{"id":31566,"date":"2019-01-04T14:20:44","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T14:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=31566"},"modified":"2019-01-04T15:00:47","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T15:00:47","slug":"founders-of-superfine-bring-their-affordable-art-empire-to-los-angeles-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/founders-of-superfine-bring-their-affordable-art-empire-to-los-angeles-next-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Founders of Superfine! Bring their Affordable Art Empire to Los Angeles Next Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

The differences between New York City and Los Angeles can be endlessly disputed: pizza vs. tacos, MTA purgatory vs. driving, a low-hanging haze of garbage vs. eternal sunshine. What\u2019s undeniably true on both coasts, however, is the growing base of young, hungry art enthusiasts in these urban meccas. Alex Mitow and James Miille, co-founders of the hip, alternative and affordable \u201canti-Frieze\u201d fair Superfine!<\/a> have set their sights westward on Los Angeles\u2019 underserved young collector base, bringing their mega-successful riff on the affordable art fair to the good art appreciators of The City of Angels this February. Their plan: to bring their transparency-first model to an art market where no other fair has succeeded before. On an uncharacteristically sunny afternoon in New York (it\u2019s as if the Universe <\/span>knew<\/span><\/i> we were going to be talking about LA), we sat down with Mitow and Miille over homemade matcha tea to discuss their latest venture. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Superfine! co-founders James Miille and Alex Mitow<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mitow and Miille have an eye for many things: art, food, and real estate among many other things. Their ability to seek out neighborhoods that have just passed the \u201cup-and-coming\u201d stage is perhaps as advantageous to Superfine!\u2019s success as it is useful for their image. By choosing Downtown Los Angeles, Mitow and Miille were looking for more than just a trendy venue. They deliberately and calculatingly sought out a destination venue (typical for LA – if you build it, they will drive there) in an area locals still consider \u201ccool\u201d; where there\u2019s shopping to be done, fantastic meals to be had, and trendy places to stay. \u201cWe look for a certain level of maturity in an area\u201d Mitow notes about their selection process. \u201cWe\u2019re not going for a <\/span>fully<\/span><\/i> emerging area. We need some sense of legitimacy, safety – we have a 1,500 car parking lot in LA – it helps that we have an Apple store opening around the corner and the NoMad Hotel<\/a> just opened, the Standard<\/a> has been there forever and the Ace Hotel just opened up.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Superfine! DC at Union Market in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Never known to sacrifice quality in the name of anything, Mitow and Miille aren\u2019t concerned about their venues being located off the beaten path. There are neighborhoods, like Wynwood, where art is cool and the draw for foot traffic is huge – but that doesn\u2019t translate into sales for exhibitors. Spectators turn up to take photos with street art but when it comes to investing in their art collection, dropping a couple of Benjamins isn\u2019t a top priority. With the bulk of Superfine!\u2019s attendees being carefully cultivated and marketed-to young professionals, the focus for Mitow and Miille is and always has been quality over quantity. Miille reflects, \u201cfor our exhibitors, they\u2019re paying us to be there and we\u2019re offering them value in return, so it\u2019s sort of a disservice on our part if were in an area that wouldn\u2019t generate that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The culture of Los Angeles is intrinsically different from the bustling, disruptive character of New York. Whereas New York City is caught in a perpetual pattern of building and destruction \u2013 constantly tearing down and replacing what came before, centralizing the chaos into five relatively-easily accessible boroughs \u00a0\u2013 Los Angeles builds upon itself, preserving and riffing on the culture left behind while sprawling over the hills, into the valley and beyond. This difference is not only recognized by Mitow & Miille, but celebrated and used intelligently as a curation tactic. Alex reflects, \u201cOn a cultural and architectural level, I really love that LA has preserved a lot of its history and architecture\u2026 it\u2019s got its own unique style. There\u2019s an aura to it that’s captured in old theater facades, blue chip galleries and museums.” Friend and colleague of Superfine! Shepard Fairey weighed in on the cultural ethos of LA, noting <\/span>\u201cL.A.\u2019s art scene is really unique because it\u2019s a hub where both highbrow institutions and subculture arts communities have an equal platform, which creates a really exciting market for emerging artists and new collectors alike.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Subculture is a central theme to Superfine!