NEW YORK, NY.- Artspace.com, the leading online marketplace for contemporary art, today announced the acquisition of VIP Art, a New York-based online platform that connects sophisticated collectors to leading dealers. The acquisition strengthens Artspace.com’s objective to expand its collector base and partnerships with galleries worldwide.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement in February 2013 that Artspace.com had raised $8.5 million in new capital funding led by Canaan Partners. Concurrently, the company also announced that world-renowned collector Maria Baibakova joined its Board of Directors and was appointed Strategic Director to expand Artspace’s Limited Edition series and accelerate partnerships with museums, cultural institutions, galleries, artists, publishers and art fairs globally.

The acquisition of VIP Art (formerly VIP Art Fair) is consistent with Artspace.com’s goal to build the world’s leading marketplace for fine art. VIP's vibrant community of collectors and world-class gallery partnerships bolsters Artspace's industry-leading position as the only transactional platform online. Over the course of several months Artspace.com will integrate VIP Art’s themed programming, content, comprehensive calendar of events and vibrant ‘Discussions’ film series, which offer expert insight and perspective through intimate video tours of collections and artist studios, and in-depth interviews with leading art world figures. “VIP’s collectors are in great hands with Artspace.com,” said James Cohan, founder of VIP Art and owner of James Cohan Gallery. “We are impressed by the platform’s business model and think that it delivers the greatest value of all the online players to its partners and members.”

Catherine Levene, Co-Founder and CEO of Artspace.com added, “Artspace.com is committed to offering aspiring and established collectors an unprecedented range of fine art across all mediums from the best galleries, museums and cultural institutions in the world. VIP Art has built a platform with similar goals. By combining forces, we will enable our gallery and institutional partners to reach a growing base of over 200,000 collectors who will have access to an even broader selection of quality artworks from around the globe.”