Even if you’ve got millions to spare on a Picasso or Basquiat, the Affordable Art Fair returns with unmissable bargains and investment pieces for the keen talent spotter. It’s one of our favourite events in London and every season we can’t wait until the doors re-open.
Briefly, the maximum price of each piece on show – painting, sculpture, pottery – is £7,500, so all works of art are contemporary and by newcomers or rising stars. And there are lots of gems on show in the 100 plus galleries exhibiting at the bi-annual event.
This spring the Battersea Park lit up again with the coolest crew, more than 100 galleries featuring bright young artists from all over the world, setting up shop in the South London mega-marquee.
It’s always huge fun, lots to eat and drink and a chance to see familiar faces in the crowd – old friends who share an interest in art and design. And it’s a big opportunity to discover new artists and find the perfect piece for anyone decorating their home.
International Galleries stirring the Scene in Battersea Park
We’re always looking out for Scandi galleries and artists – or paintings and photographs that look Nordic. Predominantly, at DU we’re spying the toned-down pieces, the minimalist or light in colour. But in some cases, to go with our sparse decor, a fabulous colour and verve piece works wonders.
There were at least 17 foreign galleries and one of them was Galeri Final from Malmö in Sweden, including Galerie Makowski of Berlin and Al Contar del Arte from Northern Spain and ARTCODE from Houston.
Colour and Verve as the Affordable Art Fair returns – who needs a new Dress?
Artists we’re always looking out for included two we’ve picked here (above) Poppy Faun whose breezy collages were a huge hit with the fast crowd. And there’s Bonnie & Clyde, also a collage artist, who appears to use the colour pastel blue a lot.
Her mixed media pieces are just gorgeous. Why buy a new dress when you can invest in a work of art like this that will last and potentially go up in value?
Specially curated walls of works that cost less than £500 helped shrewd visitors snap up bargains, proving sophisticated art investments needn’t break the bank.
The DU team were at the fair last October as in previous years – read our post here – and it’s always a feast for the eyes. There’s DJ music and drinks flowing. But as the Affordable Art Fair returns twice a year, it’s also a family affair: children enjoying face painting and creative activity packs designed to help them discover the wonder of art.
A Whiter Shade: The Minimal Scandi Look
Of course, there were plenty of works to tempt us Scandis who like white paintings to go with our white walls…. Multiple shades of white on canvas or paper, and some with splashes of colour – here, below, are some of our favourites from the spring fair.
