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The Hamptons Fine Art Fair will be held July 11 to 14 on the Southampton Fairgrounds. We caught up with founder Rick Friedman to learn more.
Could you share a bit about your background? How did you initially get involved in the world of art?
I have been successful in many different industries before discovering the art world — the sports world, show biz, theater, publishing, software, so I did not buy a piece of art ’til I was 50. Then I caught the fever; the collecting bug quickly bit me. I bought a Roy Lichtenstein print at Guild Hall for $2000 and did not sleep for three nights for fear I overpaid — but I loved it. Meanwhile, the local galleries fed and fueled my addiction — Kimberley Goff, Vered, Mark Borghi — I avidly read art books and studied the history of mid-century American art with a passion, visiting galleries, museums, art fairs, and talking to everyone. I started by collecting “local artists” but soon realized, wow, they were the most important American artists of the mid-20th century. Today, after 20 active years, my art collection has grown to 300+ museum pieces. I never met a painting from the 1950s that I didn’t like. I have, perhaps, the largest collection of women’s AbEx art from the 1950s era New York School. It is a museum tour.
What inspired you to start the Hamptons Fine Art Fair?
I came out of the expo and publishing biz, where I pioneered advanced software technology in the 1990s throughout the world, becoming one of the fastest-growing businesses in the nation. When I sold the biz and retired in 1999, I discovered a new world to pioneer — digital video, special effects, and animation in the 2000s with a series of major expos. I soon bought Variety’s trade show division, Show Biz Expo, the largest event in the world in filmmaking, with 17,000 filmmakers and 250+ sponsors — basically all of Hollywood. I sold that and retired a second time. After I visited a few art fairs in New York City and Miami, my lovely life partner, Cindy Lou Wakefield, suggested why not bring this wonderful art fair concept to the Hamptons. So, I invented ArtHamptons, which ran for a decade and sprouted a series of five high-profile art fairs across the nation. I sold that biz and retired a third time. Watching the local landscape, I realized this community needed a larger, more engaging art fair than what was here. So, I put my uniform back on, taped up my legs, ran out to the field, and I created the Hamptons Fine Art Fair four years ago.
Can you talk about the programming you have planned for this year’s Hamptons Fine Art Fair?
Our 2024 focus is to be more international (with galleries and artist displays from a wide range of 20 countries), more inclusive, and diverse, showing more women artists, more artists of color, and more LGBTQ+ in keeping with current art trends. We also focused on artist rediscoveries and, naturally, the basics in this region, like post-war blue chip. We are pleased to present the largest show ever in the Hamptons, now with 150 exhibitors.
Can you tell us about the Hamptons Artists Hall of Fame and the artists being honored this year?
In the last decade, there has been a huge exploding world market for Hamptons-based artists from the 1950-’70s era — mostly women. So, our concept here with the Hamptons Artists Hall of Fame is to help bring attention and focus to impressive and accomplished local artists who may have been overlooked and undervalued over the years. Our HOF rediscovery is meant to place a spotlight on their storied careers and hopes of stimulating interest in their works. So, on July 13, at the fair, we induct artists Herman Cherry and Connie Fox, sculptors Bill Tarr, Bill King, Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas, and textile artist Amy Zerner.
Please tell us how you pay homage to iconic East End artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning by naming the pavilions after them.
In keeping with our Hamptons tradition as the mecca for mid-century AbEx, we pay homage to two of the local leading figures — Jackson Pollock and Bill de Kooning, who basically pioneered the Abstract Expressionist movement in America in 1948 and later famously moved to The Springs. In paying them homage, our two pavilion structures are named after them.
How have you seen the fair grow since it first started?
Over the past 18 years, we have sprouted on an international level, now getting gallery applications from all corners of the world. We have established the East End as a must-stop on the annual global art fair calendar. Why? Our 10,000 attendees are art-loving, art-savvy, affluent, open-minded, eager for discoveries, and supportive art patrons. This is fertile ground for emerging artists — art collecting is in our DNA, as Hamptonites.
What exhibits and events are you most looking forward to at this year’s fair?
As any mother says, “All my children are smart and good-looking.” We select and reject applications (this year, we rejected about 160) and then curate all approved gallery artists in an effort to create a thought-provoking, stimulating, visually compelling display that meets fair requirements. We have 17 themed booth displays, including the rarest fossils in the world, Chinese and Japanese art, Cuban art, Iranian women’s art, street art, striking outdoor sculptures, art glass, photography, and the rediscovery of 1970-’80s era fashion and design icon Vera Neumann, to name a few. We have many galleries showing women and trans artists of color, SHEER Worldwide, Pencil on Paper Gallery, Tanya Weddemire Gallery, Women’s Live Artist Studio, and many others. For blue chip, check out Omer Tiroche Gallery, Lawrence Fine Art, Rehs Gallery, Casterline Goodman Gallery, Gary Snyder Fine Art, Vertu Fine Art, Dane Fine Art, and Adamar Fine Art, just to mention a few. OK, time to indulge. You deserve it!
Plus, an amazing special guest performance on July 11, opening VIP Preview, the internationally renowned contemporary dance company Parsons Dance, displaying art in motion in the Collectors Lounge, an art fair world premiere, and the entertaining and innovative Ben Miller flycast painting performance, live at the fair entrance. Artist/dancer Annika Rhea’s Body Medium is also a must-witness.
July 11 to 14, you have to see it all to believe it. And oh, yes, come for lunch and dinner. Enjoy three bars and convenient on-site parking. Wait, there’s even more — two trendy receptions — our Friday, July 12, Young Collectors Night, and Saturday, July 13, The White Party, both in the Collectors Lounge.
For tickets, visit hamptonsfineartfair.com.
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