London Art Fair
Sarah Creed navigates Islington’s Business Design Centre for her very first London Art Fair experience …
Now in its 25th year, the London Art Fair opened its doors last Wednesday for a five day run of contemporary art at its best. Held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, the fair hosted over 100 galleries in its main hall, along with 30 younger galleries in its revered Arts Projects section, returning for its seventh year.
The majority of galleries exhibiting at the fair were UK-based, and this is an edge the LAF has over its rivals (such as Frieze) as they are known for pioneering young contemporary British art. Which led to my first surprise of the day – that of discovery. I was impressed by the amount of smaller, independent galleries I came across within the space, and in turn, their exciting artists that were on show. My first revelation were Pertwee, Anderson and Gold, based in Soho, who were predominantly exhibiting and selling the work of artist Nancy Fouts (pictured). Fouts’s work primarily dealt in taxidermy in a witty and intellectual way, as well as highlighting religious imagery through large collages and sculptural works.
Other highlights included the Paul Stolper Gallery, who seemed to have built a ‘blockbuster’ stall of works by Damien Hirst, Peter Blake and Don Brown; Salon Vert who were showing the great Nikola Savic; Scream, who focused on the funny and mind-bending work of James Hopkins; and Jaggedart, who introduced me to the wonderful work of Chilean ceramicist Livia Marin (pictured). My favourite stall of the fair, however, has to be the Jack Bell Gallery, who I will forever owe for the introduction to the photography of Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou (below) – simply stunning.
The Arts Projects section of the fair, hosting 30 young galleries from London, triumphed in its spotlighting of new contemporary galleries and artists. Two highlights: the wonderful Ceri Hand Gallery, who with curator Doug Jones showcased the work of S Mark Gubb, Eleanor Moreton and Rebecca Lennon to name a few; and my biggest surprise of the day, The Wapping Project. Focussing on lens-based media, the gallery was exhibiting the work of emerging photographers, the stand-outs for me being both Edgar Martins (pictured) and Elina Brotherus.
In addition to gallery stalls, the fair also boasted a photography showcase, Photo50, curated by Nick Hackworth. The exhibition, entitled A Cyclical Poem, documented the nature of historical change through a selection of 50 images by eight photographers, who have produced work from 1970 to the present day, including Chris Steele-Perkins and Paul Hill.
What struck me most about the London Art Fair was the feeling of accessibility. It catered to a variety of tastes and disciplines, as well as a variety of incomes. The pricing of the art work allowed for all who attended to at least have the possibility of getting their hands on some original artwork if they wished, with some starting prices being just £90. Let’s not get too carried away with ourselves, though; £90 prints were very neatly placed between £10,000 c-prints and £50,000 sculptures. Gulp.
Despite the feeling that the Business Design Centre was not the best suited location for the fair (due to its bizarre layout of multiple mezzanines, and the fact that there were trading retail outlets and a gym open and serving the public), the London Art Fair for me turned out to be both a pleasant surprise and an educational experience. I left feeling I had learnt a lot about the up-and-coming, as well as being slightly relieved that one day I may actually be able to buy a piece of art, my goal for London Art Fair 2014!
Sarah Creed
