Early access to The Armory Show for plugged-in collectors

Traditionally a lot of business is done at fairs like The Armory Show before they officially open. In addition to the vernissage there is usually an early access session for VIP collectors. However, this year, access to The Armory Show can be gained by plugged-in collectors a week before the vernissage. A new partnership between the fair and Paddle8 allows the site's members to purchase works from 1 March with less plugged-in collectors waiting for the event to open its doors next week.

Paddle8 signals its ambitions in the increasingly competitive field of online art ventures

ARTINFO says online art wars are heating up as Paddle8 secures $4 million from technology and luxury investors in its first significant round of venture capital fundraising. The seed money will keep Paddle8 competitive in an expanding field of e-commerce initiatives that includes VIP, the world's first online art fair, and Art.sy, the site backed by Dasha Zhukova and Larry Gagosian.

Paddle8's traffic has increased to up to 100,000 views per day and, according to the company, over 2000 carefully screened individuals join its private member community every month. Co-founder Alexander Gilkes told ARTINFO "Over the next few months we'll roll out an ambitious pipeline of new developments including a new app and increased editorial content."

The new developments will build on Paddle8's core strategy of producing guest-curated exhibitions online with works for sale at major galleries and a recent move into the world of art fairs. Partnerships with NADA and Art Los Angeles Contemporary allow the fairs to utilize the web, adding web-based exhibitor presentations and transactions to the mix, along with a fair preview.
Image: Paddle8 founders Alexander Gilkes and Aditya Julka

Art Los Angeles Contemporary teams up with Paddle8

Prompted by the arrival of the VIP, the world's first virtual art fair, partnerships between art fairs and online sites offering platforms for the viewing, curating and acquisition of art have been on the rise over the past 12 months. Art Los Angeles Contemporary (ALAC) is the latest fair to utilize the web through a partnership with Paddle8 that adds web-based exhibitor presentations and transactions to the mix, along with a fair preview. (You need to join Paddle8 to access the preview and online services.) Art Los Angeles Contemporary runs from 19 - 22 January and the online facility remains in place to 9 February.

Internet retail specialist hired as CEO of VIP Art Fair

Internet retail specialist Lisa Kennedy has been hired by the VIP Art Fair as its first CEO. Kennedy has no previous art experience, but art fair founder Jane Cohan says "she has a tremendous record for building consumer-driven companies." ARTINFO reports that in addition to streamlining and improving the web product, Kennedy will work to expand the fair to take place multiple times a year.

Kennedy's appointment follows news that rival e-commerce initiative Paddle8 is teaming up with the NADA art fair to provide an online platform for interactions with galleries.

Marina Abramovic curates an online art show for Paddle8

Performance artist Marina Abramovic has curated an exhibition for Paddle8, the new internet platform for introducing art for sale to its online community. Abramovic says: "This exhibition is about artists who push us to the outermost bounds of reality, working with mediums that are all around us and part of everyday living and breathing but that we often take for granted due to their lack of visibility, tactility and weight - such as gravity, time, smell, memory, movement, context and reflection." Read more...

Combining the virtual and traditional art fair

The NADA art fair has teamed up with Paddle8, the new online venture providing a platform for interactions with galleries and artists. Paddle8 will preview the work to be presented at the fair in November and its members will be able to purchase online during and for a week after the fair.

Since the VIP Art Fair's arrival, the jury has been out on virtual v. the real McCoy, but Paddle8 co-founder Alexander Gilkes is playing it both ways saying the website aims to "complement, rather than replace the opportunity to view works in person."