From Madness to Genius: The Artistic Process

Sometimes, a person enters your life and there is an instant connection. The same is true for partnerships when creative aims and ambitions align.  We’re delighted to announce Affordable Art Fair’s collaboration with Martin Miller’s Gin, which will see a series of exciting events and a bespoke artist commission over the coming months. With a history strongly connected to the arts, including the Miller’s Antiques Handbook & Price Guide, we couldn’t think of a better collaboration.

At the heart of the Affordable Art Fair’s success is Will Ramsay’s entrepreneurial story, which began when Will opened the doors to the very first fair in 1999, challenging the stuffy conventions of the art world and aiming to democratise the market, making art accessible to all! Likewise, at the heart of the super-premium gin brand is a transformative story of its own. From the sparks of a ‘Mad’ idea to the creation of a ‘Genius’ gin Martin Miller set out to challenge the convention of traditional gin production with a unique dual distillation process. The launch (which humbly triggered the ‘gin renaissance’), also took place in 1999, making us feel like star-crossed partners in vision and creativity.

As the first part of the partnership, Martin Miller’s Gin will be the Official Partner for The Affordable Online Art Fair (Friday 9 April – Monday 3 May 2021). Our parallel stories of crazy ideas turned brilliant, is the perfect topic to explore in our first online panel discussion. So, we are cordially inviting you to join us for the ‘From Madness to Genius: The Artistic Process’ panel, taking place on Friday 9 April at 6pm GMT – click here to snap up one of the limited tickets to avoid missing out!

On the panel will be the multi-disciplinary artist partnership; Violeta Maya and Persiis Hajiyanni – an exciting duo that collaboratively explore time, space and physical experience, alongside Bob Eastham, Global Sales and Marketing Director for Martin Miller’s Gin and our very own Will Ramsay, Founder and CEO of the Affordable Art Fair. Violeta is represented by FLECHA gallery, who are regular exhibitors at the Affordable Art Fair. We’ll also explore how to unlock your creative potential in this talk.

We’re also excited to confirm that expert art historian and curator and Director of The Ingram Collection of Modern British & Contemporary Art, Jo Baring, will moderate the panel, which will leave attendees enlightened on how the ‘Madness to Genius’ process has informed creative output and also impacted art and artists throughout history.

Will says, “We’re hugely excited to discuss this fascinating subject live. There’s so much in the artistic process to explore; transformation, vision, obsession, renaissance… It’s sure to be a lively and interactive discussion. Together with Martin Miller’s Gin, we want to continue helping people learn more about and fall in love with art, and in doing this realise their own imagination and creative potential. This panel is a great first step in our new partnership.”

Of the partnership, which will continue at the upcoming Affordable Art Fair Battersea Autumn (21 – 24 October 2021), Bob says; “Martin Miller’s Gin exists because our entrepreneurial founder didn’t let what others perceived as a “Mad” idea stop him from creating what is now the most awarded gin brand in the world for its quality. We’re excited to work with the Affordable Art Fair and explore our “Genius” in works of art from around the world.”

“I’m going to make my own gin. A gin made from the heart where time and money won’t be an object. We’ll find England’s best distiller, source the finest botanicals and most importantly, we’ll go for the purest water, wherever it is,” said Martin Miller.

“You’re mad”, replied his friends, “Let’s do it.”

We rather love this attitude. So, if you would like to know more, why not snap up a complimentary ticket to the panel, pour yourself a refreshing Martin Miller’s Gin and tonic, sit back and enjoy. Let’s do it.

Artist biographies:

Violeta Maya (b. 1993, Madrid) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Madrid. Her works range from prints, kinetic sculptures and paintings to generative art, sound installations and video. The overarching theme of Maya’s work is the importance and therapeutic potential of enjoying the present moment in a world saturated with information and hyper-productivity. In an attempt to offer a peaceful and quiet time-capsule, her works draw from the power of the sensorial: sound, texture and movement work together to immerse the viewer in a calm mental state. 

Persiis Hajiyanni (b. 1993, Athens) is a multidisciplinary experience designer with a background in design and production of ephemeral spaces. Interested in the benefits of slowing down, and reconnecting with the environment that surrounds us, she is using participatory design as a way to playfully encourage physical interaction with objects, environments and other people in an increasingly digital world. Persiis studied in London and is currently based in Barcelona.

Moderator’s biography:

Jo Baring is the Director of The Ingram Collection of Modern British & Contemporary Art, where she set up the annual Ingram Prize which supports emerging artistic talent, offering residencies and solo museum shows to artists. She is the co-host and co-writer of the podcast Sculpting Lives which was listed as a top podcast by the Royal Academy and The Evening Standard amongst others and was podcast of the week in The Guardian. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a trustee of arts charities ArtCan and the Artists Collecting Society. Jo is currently editing a book on Modern British Art to be published in 2022 and she is also a keen collector of contemporary art.