Online Art Fair Returns February 3-8, 2012 For "VIP2.0"

NEW YORK, September 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Augmented Platform Adds New Galleries, Artists, Enriched Social Media, Mobile Interaction and Museum Participation

VIP Art Fair, the world's first contemporary art fair held exclusively online, announces its second fair, VIP2.0, February 3-8, 2012, at VIPArtFair.com.  Top international galleries will offer artworks from $500 to over $1M.

Launched in January 2011, VIP Art Fair leverages Internet technology to create a live, online marketplace to view, learn about and purchase artworks by leading artists from around the world.

Fair Director Noah Horowitz explains, "VIP takes the successful model of physical art fairs and opens it to a much broader audience, empowering the connection between the engaged art community and the world's most prominent dealers."

Already 100 galleries from 32 countries, including additions from Latin America and Middle East, have registered to exhibit, well ahead of last year's pace.  Galleries include Zwirner (NYC), White Cube (London), Pace (NYC, Beijing), Hetzler (Berlin), Ropac (Paris, Salzburg), Fraenkel (San Francisco), Goodman (NYC, Paris) and Hyundai (Seoul).  Gallery list at VIPArtFair.com.

The company's new VP of Engineering, Severin Andrieu-Delille, states, "At our inaugural fair, systems struggled with high traffic volume and the site experienced technical issues. In response, we've completed major upgrades, adding substantial server and bandwidth resources. Significant load testing makes us confident we'll meet peak demand, delivering a flawless, content-rich experience for our exhibitors and visitors."

A new Museums and Editions Hall enables visitors to purchase editions from top international institutions.  Enhanced social media integration with Twitter and Facebook invites visitors to join conversations and share favorites. VIP2.0 supports all web-browsers, iPad and mobile devices and retains popular features, including interactive Booths and VIP Lounge with enhanced Chat functionality.

Increasingly, art fairs are changing the way in which art is sold. Demographics from the inaugural fair show that moving the art fair online is a welcome innovation; the week-long event drew an audience of over 40,000 visitors from 196 countries who spent more than an hour on the site viewing over 200 unique artworks.  Stats at VIPArtFair.com.

As a portal to the world's premiere contemporary art galleries, VIP Art Fair builds technology for dealers to connect with existing clients, for would-be collectors to discover the art world, and for students, educators, critics and curators to access contemporary artists.  More at VIPArtFair.com.