SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco closed its second edition with strong sales, pointing to the keen market in the Bay Area for collectable cutting-edge photography and moving image.

The Fair ran February 23-25 at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, and the First Look opening night event on February 22 benefited the photography program at SFMOMA.

Adding to the rich photographic legacy of the city, PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco was noted by its audience of leading collectors, curators and visitors for its polished and highly curated approach, and ambitious public programming. PHOTOFAIRS’ 40 leading galleries covered 15 countries and 26 cities. Many has a strong international focus and works by Pan-Asian artists featured heavily, uniquely drawing upon the content of the Fair’s sister edition in Shanghai.

PHOTOFAIRS’ concentration on contemporary photography was rewarded with solid sales across all genres by local, national and international galleries alike. Placement into important private and institutional collections included works by artists new to the fair such as Noémie Goudal, Adam Katseff and Bill Jacobson.

Describing the Fair’s impact, PHOTOFAIRS’ Artistic Director Alexander Montague-Sparey comments: “PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco successfully continued this year in its mission in widening the conversation around international collectable photography. The fair and its programming were very well received by seasoned and new collectors alike. San Francisco deserves a premier cutting-edge fair which celebrates photography in all its guises. It has yet again been an honor to bring this to a city so historically linked to the medium”.

30+ ARTISTS IN ATTENDANCE
PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco welcomed more than 30 artists across the fair, with many taking part in book signings and the talks program. Bay area artists in attendance included: Erica Deeman (Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco), Todd Hido (Casemore Kirkeby, San Francisco), Adam Katseff (Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco), Matt Lipps (Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco), John Chiara, David Maisel, Chris McCaw (all Haines Gallery, San Francisco), McNair Evans, Mona Kuhn, Klea Mckenna, Meghann Riepenhoff and Christina Seely (all EUQINOMprojects, San Francisco).

International artists included:Mandy Barker (East Wing, Doha), Hai Bo (Pace Gallery, Geneva, New York, Palo Alto, London, Paris, Seoul & Beijing), Ben Buswell (Upfor, Portland), Robert Calafiore (Gallery 1/1, Seattle), Xyza Cruz Bacani (Christine Park Gallery, London, New York), David Drebin (CAMERA WORK, Berlin), Jacob Gils (In The Gallery, Copenhagen), Tania Franco Klein (Almanaque (Mexico City), Mishka Henner (Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York), Abelardo Morell (Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York & Zurich), Shen Wei (Flowers Gallery, London & New York) and more.

Artists Zeina Barakeh, Monet Clark and Fernanda D'Agostino, from the Fair’s Connected sector, were also in attendance.

Upon visiting PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco, Allie Haeusslein, Associate Director, Pier 24 Photography, commented: “The 2018 edition offered an intimate atmosphere with a broad range of works by emerging, mid-career, and established artists. I was pleased to discover compelling, new work by familiar names and artists I was previously unfamiliar with. It was wonderful to see so many photographers, collectors, and colleagues in attendance—a testament to the relevance of PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco. I look forward to watching the fair’s continued growth and evolution in the coming years.

DIVERSE PUBLIC PROGRAM
In addition to the galleries, PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco presented a lively and varied public program. This included the Insights: “Poetry of Silence” exhibition, SFMOMA “Chinese Photography Now!”, the Connected platform for moving image and the Conversations talks program.

Brazilian curator Thyago Nogueira, Instituto Moreira Salles, who participated in the Fair’s talk on collecting artists from Latin America comments: “I am glad the Fair is giving space to talks and curated projects. I was surprised to see everyone's interest in Latin America. I hope this interest evolves in exploring an amazing and gigantic portion of the world with a live, rich and diverse art scene, much beyond the classical famous names.”

To this, Elizabeth Sullivan, President, Pace Palo Alto adds: “We were delighted to debut Hai Bo’s body of work “The Southern” as part of the Fair’s inaugural Spotlight platform. This was also a great way to preview artworks by Michal Rovner in advance of her first West Coast exhibition with Pace. We tremendously enjoy being able to introduce West Coast audiences to artists they may not previously be familiar with, across the diverse range of mediums that our gallery works with.”

2018 GALLERIES
PHOTOFAIRS | San Francisco offered contemporary photography and moving image by emerging and internationally recognized artists. Highlighted artists include: Boomoon (Flowers Gallery, London & New York), Yang Fudong (ShanghART Gallery, Beijing, Singapore & Shanghai), Jungjin Lee (Galerie Stephan Witschi, Zurich), Naoya Hakateyama (SAGE, Paris), Alec Soth (Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Minneapolis), Juergen Teller (Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Paris), Wolfgang Tillmans (SAGE, Paris), and Penelope Umbrico (Bruce Silverstein, New York).