Just because it’s approaching December, it doesn’t only mean the beginning of advent and Christmas shopping, it also means we’ve come to the end of another jam-packed Affordable Art Fair season!
Just because it’s approaching December, it doesn’t only mean the beginning of advent and Christmas shopping, it also means we’ve come to the end of another jam-packed Affordable Art Fair season! And as ever, it’s been an art-filled whirlwind. With fairs across continents and countries — from Singapore and Hamburg, Battersea and Bristol — hosted by our hundreds of gallery partners and the fabulous fair teams around the world.
Whether you’ve joined us at one of our fair’s this autumn, or have been following us online, there’s still plenty of time to explore our online collection. To help, we’ve gathered the most popular artists into one easy-to-digest blog. In this post we’ll take a look at some of the artists whose work has been flying off our metaphorical shelves, and whilst we know that our artistic preferences are entirely subjective, and often completely random, it’s clear that some themes seem to gain special attention.
Work depicting nature and outdoor, rural landscapes have definitely proved popular this autumn; as have abstract works – both bright and minimalist calming pieces. With Christmas just around the corner, it may be the perfect moment to invest in an emerging artist before they hit the big time, read on to discover the ones to watch…
We’re big fans of the large-scale, photographic works of artist Claire Luxton, represented by Degree Art – and as it turns out, our online shoppers are too! Increasingly, we’re seeing lots of artists who experiment with a variety of mediums; and Luxton is definitely of that ilk, with a diverse practice encompassing painting, photography and sculpture. Her work aims to alter and interact with the environment it hangs in, exploring both space and photography at once. Combining detailed photographic portraits with beautiful blooms or artfully placed glitter, we love the size and impact of her photographs.
It’s easy to see why the autumnal, warm tones of Jon Rowland’s colourful canvases have been a stand-out hit this season. The beautifully named ‘Serenissima – Boats at Ease – Midday’ – part of a series on Venice – warms you up immediately, enveloping the viewer with its golden hues and thick, painterly brushstrokes. Rowland’s bright acrylic on canvases are directly inspired by the cities and landscapes around him – think Venice, Scotland, Cuba or Sydney.
Showing with Durlacher Contemporary, Tim Hall’s enigmatic and atmospheric ‘The Party’ walks the fine balance between reportage and fine art photography, with an overarching feeling that we’re having a peak at a dinner party where we haven’t been invited. Hall specialises in travel, landscape and portrait photography; showing an intense interest in the urban world, as well as the people who inhabit it. We see this in spades in ‘The Party’, a work which can’t help but beg questions about the story we are seeing unfold.
In keeping with the trend of ‘less is more’, Lisa Middleton’s charming ‘Angelia (small print)’, showing with Contemporarti, uses a unique method known as Cynatype. The technique was developed in the mid 19th century, which saw artists produce text and drawings as blueprints. Part of the artist’s “Thoughts of Home” series and inspired by her Icelandic homeland, the work is effortlessly imbued with a simple sense of sentimentality, perhaps due to the deep blues of the flower. A great, and affordable, addition to a busy home, calling out for a little calm — we’re not surprised it’s proved a favourite online.
Who could fail to fall in love with the whimsical characters and sense of space and sky that Tim Southall, represented by Wychwood art in Oxfordshire, conjures up in his scenes of a country idyll. Southall’s work often uses animal characters which feel distinctively human, within beautifully rendered landscapes and quiet pockets of nature — expect foxes, polar bears and dogs! Firm favourites with our online collectors, Southall perfectly balances a lightness of touch and eye for detail with these charming narratives.
We can’t get enough of the bright and beautiful work of Beatriz Elorza, who shows with Turner Barnes gallery. Her abstract works have a figurative quality, as thick painted brushstrokes appear like limbs, hair or feathers, whilst still keeping a sense of abstraction and depth. The artist originally trained as an architect, and there’s definitely a sense of structure in these pieces, as the brushstrokes build up to make more substantial forms. Moreover, Elorza’s work feels innately spontaneous and intensely emotional, as through the brushstrokes we can almost see the artist herself transferring paint to canvas. This would look great in a big room with lots of light, or even part of a bohemian-style salon hang, with softer, less animated works around it. Energetic and inspiring, we can’t wait to see what she does next!
Main image:
Art lovers falling for the perfect piece at Affordable Art Fair Bristol 2017.
Works featured:
Claire Luxton, Fleur Nocturne iii, £2,375, Digital print on aluminium, Degree Art.
Jon Rowland, Serenissima – Boats at Ease – Midday, £720, Acrylic on canvas, Wychwood Art.
Tim Hall, The Party, £750, Pigment print on paper, Durlacher Contemporary.
Inga Lisa Middleton, Angelica, £180, Cyanotype on paper, ContemporArti.
Tim Southall, Fox and Goose, £265, Silkscreen print on paper, Printmakers Council.
Beatriz Elorza, Entre Las Ramas, £1,200, Mixed-media on paper, Turner Barnes Gallery.