Seeing the Future
Nicola Heller
ARTfutures, the annual contemporary art fair, was for the first time situated in the Bloomberg Space, providing light relief to the industrious atmosphere within the City of London’s square mile. From November 23-27, 2005, an eclectic mixture of art world regulars and corporate clientele were part of England’s Contemporary Art Society’s mission to attract new collectors to the world of contemporary art.
For over 20 years the CAS’ dedication to the promotion of contemporary art has placed ARTfutures on its annual calendar. This year total profits were at a record, far ahead of previous years. One thousand works by 150 established and unknown artists were selected and curated by a team led by Jeni Walwin and Nour Wali. This allowed for an exhibition to be constantly reviewed and reconstructed as each work was bought, maximizing the opportunity for artists to sell successfully. A no-frills approach to buying art with fixed prices encouraged quick sales. The work was bought, packed and taken away.
With its realistic prices–everything between ?100- ?5000–ARTfutures was easy on the heavy sell. The public viewed a curated contemporary art show, unhurried and unhassled and for free. Meant to be a survey of the art made in London at the present moment, the selection had an emphasis placed on drawing. Works were a mixture of the beautiful, the graphic and the cerebral.
Away from the traditionally unfriendly and unapproachable gallery scene, trained art sellers and curators were on hand providing further information about the artists and works. The set-up of the fair reaffirmed the CAS philosophy, which has been stated by Gill Hedley, director: "CAS exists to help collectors and artists equally." This statement was put into motion through a series of events and panel discussions, involving collectors, curators and academics, all focused on different approaches to collecting art as well as the importance and current position of collectors.
Delving into the history of ARTfutures, such heavyweight names as Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor Wood appear, both exhibited at the start of their careers. This year, three guest curators–Iwona Blazwick (Director, The Whitechapel Art Gallery), Audrey Wallrock (Contemporary Art Collector) and Rebecca Wilson (Editor, Art Review)–nominated a new artist of their choice.
The Bloomberg Space, which opened in 2002 as part of Bloomberg’s European headquarters in Finsbury Square, consistently displays exciting contemporary art while cementing the Bloomberg ethos of interaction and communication. The financial marketplace and the art fair sit uncomfortably in this shared space.
One of the younger artists selling this year and recent Royal College of Art graduate, Charlie England playfully links art and money, reiterating society’s reliance upon fragile bank notes through his labour intensive works, initially reminiscent of the sensual fragility of Japanese prints. England questions the value placed on money itself through his diptychs. Here, iceberg shapes replace images of kings and queens on the bank notes, the aim being to pervert the meaning placed within the banknotes. Reappropriation questions both the value of the notes and in turn the abstract strength behind these fragile notes; they become carnival-esque. The original intent turned into pattern and pure aesthetic.
Paul Eachus, one of the more established artists showing, could be seen to reflect the "Bloomberg Space Effect," the potential for a background to greatly influence the impression the work gives. In his photographs, an uneasy whirligig of colour exists, displaying the workplace of an obsessive. Tightly rolled magazines spill out of cupboards, ramming into every crevice. An absence of a centre forced juxtaposition against bland walls and floors, perhaps set within an office or domestic space. Tiny elements of order served to emphasize the vibrancy and force of the scene. This large photograph, an edition of three, was hung prominently within the exhibition, bulging with colour and movement. This allowed for a dominant position. The photograph fought with its neighbours, until it was bought and the dynamic was altered again.
In general, the graphic, visually-easy-to-digest work sold well. Suky Best and Rory Hamilton’s cowboy scenes were very popular, perpetuating the myth of the heroic symbol of the cowboy. They were fun and quirky. The smooth machine made aesthetic prints with laser-cut vinyl, lending a decorative element. At the same time, they were distant and created less of an emotional connection. Perhaps they were more appealing to newer or more conservative collectors.
To buy a work of art, unlike buying a car or a computer, is an emotional experience. While ARTfutures allowed tentative new buyers the simplest, most pain-free approach to starting a collection, the problems inherent within any art fair come into play, with so much to see and an environment subliminally structured to encourage snappy decisions. There were no chairs, for example, which could have allowed rest and thought. Helpful sellers constantly provided assistance, encouraging works to be bought frequently at a superficial level. The more subtle works with layers of meaning often became lost within the more visually explosive works. These are problems any art fair faces. However, for a fair such as ARTfutures, with a less commercial emphasis than others, these issues should be higher up on the priority list.
If the proof of success lies in profits, ARTfutures was very successful, both in terms of money and in reaffirming the original intent, which was to inspire new collectors to buy contemporary art and encouraging other collectors to buy more.
