The emerging artist scene is one of the most exciting of any creative city, their oeuvre and techniques still being refined, leading to an enormous sense of exploration and freedom in their work. It’s no wonder that our Young Talent exhibitions around the world are some of the most popular features of our fairs and present some of the most ground breaking works.

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR MELBOURNE YOUNG TALENT ARTISTS

We’re delighted to unveil our Affordable Art Fair Melbourne (5 – 8 September, Royal Exhibition Building) Young Talent artists, five rising stars from Melbourne and Victoria, whose work will make up a curated exhibition designed to showcase the diverse and immense talent from the state.

To whet your appetite further, here’s an introduction to each of our Young Talent artists in turn:

Alice Oehr, ABBOTSFORD

Alice Oehr’s punchy graphic creations teeter between the creative and commercial, but whatever side of the line they err – her distinctive and colourful style is sure to draw you in. Her limited edition works bring to life her love of food, pattern, collage and drawing – with many of her works having made their way onto textiles, homeware goods, magazines and books – even once as a series of 6ft Ancient Egyptian statues for a marquee at the Spring Racing Carnival! With a national and international following, you don’t want to miss her work at the fair.

James Mulcahy, NORTH CARLTON

We love James Mulcahy’s paintings inspired by the Australian landscape, they make us want to stretch our legs and get out into the natural beauty of the countryside. It’s no wonder that James’s inspiration and initial sketches are captured en plein air, then scaled up and brought to life through his expert use of watercolours.

We’re looking forward to standing in front of one of the RMIT Fine Art graduates works, taking a deep breath and having a meditative moment.

Emily Eliades, DAYLESFORD

Not only a participating artist in the Young Talent exhibition, Emily Elides will be using her botanic inspired patterns to bring the fair to life through a site-specific installation, which responds to the architecture and décor of our beautiful Royal Exhibition Building.  Emily’s intricate designs are created using etching, textile and stencil techniques, the patterns housing floral, pre-Raphaelite, religious and political themes.

At just 20 years old, we’re immensely impressed by the Victorian College of Arts graduate – not to be missed!

Tom Ferson, BRUNSWICK

It’s time to get intimate. Tom Ferson’s paintings explore relationships, love, sex and their influence and innate interweaving with our personas. Even Tom’s creative process seems to attest to the personal nature of his work, using a hair thin paintbrush to patiently layer stroke upon stroke as he brings his work to life. These works are a labour of love, with his latest portrait taking over 300 hours of concentrated painting to complete.

We can’t wait to see the COFA graduate’s patient work and lean in for a closer look.

Naomi Nicholls, KYABRAM / YARRAVILLE

We would liken Naomi Nicholls work to Paul Klee’s “taking a line for a walk” on acid. Her works have escaped the frame and left the canvas, stretching over the floor, up the wall and even across the ceiling! Picture huge collaged installations of brightly coloured vinyl and paint applied in a state of physicality using her whole body to drag enormous brushes across each surface.

The Victorian College of the Arts, Honours graduate’s work will greet you as you enter the fair – and is sure to mark the start of a very creative fair visit.

The quality of each of our Young Talent artists must be seen to be believed, don’t forget to snap up a ticket to the fair for advanced prices prepare to be wow-ed.

Main Image:
Painting by Tom Ferson.

Featured art from first to last:
Alice Oehr, artist, infront of her work titled Papayas.
Alice Oehr, Portrait, collage.
James Mulcahy, artist.
A beautiful watercolour inspired by the Australian landsape, by James Mulcahy.
Emily Eliades, artist, at work in the studio, photo credit Sav Schulman.
Emily Eliades installation work.
Tom Ferson, artist.
An example of Tom Ferson’s detailed, intimate paintings.
Naomi Nicholls, artist.
Naomi Nicholls, Cut It Out, 2018.