Fall Art Fairs Offer Diverse Buys
From Furniture to Paintings

The sharp rise in demand for contemporary art in recent years has not only sent auction prices soaring: It has also increased the buzz at art fairs, which typically focus on new works.

From Beijing and Berlin to Pittsburgh and Portland, Ore., most major cities have annual art fairs. There's Art Basel Miami Beach, which started in 2002 and drew 33,000 visitors last year, and the Homecoming Art Fair in Missoula, Mont., connected with football festivities at the University of Montana. In the Miami area, four new major art fairs have opened in the past two years. The fairs' draw? They attract collectors who might be intimidated by auctions, or enjoy the chance to visit many dealers under one roof. "They offer one-stop shopping," says Samuel Keller, director of Art Basel in Switzerland and Art Basel Miami Beach.

Typically lasting from one to four days, art fairs make money by leasing booth space to galleries and charging admission to visitors. For decades, they were primarily run by nonprofit arts groups or associations of art dealers, but recently for-profit companies have become involved as well: For example, British media company DMG bought International Fine Art Expositions, which runs several art fairs in Palm Beach, Fla., for around $18 million in 2001. And fairs have been attracting high-profile sponsors, such as Deutsche Bank's three-year deal to sponsor the Frieze Art Fair in London and BMW's contract to provide car service to some collectors arriving at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Clockwise from left, Dean Project, Two Zero C Applied Arts, Ltd, London; Ophir Gallery Reinaldo Sanguino's "Joy," at the AAF fair (left); Mandarin table lamp by Tiffany Studios at New York's Modernism fair (lower right); wrought-iron interior doors by Paul Kiss (upper right).

Here is a sampling of upcoming fairs in the U.S. and abroad:

International Art + Design Fair, 1900-2005
New York, Oct. 7-11

If you've got a million bucks burning a hole in your pocket and an empty house to furnish, this may be the festival to watch. It has more than 50 dealers specializing in 20th-century and 21st-century art and design, all packed into the cavernous Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. The fair features everything from furniture and paintings to textiles and watches and tends to attract collectors who often go to see dealers and friends rather than buy. Ella Cisneros, a trustee of the Miami Art Museum who organizes events for Art Basel Miami Beach, likes to collect midcentury furniture but doesn't always shop at the fair. "It's better for making connections and networking with dealers than actual shopping," Ms. Cisneros says. "If I like something, my office will call the gallery later."

At this fair, a committee of specialists vet works, which tend toward antiques, for authenticity before they go on sale. This year, some of the highlights include a 1936 vase by Alberto and Diego Giacometti and a 77-inch-by-96-inch tapestry by Joan Miró.

Frieze Art Fair
London, Oct. 21-24

With a mix of 150 established and new galleries -- from international dealer Larry Gagosian to London's White Cube gallery -- Frieze takes place in Regent's Park, in a white tent designed by award-winning architect David Adjaye. Now in its third year, Frieze is among the youngest of Europe's art fairs. This year, the fair has expanded its "Frieze Projects," in which up-and-coming artists like California's Andrea Zittel and London's Donald Urquhart display new sculpture, video and film works. This year, one of the projects on sale will be Germaine Kruip's "The Wavering Skies," a site-specific light piece that creates a moving shadow. The fair, which has over 2,000 artists, expects more than 25,000 visitors.

AAF Contemporary Art Fair
New York, Oct. 27-30

With all work priced between $100 and $10,000, this fair at Pier 92 on Manhattan's West Side was started in 2002 to attract collectors who might not buy at auctions or major galleries. The first such fair took place in 1999 in London and has since spread to Sydney, Australia. The New York fair has increased in size to 139 exhibitors, 13,000 visitors and $3.5 million in sales in 2004, from 98 exhibitors, fewer than 10,000 visitors and $2 million in sales in 2002. "About one in four visitors purchased works of art," says fair director Helen Allen. This year, it's going a little more upscale in response to the request of exhibitors, who want to make more money. In previous years the most expensive works cost $5,000, but this year 75% of the art in a booth has to be under $5,000, while the remainder can be priced to $10,000. The work ranges from a $400 photograph titled "Death by Gummi Bears" by young Mexican artist Daniela Edburg to photographs by established artists, such as Sally Mann's "Untitled," for $8,500.

Art Cologne
Oct. 28-Nov. 1

Art Cologne, Germany's largest art fair, will have 250 international galleries showing pieces ranging from Modernist classics to 21st-century art. Besides gallery booths, the show will feature an open area where 35 galleries will showcase individual artists. The New Talents program provides free space for 25 young artists to exhibit. This year, there's a special show of artists who were promoted by the program and are now leaders in their fields, including German photo artists Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand and Jörg Sasse, Britain's multimedia artist Tracy Emin and Denmark's installation artist Olafur Eliasson.

15th Annual IFPDA Print Fair
New York, Nov. 3-6

Held in the Seventh Regiment Armory and sponsored by the International Fine Print Dealers Association, this fair includes engravings, woodcuts and newer digital work. It features an international lineup of 90 dealers and usually attracts 7,000 visitors. The fair will offer rare work that might interest experienced collectors and curators, such as 12 prints by Rembrandt selling from $30,000 to $120,000, and contemporary work by Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois and minimalist painter Ellsworth Kelly, who's been producing prints since the 1960s. His eight-panel, 25-foot work, "The States of the River," was inspired by his time in a hotel in Basel, watching the movement of the Rhine River, and sells for $36,000.

Modernism: A Century of Style and Design
New York, Nov. 10-13

Known for its eclectic variety of international furniture, this fair is a favorite of interior decorators and designers, including Sam Farber and Sir Terence Conran. Modernism focuses on 20th-century decorative arts and design, along with the current vogue for Latin American furniture. Last year, more than 7,000 visitors came through the Seventh Regiment Armory (yes, again) to view the works, and R 20th Century gallery sold "Three Legged Chair" by the late Brazilian designer Joaquim Tenreiro for $100,000 on opening night. This year, it's offering living-room and dining-room suites by Tenreiro in its booth. Historical Design is exhibiting a rare late-1940s screen created by Los Angeles designer Dan Johnson for his home.

Art Basel Miami Beach
Dec. 1-4

Art admirers can be forgiven for arriving on the sands of Miami Beach and confusing Art Basel for a circus or a nightclub. The largest and most dynamic of the fairs in the U.S., Art Basel features DJs playing dance music, an architectural fantasy village on South Beach, a special art kindergarten for kids and about 195 exhibitors selling contemporary art. "It's more about weather and parties than the art," says advisor Ms. Heirston.

But there's plenty of good art too, vetted by director Mr. Keller, who substituted 20% of last year's exhibitors with those he considers newer, younger or more important. Prominent galleries such as Acquavella, Gagosian and Pace Wildenstein are all here. So are new projects, such as "Art Kabinett," in which galleries present curated miniexhibitions in a self-contained cubicle, and "Art Nova," devoted to galleries presenting work created in the past two years. "What makes it unique is that it's so diverse and pluralistic -- it reflects Miami, which has become a real arts center," says Donald B. Marron, one of the world's leading art collectors and chairman and CEO of Lightyear Capital, who bought a piece on his first visit to the fair last year.

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