\u2019s LA iteration. Mitow and Miille have always included overarching \u201cumbrella\u201d themes in their exhibitor curation, but the LA fair marks the first time an entire section of the fair is to be exclusively dedicated to the politically-minded representation of galleries that elevate artists who truly represent the zeitgeist of America. Los Angeles is home to huge populations of Asian-, African-American, and Mexican populations. <\/span>\u201cAmerican identity is something that\u2019s really at play in a city like LA,\u201d Mitow states. \u201cAnd that\u2019s really what \u2018This is America\u2019 is about and why it\u2019s in quotations – we want to show what America really looks like. Not all artists are white Yale graduates.\u201d In addition, Mitow and Miille wanted to specifically curate works by Indigenous artists, who have been notoriously underrepresented as contemporary artists in the past. With \u2018This is America\u2019, Superfine! makes it a point to assert that having a platform where these artists are celebrated now as contemporaries is very important.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Exhibitors and collectors mingling at Superfine! NYC’s Twilight Vernissage.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

These curation choices, however, shouldn\u2019t be seen as a rebellion against established art fairs. Superfine may have been called the \u201canti-Frieze\u201d during Art Basel this year, but Mitow makes it clear: \u201cwe\u2019re not an anti-fair; there\u2019s a lot of cool projects like Spring\/Break<\/a> that are a different take on the art fair. We\u2019re not really reinventing the wheel. It\u2019s a scaled and tweaked model.\u201d Tweaks are important when it comes to these models. For instance, Superfine provides grey walls for exhibitors rather than white walls, navigating away from the oftentimes sterile operating room feel of conventional bigwig fairs. Mitow continues, \u201cit\u2019s definitely more intimate – that\u2019s intentional. It\u2019s intimate and mood-lit; we always have a little bit of music so that there\u2019s a baseline ambiance going on.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This all plays directly into the fair\u2019s approach to cultivating collectors. Superfine! touts itself as \u201cthe fairest fair\u201d \u2013 and with good reason. Fairness means transparency, and transparency means being upfront about the artwork and it\u2019s costs. Mitow, who as an arts entrepreneur feels strongly about transparency in the market, asserts that \u201cthe art market operating on these bizzaro opaque terms are in my opinion very quickly becoming a thing of the past. Nobody likes that feeling of things being unclear. You can go to the nicest restaurant in the world and at least you know what you\u2019re paying for. There\u2019s an odd feeling of going to something purely visual and not knowing the price.\u201d \u201cA gallery that isn\u2019t putting the price up isn\u2019t going to lead with the price,\u201d Miille adds. Highbrow galleries make an assumption that if you\u2019re there, you can afford whatever the price tag may be. But Mitow and Miille are firm that even seasoned collectors appreciate the transparency. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That appreciativeness shines through in Superfine!\u2019s attendees purchase records \u2013 20% of attendees purchase artwork. As an affordable art fair, there\u2019s a place for all levels of collectors at Superfine!. \u201cThe zeitgeist is not the fat cats,\u201d Mitow says. \u201cIt\u2019s the people who have the means to support it at whatever level they can. It\u2019s the people who can support art, understand it, and buy it. We foster that. We make that happen.\u201d Mitow and Miille want to make art collecting an affordable luxury \u2013 like travel. You could afford that $1500 trip to Prague\u2026 or you could buy some art. Both help to define you as an individual.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Exhibitors and collectors mingling at Superfine! NYC’s Dim Sum Dinner event.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Superfine! team really has true control over the power of curation, presentation, representation for their fair and collector base. They know their loyal collectors and they even know their collectors who don\u2019t <\/span>know<\/span><\/i> they\u2019re collectors yet. Mitow and Miile do this through their highly successful collectors events <\/span>like the Young Collectors Ice Cream + Cocktail Social and Midnight Vernissage<\/span>, which are educational rather than purchase-centric. And that\u2019s what\u2019s so beautiful about the culture of Superfine! \u2013 nothing about it feels patronizing. With the focus on building an educational community, the collecting experience isn\u2019t perverted in any way. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With a tightly curated roster of 75 exhibitors \u2013 30 galleries, 45 artists and 2 pavillions \u2013 visitors to Superfine! LA will experience the culture of the LA contemporary art market through pop surrealism, queer art, art representative of the actual demographics of LA and the rest of the country through This is America. Superfine<\/a>! will run from February 14-17 at the Magic Box in DTLA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The differences between New York City and Los Angeles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,11,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31566"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}