Presented by Arthouse in IMPULSE Section of Fair.

Okay Mountain was announced last night as the recipient of the Miami 2009 PULSE Prize. Presented by Arthouse, the artist collective was selected by the PULSE Committee as emerging artists of distinction from their presentation in the IMPULSE section of the fair. The announcement was made at 9 p.m. during the PULSE Party at Plunge in the Gansevoort South, where several hundred guests had gathered. Wendy Olsoff, Co-Owner of P.P.O.W. Gallery in New York and member of the PULSE Committee, announced the recipients' cash prize of $2,500. Ms. Olsoff was also a close friend of Adriaan van der Have of Torch Gallery, who was an inspiring force in the art world for his dedication to the promotion of emerging artists, and in whose memory the PULSE Prize was given this year.

The Austin-based artist collective Okay Mountain is presenting "Corner Store" in their IMPULSE exhibition (Booth I-200), a fully immersive micro-convenience store that serves as a tongue-in-cheek critique of the art fair environment. Based on the eclectic and quirky independently-owned convenience marts found throughout Texas and the greater southwest region, the store offers fairgoers a variety of handmade products at "convenient" prices.

Andrea Galvani, presented by ARTERICAMBI (Booth I-103) and Brian Dettmer, presented by Packer Schopf (Booth I-105) were the finalists in the run-up to the Prize.

All the finalists for the Prize were present at the PULSE Party along with their gallery representation. Guests joined in with applause and congratulations as the two runners-up were announced. When Okay Mountain was announced as the winner, all ten members of the collective came up to accept their prize together.

As winner of the PULSE Prize, Okay Mountain will also have the opportunity to design a limited-edition PULSE tote bag. Past PULSE Prize recipients include Duke Riley, Travis Somerville, Chris Natrop, Chen Chieh-Jen, Philip Gurrey, Emilo Chapela Perez, and Eric Beltz, several of whom have gone on to receive critical acclaim.

In addition to the PULSE Prize, this year's edition of PULSE Miami includes the debut of the People's Choice Award, which will also be given to a solo artist project in the IMPULSE section, but chosen by the public visiting the fair. The debut of the People's Choice Award will be presented in conjunction with the launch of live.artlog.com, through which visitors may vote for their favorite booth online. The winner will be announced after the close of the fair. Both prizes embody PULSE's commitment to providing a platform for emerging talent and giving them due recognition in an international art fair context.

About PULSE Contemporary Art Fair:
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair is the leading US art fair dedicated solely to contemporary art. Held annually in New York and Miami, PULSE bridges the gap between main and alternative fairs and provides participating galleries with a platform to present new works to a strong and growing audience of collectors, art professionals and art lovers.

The fair is divided into two sections and is comprised of a mix of established and emerging galleries vetted by a committee of prominent international dealers. The IMPULSE section showcases galleries presenting solo exhibitions of emerging artist's work created in the past two years.

In addition, PULSE develops original cultural programming with a series of large-scale installations, its PULSE PLAY> video lounge, the PULSE PERFORMANCE event series, and the recently launched PULSE Profiles series of artists and curators talks. The PULSE Prize is awarded in New York and in Miami to one of the artists presented in the IMPULSE section.

For more information about PULSE Contemporary Art Fair, please visit our website
or call +1 (212) 255-2327.