The London Art Fair opened to the public at the Business Design Centre today. Tom Jeffreys was at the opening bash.
The problem with art fairs is that anyone who spends their whole time going to galleries will most likely have seen much of the work on show before. This problem is particularly acute at London Art Fair, where, as the name suggests, the majority of galleries involved are based in London. Because art fairs are primarily about selling rather than taking curatorial risks, this means I've seen pretty much everything here before. This sense of déjà vu isn't helped by places like the ICA who are showing a print by Matthew Brannon, which I can remember from this time last year. Yawn.
Anyway, that's not to say London Art Fair isn't worth a visit. For buyers, people who don't get out to galleries as much as they'd like, or those who don't live in London, London Art Fair provides a wide-ranging overview of what's going on across the capital's galleries. Taking over the whole of the Business Design Centre in Islington for five days this January, the fair is so large that there really is something for everyone. I'm personally not massively interested in the vast swathes of still-life oil paintings that dominate much of the fair, so I just go straight to the stuff I do like.
The undoubted highlight of the whole fair is Scarlet Hooft Graafland's magical images up in the Photo50 exhibition. I've championed her work for a while now, but being too lazy to make it down to Michael Hoppen in South Kensington this is the first time I've seen it in the flesh. With humour and beauty in both subject matter and procedural technique, this is exactly the kind of work I love. It makes you take time, look longer, and then rewards you for doing so. Meeting the artist at the opening night is a real treat too.
It's good to see Charlie Smith London, Payne Shurvell and Guillochon Gallery all adding a bit of contemporary bite to London Art Fair – the latter's Darren Coffield-curated 'Recession Show' seems to be going down well on opening night. Another gallery exploring the economy is WW Gallery, whose Art Star Superstore features artworks in plastic bags and hanging up on rails like something in a high-street retail outlet. It's a cool idea but actually makes viewing (and therefore buying) the works kind of annoying – it both highlights and hinders the commercial nature of the fair, you might say.
It's also nice to see that Tom Hunter has been snapped up by Purdy Hicks – his work is wicked – and to see Tessa Farmer's new small-scale pieces (one of which I was given for Christmas...) at Danielel Arnaud. The more I see her work the more I fall in love with it. Further good news is the publication of the 2011 Catlin Art Guide. The guide, now in its second year, features a selection of 40 of the best artists who graduated from art schools across the UK last year. It's a real labour of love and an invaluable tool for all gallerists, curators and lazy arts editors (like, um, me). Just like the London Art Fair really.
London Art Fair is at the Business Design Centre from Wednesday 19th January to Sunday 23rd January 2011.
Click here to see all London exhibitions.
Click here for things to do in London.
Return to Spoonfed's London Art homepage.
Photo credit: Scarlett Hooft Graafland, Polar Bear, 2007, C-print, 100 x 125, Image courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery.jpg
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