| Arhan Virdi finds out what the deal is at the autumn 2008 Affordable Art Fair in London. We are used to hearing about the Damien Hirsts of this world whose works sell for millions to a very exclusive club, but what we don’t hear about is our flourishing end of the art market which is supporting thousands of British artists, sustaining many young galleries and providing the opportunity for tens of thousands of people to have original art in their homes. –Will Ramsay, founder of the Affordable Art Fair. | 
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Arhan Virdi
Arhan Virdi finds out what the deal is at the autumn 2008 Affordable Art Fair in London.We are used to hearing about the Damien Hirsts of this world whose works sell for millions to a very exclusive club, but what we don’t hear about is our flourishing end of the art market which is supporting thousands of British artists, sustaining many young galleries and providing the opportunity for tens of thousands of people to have original art in their homes.
–Will Ramsay, founder of the Affordable Art Fair.The Affordable Art Fair: Contemporary Art Under £3000 is a personal favorite. Brimming with talent that overflows with variety and real inspiration, the October show in South London’s Battersea Park is not to be missed. Especially because, as Will Ramsey tells us, being affordable it welcomes an eclectic mix of people into its audience, a mix of people with an opportunity to buy rewarding art in an equal and real way.
It’s very hard to say which parts of the fair were highlights, as every gallery in every aisle, in some way, was truly unique and worth visiting. The sheer landslide of contemporary photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media and installation works were something to behold. Not just in the show as a whole, but in the presence of what each gallery had individually selected to display. As such, what you were witnessing as a fair-goer was in fact a row of unique mini-exhibitions, one-after-another, in their own right. And all of it held in a relatively small space, for what is now rapidly becoming a fashionable and mainstream show.
Original and powerful creative works were on display often, and interestingly a genuine flow and subtle theme was created in each by their return to simplicity. To form, and beauty. To pastels of countryside and landscape views. To simple postures of the female form drawn in modern styles. Or contemporary turns on traditional genres, introduced delicately and humorously without taking away from the original technique. In this way, depicting such simple yet impacting art managed to contemporize the styles of great forebears such as Degas and Reuben. This was no interruption to the event’s contemporary signature alongside methods ranging from conceptual art and abstract expressionism, to pop art, lithography and casting.
Alan Macdonald’s piece The Commercialism of Heaven as oil on panel (Eduardo Alessandro Studios) is an excellent example of well-placed satire in the contemporary genre, while packing a punch with its artistic craft. We see a naked goddess with milky-white skin, her back facing us, reclining in a pose often found in the works of Renaissance painters such as Titian. And with head slightly titled back, playfully handling her hair, we eventually follow her languid gesture and realize, she is smoking a cigarette.
Lying on a wilderness floor bed, against a darkened, forest-lined backdrop, looking up at the, excellently mastered, night sky – one that imitates classical brushwork in its painted, billowing clouds of receding shades in black and grey – we follow her gaze only to realize she is looking up at the Budweiser blimp float by. The title of the piece says it all. And, as an audience, you are still mesmerized by the craft of the female body, her sinuous, pale curves, the dappling shades of color that bring out the full landscape view, all resting on the recreation of Renaissance art with classical skill.
Not often seen in contemporary art fairs are simple pieces that don’t try to make a statement on popular culture, nor try to create revelation with intrigue, but actually return to the no-nonsense portraiture of emotion with developed skill and craft.
In Between, oil on board, by Tristan Reid (Tallantyre Gallery) was an outstanding example of this. Immediately eye-catching, the piece held its own both in the fair, and amongst the exhibiting works of its host gallery.
It simply shows a girl kneeling on the floor, and nothing else. She is sitting in the corner of a sandy-colored, empty room, with styled black and white shoes casually strewn to the side. Her garments are almost entirely black, except for the white collars of her frilled undershirt. A total color contrast to her shoes, the only other objects in the room.
The girl looks Middle-Eastern or of Indian descent, but wears Western cloths with such an accustomed sense of ease and style that she dominates the canvas with implied confidence. Yet, just as swiftly, we notice her pensive stare, clasping hands and tentative posture. What is so contemporary about this is the power of her presence despite her kneeling, slightly cowered, position. She does not look weak, nor in need of help. Just as a young girl who is wondering what the repercussions of her situation will be.
There is a feeling she has defied somebody or something, and is awaiting her punishment. But, in a way that colors her vulnerability with a powerful sense of integrity, instead of regret. We imagine her worry comes from being too young to know her own strength, not from the misuse of it.
Locked in a room, where something frightening is perhaps about the come in, we can deeply feel her feminine strength. In the fierceness of her eyes through her direct gaze, in her strong form and balanced posture, and in the real mix of emotions that she is clearly feeling, and trying to express. A formidable piece that could well touch upon on the cages, perhaps of a culturally traditional past, that still trap those of dual nationality in a country such as the UK, which continues to amplify ethnic diversity throughout its greater populace.
The Affordable Art Fair can really boast what few other fairs can: approachability. In an industry often seen as too unreachable for the ordinary public to also enjoy, the Fair’s organizers inform us: Now in its ninth year, the Affordable Art Fair continues to go from strength-to-strength and is the UK’s leading showcase for contemporary art under £3000… The last London Fair (Spring Collection in March 2008) was the most successful ever, with 22,500 visitors buying over £5million worth of art. Since the fairs began in 1999, approximately 350,000 people have visited…
And, go on to comment: Each Fair’s galleries exhibit emerging artists, whose works do not have a premium added to the price tag. This makes original art within the grasp of average salaries. These lesser-known artists, often recent graduates but certainly degree trained professional artists, attract new art buyers and seasoned collectors alike.
Will Ramsey, founder of the Fair, continues by explaining how these changes have begun to reveal themselves: “Seemingly, the well-publicized excitement at the top end has had a knock-on effect on all levels of the market, where there has been a positive shift in public perceptions. New research released by the Affordable Art Fair shows that, of the 2,000 people surveyed, 90 per cent believed original artwork is now accessible to most. A stark contrast to the finding from a similar survey conducted three years ago where the majority of people felt intimidated by the art scene, and in the dark when making that all-important first purchase.”
Confidence in the ability to appreciate art is key when making it available to everyday people, as art must rightfully be. The styles on offer at this autumn’s Fair, as exampled here, express well the range of original artwork that interested and impressed the mix gatherers in equal measure.
Ramsey has the final say by showing us how this is begins a new wave of common interest. He says: “In the recent survey, 53 per cent of people said they were comfortable to walk into an art fair or gallery to purchase artwork, and most now have confidence in their taste; 76 per cent of people surveyed would spent up to £3000 on original art."
