Mr. Friedman is one of the most successful and popular event producers in the Hamptons over the past decade. He has championed the viewing, awareness and acquisition of fine art by creating the region’s first fine art fair, ArtHamptons, nearly a decade ago (conceived by Cindy Lou Wakefield). Its rousing success – and rapid growth in exhibitors and attendance helped make art collecting “the new sport in the Hamptons.” Attendance grew from 3,000 to 14,000 under his ownership, enabling him take the concept to other affluent markets, by trailblazing the first fine art fair in each city. Events included ArtAspen, Houston Fine Art Fair, SF Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair and Silicon Valley Contemporary. Over 100,000 art lovers attended his fine art fairs annually. In 2015, the network of fairs was sold to a major international media conglomerate. Most recently, he has reemerged onto the art fair scene, producing Hamptons Fine Art Fair, Philadelphia’s first ever contemporary art fair, and then pioneeringly the integration of contemporary and western art, in the Jackson Hole Fine Art Fair in 2018

Ever the entrepreneur, Mr. Friedman pioneered advanced software technology in the 1990’s through a world wide network of publications, conferences and expos in 6 countries. During that period, his SIGS Publications became one of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the US. His original team of advisors and writers included Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. After the sale of the company to private equity, he went on to pioneer and champion the growth digital media/digital video/special effects/animation with a series of expos which culminated with owning the venerable ShowBiz Expo in LA, the largest event for filmmakers in the world, (with 17,000 filmmakers in attendance and 250 exhibitors), which he acquired from Variety Magazine.

Earlier in his life, as a colorful entrepreneur, his range of ventures including creating, directing and hosting as series of Disco Dance Contests at Regine’s in the late 1970’s which was sold to and became the format of Merv Griffin’s popular “Dance Fever” syndicated TV series in the 1980’s. He then moved into sports promotion, focusing on volleyball, where his popular NCAA matches led him to owning the USA Mens and Women’s National Teams. His tours set national attendance and revenue records for the sport, including playing at Madison Square Garden.

Mr. Friedman, along with his partner Cindy Lou Wakefield, are avid collectors of modern and Post-war art, with over 300 museum level pieces. A portion of their personal collection is the subject of the touring show “The Heroines of Abstract Expressionism.”

Rick and Cindy Lou often lend artworks from their collection to museum exhibits, eclectically ranging from Guild Hall, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, to the National Museum of Picasso in Paris.

Rick Friedman, the collector, writer, producer, publisher, philanthropist, is a longstanding member of the Young Presidents Organization, and resides in Southampton.

Read more about their collection in The New York Times feature.