If the atmosphere at Art Chicago was serious and a tad apprehensive, the scene five floors below at NEXT was a different story. There people were having fun, and not just because the main cafe was tricked out like a dive bar, massages were being offered in the dealers lounge, and shoeshines were available for $5. But also because the art on display in its 160 more cutting-edge booths was provocative, interactive, loud, experimental — and selling well. Many of the artists were on hand to talk about their work, and by Sunday some of the booths had sold out completely.

One of the most enthusiastic collectors at the show was Paige West of the private West Collection of Philadelphia, who was on hand to exhibit works from the collection in a curated section at NEXT and to announce the new $125,000 West Prize for international emerging artists. West reportedly spent a total of $350,000 at the fair, and she was also one of two collectors who put a hold on what was perhaps the most popular piece on the floor: The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle, a sculptural installation showing two automobiles engaged in a real-life, controlled head-on collision by Brooklyn-based artist Jonathan Schipper of Pierogi Gallery. In response to the interest, Schipper says he is considering doing an edition of three, priced at $100,000 each. No word yet on who’ll be taking home the first one.

Charlotte Perman from London’s Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, which sold West a Laura Ford sculpture for $20,000, had nothing but praise for NEXT. “We’ve tapped into a new market and a new group of collectors — we’re thrilled with that, as well as with the fantastic creativity I’m seeing here in Chicago.”