Artspace.com Closes $2.5 Million Series A Round of Financing From Notable Professional and Institutional Investors

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Artspace.com, the leading online marketplace for contemporary art, is pleased to announce the close of a $2.5 million Series A round of financing from notable professional and institutional investors. With this new financing, Artspace is pleased to introduce Andrew Goldstein, former Executive Editor of ARTINFO, as the company's new Editor-In-Chief. Artspace is also excited to announce e-commerce and marketing agreements with five leading art fairs including The AIPAD Photography Show, Expo Chicago, The Texas Contemporary Art Fair, artMRKT – San Francisco and artMRKT Hamptons. Adding to the already impressive list of world-renowned cultural institutions and galleries presently on the Artspace platform, the company is proud to reveal new partnerships with The New Museum, ICA Philadelphia, The Drawing Center, MOCA Cleveland, Artists Space, ACRIA, Aperture Foundation, Marlborough Gallery, Mexico City's kurimanzutto, Gavin Brown's Enterprise, Sadie Coles, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Iceland's i8, LA><ART and more than 35 others. 

Launched on March 29, 2011, Artspace.com is the only platform where users can buy works by top contemporary artists directly from artist studios, leading commercial galleries and prestigious cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim, David Zwirner, White Cube and many others - all in one place. Professional and institutional investors who participated in this round of financing include:  Felicis Ventures; Accelerator Ventures; Blue Equity LLC; Metamorphic Ventures; Michael Yavonditte, CEO and Founder of Hashable and former CEO of Quigo; David Rosenblatt, CEO of 1stdibs.com and former CEO of Doubleclick; Dave Morgan, CEO of Simulmedia; Seth Goldstein, Founder of turntable.fm; Thomas Stemberg, Founder and former CEO of Staples; Rob Selati, Founding Partner, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners; Todd Simon, CEO of Omaha Steaks and Peter Ricketts, former COO of Ameritrade.

With the $2.5 million raised, Artspace Co-Founders Catherine Levene and Christopher Vroom plan to grow the Artspace team and are thrilled to welcome Andrew Goldstein as the site's new Editor-in-Chief. Most recently, Andrew served as the Executive Editor of ARTINFO where he oversaw and produced all content and was instrumental in tripling the website's traffic over the last year. Since the start of his career, Andrew has also served as an editor at ARTnews and contributed to New York Magazine, The New York Times and The Art Newspaper. In his new role as Editor-In-Chief, Andrew will be responsible for creating and managing the site's educational information and news content. Aimed at informing art collectors and enthusiasts of new developments in the art world, Artspace editorial content also serves to keep members engaged with artists as well as up-to-date on gallery and institutional programming around the world. 

In addition to new hires, Artspace will also use this new round of financing to expand the site's marketing efforts and continue to improve the user experience by strengthening the technology platform and adding new features and functionality to the site. Artspace will also continue to fund the Artspace Limited Edition series whereby Artspace commissions exclusive works of art by the most exciting contemporary artists working today. The site currently features commissioned pieces by Lawrence Weiner, Nick Cave, David Salle and others. Artspace will soon release new commissions with artists such as Barry McGee, Robert Lazzarini, Taryn Simon and Issac Julien along with a showcase of emerging artistic talent from China, Brazil and India throughout 2012.

"Artspace is committed to e-commerce enabling the contemporary art world. Our partnerships reflect a shared passion for promoting creative culture at its core," says Christopher Vroom, Chairman, Co-Founder and EVP of Artist, Gallery and Institutional Relations of Artspace. "Engaging a global audience with contemporary art requires education, information and a content strategy of the highest caliber. The addition of Andrew Goldstein to the Artspace team underscores our commitment to provide our members with informed perspective on contemporary art trends and collecting."

Through new partnerships with art fairs from around the country (The AIPAD Photography Show, Expo Chicago, The Texas Contemporary Art Fair, artMRKT – San Francisco and artMRKT Hamptons), Artspace aims to supplement the art fair experience by lending e-commerce enabling technology to fair organizers and participating galleries. These galleries will now be able to showcase their works virtually while expanding their selling space on the Artspace platform. Not only will this allow visitors at the fair the opportunity to view more works from a single gallery, but it will also allow art lovers from around the world who are unable to be present at the fair, the chance to participate in the excitement online.

"I am thrilled with the progress Artspace has made in such a short period of time," says Catherine Levene, CEO and Co-Founder of Artspace. "Since launch, we have sold work from artists all over the world to art lovers across the United States and in more than 20 countries. We have also leveraged our powerful marketing platform to help institutions, galleries and artists worldwide strengthen existing relationships and create new ones with collectors across all continents. Through our new art fair partnerships, we will continue to help broaden the audience for top quality contemporary art around the globe while supporting artists, cultural institutions and nonprofit organizations."

About Artspace.com

Artspace.com is the leading online marketplace for contemporary art, offering collectors and aspiring collectors the opportunity to discover, learn about and collect art from the top contemporary artists in the world at insider prices. Artspace curators collaborate with internationally renowned artists, museums, galleries and art fairs to provide the world's best collection of contemporary art online, in a single location. Artspace serves as a trusted art advisor offering information and education on every featured artist and work on the site in order to provide members with the details they need to make informed and confident purchase decisions. Membership to Artspace is free, prices start at $200 and every sale of artwork on the site supports an artist, cultural institution or non-profit organization.

SOURCE Artspace.com