Superfine! the Fair

Union Market, Washington, D.C., October 31st-November 4th, 2018

During Halloween week, Art Shape Mammoth was in Washington D.C. for the first ever Superfine! D.C., held at Union Market. Local artists from the D.C. area as well as national and international artists from as far away as Greece set up booths at this affordable art show where prices for works of art started at just $100—and the majority of art was priced below $5000. Founders Alex Mitow and James Miille decided on D.C. as a new location due to its strategic position between the two existing Superfine cities of New York City and Miami, with strong art markets, a growing population of young, high-income residents, and a currently booming real estate market.

Art Shape Mammoth, having participated in both New York’s and Miami’s Superfine, were excited to be a part of the first D.C. fair. The booth was curated and installed by Zoma Wallace, curator for the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Artists Maureen O’Leary and Erin Gleason, who both had work in the show, along with Athena Axiomakaros, staffed the booth from October 31st to November 4th. The works of art ranged from cast iron works from the artist Julie Ward, which were extremely popular, to the mixed media works on wood of Lindsey Wolkowicz (also a hit), and everything in between including the photography of artists Wendy Copp, Rita Bard, Athena Axiomakaros, Renee Regan, and Erin Gleason, paintings by Maureen O’Leary, Jessica Mongeon, Aimee Hertog, and Andrew Brown, drawings by Cori Champagne, ceramic wall tiles by Jane Gordon, and a printed woodcut on cotton by Fay Stanford.

The show was busy with a steady flow of people during the late afternoon and evening hours and created a wonderful opportunity to meet artists and young collectors from the D.C. and New York areas, some of whom also had booths at the show. From the perspective of sales, it was a resounding success: the majority of the artists were able to sell at least one work from the booth and nearly half the booth sold. Additionally, the experience gave Art Shape Mammoth insight into future strategies for marketing and increased sales for future art fairs. We look are looking forward to the next Superfine Art Fair.