contemporary art in Chicago, London, and Miami, Bridge Art Fair proudly premiers its New York edition March 27–30, at the Waterfront, 222 12th Avenue, in the northern section of Manhattan’s Chelsea gallery district. Concurrent with New York’s celebrated Armory Show, Bridge New York will host more than 50 international exhibitors from such diverse locales as Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the United States. “We’re very excited to premier Bridge in New York, “says founder Michael Workman, “It’s the undisputed center of the art world, a city enthusiastic about the independent approach to art we have a built-in passion for.”
PREVIEW: Thursday, March 27: 12–4pm
OPENING NIGHT
RECEPTION: Thursday, March 27: 5–10pm
SHOW HOURS: Friday, March 28
& Saturday, March 29:
General Admission 12–9pm
Sunday, March 30:
General Admission 12–7pm

General Admission: $10
Opening Night Reception: $25

BRIDGE NEW YORK OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION
Homage to the Tunnel
Hosted by Amanda Lepore, Michael Musto,
and Screamin’ Rachel Cain
DJ Scotto Spins Tunnel Classics
The Waterfront, 269 11th Avenue entrance
Thursday, March 27, 5–10pm
Special performance by Amanda Lepore at 7:30

AFTER-PARTIES AND OTHER EVENTS >>

Bridge shuttle map to and from Armory
download (.pdf file) >>

Special Focus: Asia

Bridge New York marks the expansion of Bridge as an international focus showcase, premiering with a spotlight on Asian art. Invited galleries are participating from Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, and elsewhere across the Pacific Rim. Building on New York’s annual Asian Contemporary Art Week, Bridge New York’s Focus: Asia offers art collectors never-before-seen contemporary work from the East.

Each subsequent edition of the Bridge Art Fair will feature a different international art cultural focus, while maintaining the fresh new talent that Bridge has come to be known for. The Bridge “Focus” section of each future fair will be defined both by geography and culture, providing each show with its own distinctive curatorial premise.

Bridge Art Fair New York follows a very successful Bridge Art Miami ’07, and marks the beginning of our exciting 2008 roster of expositions, including our second year in London during Frieze, our third year in Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach, and our first year in Berlin during Art Forum Berlin. Bridge New York marks the first self-produced booth show for the Bridge Art Fair, with a floor plan designed by the acclaimed Chicago-based concept firm Douglas Garofalo Architects, Inc.

“The Tunnel”

Bridge Art Fair is known for its use of non-traditional spaces that are artfully transformed into temporary contemporary art centers, and our New York edition is no exception. The Waterfront building, popularly known as “The Tunnel,” is a 23,000-square-foot converted railway tunnel that was once home to the famous Tunnel nightclub. The space spans an entire NYC block over 700 feet in length, and its 20-foot ceiling offers an open, spacious environment for art lovers to browse the best in international emerging art. As a former cultural icon and a destination for creative nightlife, the Tunnel is particularly suited to Bridge’s cutting-edge approach.

ARTPORT’s “Cool Stories for When the Planet Gets Hot”

Bridge is also proud to present “Cool Stories for When the Planet Gets Hot,” a selection of video works by artists interpreting green themes, organized by ARTPORT, an international arts exchange project based in New York and Valencia, Spain. The compilation of 11 short videos will screen on a continuous loop each day of the fair. “We are excited to be part of Bridge Art Fair’s kick-off in New York City,” said Corinne Erni and Anne-Marie Melster, Founders and Directors of ARTPORT. “We share a vision with Bridge to bring together the most inspiring contemporary international artists from every part of the world.”

Each future Bridge fair will incorporate similar international programs, giving each show a new look and educational offerings to provide collectors and museums a unique experience. Bridge will announce other special programs for New York ’08 in the coming weeks.

Bridge Art Fair
In a short period of time, Bridge has skyrocketed to become a major influence in the international contemporary art market, offering new finds for collectors and art professionals worldwide. Bridge New York follows several successful fairs in 2007. Bridge London ’07, located at the historic Trafalgar Hotel, featured 70 exhibitors from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US. The abundant media coverage included Art Newspaper, the New York Times, ABC, BBC, CNN, Fox News, and Art Info. Sales figures were well over a million dollars, with high-profile buyers including Beth DeWoody and a number of major US museums. Lloyd’s TSB, the fair’s sponsor, was inherent to the success of Bridge, inviting many important clients and offering special art-purchasing programs. Miami reaffirmed Bridge as a luxury brand, with nearly 80 exhibitors and total sales in excess of three million dollars. Bridge once again proved itself the flagship show on Collins Avenue.