Fairs
A tale of two fairs with @around.robyn
With our first fairs of the year springing into action, Robyn Donaldson aka @around.robyn attended not one, but two of our international fairs in New York and Battersea, London. Here’s her take, both sides of the pond!
Sidonie Bishop
Tuesday 17 May, 2022
2022 got off to a roaring start for us as our Battersea, Brussels and New York fairs all opened their doors to thousands of happy art buyers in March. One art-lover who managed to make it two of our spring fairs was London-based interiors enthusiast and author Robyn Donaldson, aka @around.robyn, who happened to be travelling to New York at the time of our NYC fair and couldn’t resist dropping in and telling us all about how it compared to our Battersea Fair.
Read on to find out what she discovered; the similarities, different trends, and what she loved about both fairs.
Over to you, Robyn!
“This spring I got to do one of the single most brilliant things, conceivably ever. I got to go to an art fair as a customer AND an insider. Is my main aspiration in life to be a well-dressed patron of the arts? Yes, it is. Did I get to pretend I was that for a day? Yes, I did. And how, you ask? Because the lovely folks at Affordable Art Fair invited me to check out their New York fair while I was in town, and before they had the chance to think it over, I’d chosen my outfits, checked I had enough luggage allowance to bring back a life-size sculpture and completely lost my cool about things.
But let’s backtrack. You might not know I’m an Affordable Art Fair fan (I only post about it every fair, guys). Well, I am. A big one. I went to my first fair in Hampstead circa 2012 and I’ve not missed many UK fairs since. I love the fact you get the best of the UK galleries, an incredible atmosphere, food, booze, talks and all the inspiration you can imagine. So the thought of going and having a nerdy deep dive into how AAF translates across borders, well, in the words of Julia Roberts, ‘I nearly wet my pants’.
The premise of both fairs is the same – a fun, relaxed atmosphere where you can buy the best in affordable contemporary art, whoever you are and whatever you like. Everything is under £7,500/ $10,000 and there isn’t a medium that isn’t represented, whether you’re going with the buggy to buy a piece for your little poppet or you’re off on an early evening jaunt to choose a statement screenprint for your first home.
Butwhile there are undoubtedly similarities, each fair brings its own unique flavour, which, like David Attenborough, I stalked around both fairs and sought out. This is what I found:
“an incredible atmosphere, food, booze, talks and all the inspiration you can imagine”
Mediums making their mark
The most fascinating, and obvious I suppose, difference is the way the fairs naturally favoured some mediums over others.
The New York fair had photography and fine art at its core. Gritty and urban in its outlook – the colours were rich, and monochromes and brights seemed to steal the show.
Battersea was bustling with abstracts and soft pastel palettes, with an abundance of screen-printing. Want to see the difference from the comfort of your couch? Then you can! Over at Affordable Art Fair’s sister marketplace AffordableArt.com, you can shop the curated collections for each fair – check out Battersea here and New York here.
“New York had photography and fine art at its core…Battersea was bustling with abstract and soft pastel pallets…”
Photography focus
While there was photography at both fairs – the subject matter was deliciously specific to each country. In New York we saw everything from classic cars flanked by palm trees from Patrick Lajoie of Lustre Contemporary, to Amish Cattle Fairs from Nicolas Auvray courtesy of Galerie L’Atelier (my favourite piece of the fair, no less).
At Battersea there was the glorious retro neon of Walthamstow stadium and ever-addictive launderette interiors from Richard Heeps and pensive snow scenes complete with perfectly posed dog from Stuart Redler.
Pop Culture Vulture
The references are wonderfully location-specific so you can really revel in the artists’ inspiration and then some. Whether it’s huge Pop Rocks packets from TAG Fine Arts or Jong Hwa Lee’s acid-toned NYC buildings in the States, or Mark Vessey’s iconic vinyl covers and Twiggy at Galerie Art Net in London, the fairs reflect back the atmosphere around them meaning you’re sure to find art that speaks to the place and time.
“you’re sure to find art that speaks to the place and time”
You spin me right round
When I walked into Affordable Art Fair NYC one thing struck me – there was a spherical motif running throughout the fair. Curves ruled from Myung Nam An’s ceramic Sea Urchin loveliness to Ortinaire De Coupigny’s Sardine Tins for Ronen Art Gallery. Meanwhile, the feminine form was front and centre at London with neons, Phung Pham’s metred Monochrome masterpiece and Nikoleta Sekulovic’s Enigma for those wanting their unclothed art oversized.
Some things stayed the same
Delightfully, some galleries travelled which made the NYC fair feel even more friendly and familiar to us Brits. We were greeted by Lime Tree Gallery and Stephen Linday’s beautiful portraiture, James Sparshatt’s Cuban photography series and Brit Jason Lilley’s unmistakable burnished work. Oh and of course, my favourite Nina Murashkina’s gorgeous ceramic vases – there as if to remind me I should probably buy one…
“…both had very distinct personalities which allowed you to have a completely different experience while remaining conspicuously Affordable Art Fair”
Eat, drink and be merry
While the art is important, how do the fairs compare? Different, I’d say, but in a good way. While Battersea is a sprawling behemoth set in a park, NYC finds itself on a slightly smaller scale but very much in keeping with the feel of the city and is far more central and urban in its outlook. Multi-level – it’s all turns and corners much like a NYC apartment block. Food and drink is the focus at Battersea, which feels like an all-day destination with a grand bar at the centre, while New York feels like an exciting drop in and somewhere you can visit at different times of day for very different experiences – the evening slot was the busiest. I loved that while both were family-friendly and open to all, both had very distinct personalities which allowed you to have a completely different experience while remaining conspicuously Affordable Art Fair.
So there’s the differences for you – what Affordable Art Fair does so expertly is distil the ethos of a place, gathers the best of its art, and serves it all up in a format that’s welcoming and inclusive. Despite going to many, many fairs at home, attending New York was a thrill because it felt new and exciting and like I was coming across hidden treasures left, right and centre. It gave a true taste of American art in a few hours and what more could you want than that! So, if you’re planning your next trip overseas, consider checking if there’s an Affordable Art Fair in that location (spoiler – they’re in 10 cities around the world, from Singapore to Amsterdam) and dedicating an afternoon to easy-to-access local art.”
