With a Collectors’ VIP Opening Night that hosted more than 2,500 attendees, it’s clear that people were excited about the return of San Diego’s most anticipated contemporary art event. As expected, Art San Diego offered art aficionados and collectors an unparalleled opportunity to explore, experience, experiment, and discover.

Whether you were there and want to relive the highlights with us or you couldn’t make it this year and want to excited about next year’s show, read on for a recap of Art San Diego 2023.

ACCESS TO ART PROGRAM

Through Access to Art, Art San Diego, in partnership with UBS Financial Services, works with selected charities and those they serve to share opportunities in art, design, business development, and more. Art San Diego’s 2023 Access to Art partners were Monarch School, Humble Design, and ARTS DISTRICT istrict.

With their Hide and Seek: A Surrealistic Celebration of Colors and Dreams themed booth, Monarch students in collaboration with Liberty Station ARTS District artists and Humble Design showcased and sold their artwork to more than 70 appreciative attendees. Check out the Access to Art video to see an overview of the collaboration of this amazing program.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

Art San Diego’s acclaimed programming once again caught the attention of fairgoers and media alike.

The Spotlight Program provided collectors with a focused look at several galleries and prominent artists who created a site-specific exhibition. Spotlight Program recipients for 2023 included:

• Alessandra Silvaberg Studio
• Carol Hartman
• Edna Oar Young
• Henry Blond
• Julia C R Gray

The [LOCAL TALENT] program’s recipients Jann Nunn, Chakib Bouhdary, Ann Golumbuk, and Yahel Yan also had a success weekend. Funded by Art San Diego and Presenting Sponsor UBS Financial Services, in partnership with the ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station and the NTC Foundation, [LOCAL TALENT] is intended to amplify and support San Diego’s visual arts community.

TOP SALES

With thousands of guests pouring in throughout the weekend, Art San Diego exhibitors reported strong sales. Here’s a sampling of some of this year’s top sales:

