Wrapping up its VIP preview on Thursday (11 April), the 11th annual Expo Chicago notched a first day comparable to its last under independent ownership—a promising sign of business as usual for the fair, which was acquired by London-based art conglomerate Frieze last July.
This year’s edition features 170 galleries, representing 75 cities in 29 countries—similar to last year’s, and roughly the maximum stall capacity possible in Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, Expo’s home since its move from downtown’s Merchandise Mart.
According to a next-day report provided by a spokesperson for Expo, hometown exhibitor McCormick Gallery and New York-, Singapore- and London-based Sundaram Tagore netted the VIP preview’s biggest sales, selling the late Mary Lee Abbott’s 1952 painting Imrie for $525,000 and a work by painter Hiroshi Senju for $385,000, respectively. Other major sales included a Wolf Kahn canvas from Miles McEnery Gallery ($150,000), Chiharu Shiota’s Endless Line from Gana Art ($121,000) and a large textile work by Marie Watt from Catharine Clark Gallery ($135,000).
In a recent interview with The Art Newspaper, Frieze chief executive Simon Fox expressed a commitment to retaining the “identities, histories and cultures” of Expo Chicago and New York’s Armory Show, both acquired by the conglomerate last year. For Expo president and director Tony Karman, that means keeping the focus on Midwestern galleries and artists.
