News

PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco’s first edition

Words by Carla Ingrasciotta
October 10, 2016

The World Photography Organisation today announced their curatorial program, advisory board and select featured galleries for PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco, the first US destination of its international art fairs dedicated to photography.

A boutique fair which takes place January 27-29, 2017 at the Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco will present fresh and cutting-edge work in a highly curated environment with a keen focus on international contemporary living artists. Working with leading galleries from around the world, the fair will position itself as the West Coast’s prime destination to acquire fine art photography and moving image.

San Francisco has been selected as PHOTOFAIRS’ second destination for its strong photographic legacy. Long regarded as a leading international center for photography, San Francisco is arguably today the most important city in the country for the medium, alongside New York.

Featured Galleries:
The works on offer for sale will fall into three sectors: Main, Connected and Platform.

Participating galleries confirmed for Main (established galleries of any age) include: Ratio 3 (San Francisco); Rose Gallery (Los Angeles); Edwynn Houk (New York & Zurich); Danziger Gallery (New York); Vanguard Gallery (Shanghai); Galerie Stephane Witschi (Zurich); Three Shadows +3 Gallery (Beijing) and CAMERA WORK (Berlin).

Platform will spotlight emerging international galleries who have never before exhibited in the United States. Featured first time galleries include: Elipsis Projects (Istanbul & London); East Wing Gallery (Qatar) and Mohsen Gallery (Tehran).

Expanding on the fair’s recent focus on moving image and new-media works, New York based curator Lindsay Howard will guide Connected. Introduced for the first time at the 2016 edition of PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai, this sector will showcase emerging and mid-career artists who specialize in digital mediums, including video, custom software, and web-based artwork. Connected will be accompanied by public programs led by experts in the field, who will discuss best practices for collecting, displaying, and conserving digital art.

Curatorial Programming
Insights: New Approaches to Photography Since 2000, curated by Allie Haeusslein, Associate Director at Pier 24 Photography, and Alexander Montague-Sparey, is a museum-quality exhibition which will explore photographers committed to making unique prints using 21st century techniques. Following its launch at PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai earlier this year, the San Francisco exhibition will spotlight important work by young West Coast artists including John Chiara, Christine Elfman, Chris McCaw, Sean McFarland and Meghann Riepenhoff, alongside European and Asian artists, and will offer collectors unique pieces for private sale.

Advisory Board
Experts from across the art world have supported the international growth of PHOTOFAIRS and include:

• Allie Haeusslein, Associate Director, Pier 24 Photography, San Francisco (USA)
• Matthieu Humery, Creative Director & Director of Programming, LUMA Foundation, Arles (France)
• Michael Mack, Founder, MACK Books, London (UK)
• John MacMahon, Collector, Member of the Contemporary Arts Council, New York MOMA (USA)
• Jiyoon Lee, Managing Director, MMCA Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Seoul (Korea)
• Nion McEvoy, Chairman & CEO of Chronicle Books / Collector, San Francisco (USA)
• Christopher Phillips, Independent critic and curator, New York (USA)
• Mary Robinson, Collector, San Francisco (USA)
• Urs Stahel, Founder, Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland) and Curator, MAST, Bologna (Italy)
• Lu Xun, Collector / Founder & Director, Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (China)

PHOTOFAIRS Key Dates

Press Preview (by invitation only): Thursday 26 January 2017, 3-4pm
Collectors’ Preview (by invitation only): Thursday 26 January 2017, 4-6pm
Opening Night (by invitation only): Thursday 26 January 2017, 6-10pm
Public Opening: Friday 27 – Sunday 29 January 2017

 

PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco
January 27-29, 2017
Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center
www.photofairs.org

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