• Access to Art featured the Monarch School Art Program and sold 98 student artworks, including original paintings and sculptures, coasters, pins, buttons and pillowcases. In addition, the large LOVE collaborative piece was sold for $2,500. In total, just under $8,500 of artwork sold for this worthy community program.
• Mary Johnston sold multiple pieces from her Squares Collection including Trees in Green
• Jen Tough Gallery sold works by artists Alissa Van Atta, Dotti Cichon, Maureen Farrell, Danielle Krysa, L. BaLoMbiNi, Lauren Bencivengo, and Berenice L.
• Laura Ortiz Vega placed Van I
• Ivan Pahomov sold Transformation, a 60″ x 40″original for $2,500
• Ann Golumbuk [LOCAL TALENT] artist placed several pieces including Bad Ass Stick and Love Sex and Rock & Roll and took a commission
• Chakib Bouhdary [LOCAL TALENT] artist placed one of his Multi Modern Chess Boards
• Jann Nunn, another of the [LOCAL TALENT] artists placed 5 of her wall sculptures at $2,050 each, including Karma #5, Chameleon #6, Mystic #8 , Laguna #7, and Sun Ray #3 
• sister + sister: The Butterfly Effect special Art Lab sold several of the special installation pieces including a Lilies Sculpture, a Large Nest, and a Medium Nest
• Julia C R Gray placed several of her ceramic sculptures, including Coral She (23 Spotted Blue), 5” She Mini (Power Turquoise), and 5” She Mini (Charcoal, Nebula Blue) 
• Kate Taylor sold multiple pieces, including Daybreak, Day Sunny Days, Field at Night, Dreamy Days, The Deep, Garden Vista, Cool Waters, From the Bottom, Aquatic Dreams, and Ryans Tranquility
• Carol Hartman sold several of her 12″ x 12″ originals
• Ana Magazlon placed Cherry Blossom 
• Benjamin Rinenbach placed six of his 12″ x 12″ pieces in addition to 4 Minutes at Cabrillo
• Joux Art sold two of Andrew Mack’s pieces including New Journey and Rejuvenation Time
• Anne Kullaf sold Torrey Pines, a 36″ x 36″ piece for $7,500
• Scout Dunbar placed Pony, a 30″ x 30″ original, plus six Pony 16″ x 16″ drawings at $575 each, Rocking Horse, Audubon Fish Drawing, Coral Study, and San Antonio Cooking Class, a 20″ x 20″ at $2,200
• Dana Swedo Bernal placed three of her 24″ x 24″ pieces Blue Sea Glass, Green Sea Glass, Sea Breeze at $1,000 each
• Mecenavie placed Valentin Perrault’s Portrait among others
• Stephen Robeck placed Strata in the Clouds, Strata in the Water, and Strata 4
• Teresa Ferrari placed Mermaid for $1,500
• Pond Gallery’s Jia Lu placed Afterglow, Traversal, Traveler, Crossing Flames, Let It Go, and Sunday Afternoon, each at $2,000
• Mariah Morrell placed Valentina Bottle Print and Cholula Bottle
• Thomas Elias Lockhart III placed The Standard, Cotton Bowl, Power Players, BTBTTOFC, From Cotton to Roses, Eyes Don’t Lie, and Hord of S, in addition to four calendars and three posters
• Gia Chikuaidze sold Exotic Tea at $3,200
• Magz Yang sold several of her prints, plus Thank You For Golfing with Us, American Fuckery, and Stay Sexy
• Lennon Art Collection sold multiple pieces of John Lennon Art, including Working Class Hero, The City inn My Heart, A Cat Climbing, and Forever Love
• Troy Oglesbee Art’s ocean scenes were popular and he placed several Harvest Moon prints, plus Maui Blush, Calm Before the Storm, Pico Cove II, and Calm Before the Storm
• Lisa E. sold Biome 1, 2, 3, Desert Blush, Autumn Crush, and four Faces by Miche
• Sihyeon Park sold Ilwolobongdo-CA-2, a 24″ x 20″ original at $2,500
• George C. Falelo sold multiple of his Floral Expressions at various sizes for $175, $400, and $450 respectively
• Shelley Zentner placed The Dreaming, a 18″ x 18″ original at $2,800
• Sarah Stieber’s colorful works were a hit and she placed Monarch, Love & Let Go, Painting Happiness, Kismet, Evolve Study, Love & Let Go Study, After the Concert, Complimentary, Finding Center Study, and took a commission
• Walter Redondo placed Joined Experiences, a 49.5″ x 61.5″ original at $10,000
• Artavita / World Wide Art sold Marilyn Maxwell’s Rowdy, a 20″ x 30″ original at $2,000; Pham An Hai’s Obsess at $15,000; Olivia Kapoor’s Star Stump at $2,500, Elisabet Engqvist’s The Poppy Field, a 13″ x 9″ at $900; ClauDio’s Tropical 1; and Wendy Cohen’s Passion Play, among others
• Raphael Delgado placed Well Guarded at $3,000 and Portrait of a Girl with Magenta Hair at $3,500

Still thinking about one of your favorite pieces from the show? Find the exhibitor in our Art Gallery and connect to see if it is still available. Who knows—you may find more than one that’s perfect for your collection!

AWARD WINNERS

While fairgoers shopped the aisles of great art, artists and galleries received special honors as we handed out this year’s Art San Diego Awards. Here are this year’s winners:

• INTERNATIONAL: Kate Taylor and Mina Arts
• BOOTH DESIGN: Katie Crown and Latchezar Contemporary
• DIRECTORS AWARD: sister + sister: The Butterfly Effect and Artavita/World Wide Art
• SCULPTURE AWARD: Willi Baptiste Palanza and Julia C R Gray
• BEST NEW EXHIBITOR: Arendt Graphics and Dr. Thomas Elias Lockhart III
• EXCELLENCE AWARD: Sihyeon Park
• SOLO AWARD: Benjamin Rinenbach and Lisa E.

Many thanks to our wonderful sponsors for their generosity and to everyone who attended the show. Our success was because of you! Until next year, make sure to follow Art San Diego on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes shots.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing you again for Art San Diego 2024, November 1—3 at the San Diego Convention Center.