Affordable Art; The Fair
You Should Own Art, Ninth Edition
I’ve never been to an Art Fair in my life. There are of course certain famous fairs that even I have heard about. These mostly function as meeting places for the global glitterati to interbreed and launder money. Seeing, buying, and selling art seems like a secondary activity. Even the second- and third-tier fairs seem engineered to make a person feel desperately uncool, uncultured, and poor. From that perspective, something called the Affordable Art Fair seems very promising. And such a fair occurring online is a very attractive proposition.
This edition is devoted to a selection of works from the ongoing online Affordable Art Fair which runs until May 3rd. The fair features works from all over the world, and allows you to purchase works in a number of currencies. The works ship from their native countries, but shipping is free with this here code: SHIPFREESPRING
While the prices of many works certainly strain the definition of “affordable” there are some really brilliant things to see.
“Symbiosis”
Theresa Maria Forthaus
Digital archival print
USD$ 584
I love photography that veers into the abstract. And when the abstracted subject is the human body, [chef’s kiss sound].
You can buy this work here.
Theresa’s Instagram
Theresa’s website
“Tutti Fruit in Blue”
Angela Maritz
Acrylic on paper
USD$418
I always find it so amazing when an artist just blows up the idea of a “still life” and replaces it with energetic motion.
You can buy this work here.
Angela’s Instagram
Angela’s website
“La Pergola”
Jose Conceptes
Digital archival print
USD$641
Ok, again with the photographic abstraction. For me, this evokes the surrealist seaside scenes in both ‘La Dolce Vita’ and ‘8 1/2’.
You can buy this work here.
Jose’s Instagram
Jose’s website
“La Stanza Sforzesca”
Daniel Egneus
Digital print, Edition of 50
USD$488
This is a little spendy, but it’s pretty large (15-ish x 23-ish). And, it’s the kind of painting/drawing I like; with just enough literal draftsmanship to be recognizable but with some looseness to be ambiguous and open to interpretation.
The rest of his work has many of the qualities that I love about the work of the legendary Disney artist Mary Blair.
You can buy this work here.
Daniel’s Instagram
Daniel’s website
“avp_708”
Alex Voinea
Acrylic on paper
USD$683
And speaking of energy, I think this would wake you up every morning and set you on a positive path for the day.
You can buy this work here.
Alex’s Instagram
Alex’s website
“Ganesha 04”
N.S. Manoharan
Watercolor
USD$203
N.S. has some beautiful renditions of Ganesh. They’re all really original takes on a very old subject. This is my favorite. I encourage you to check out the others.
You can buy this work here.
N.S.’s Instagram
N.S.’s gallery
“Tuesday Flowers I”
Vicky Oldfield
Collograph print, edition of 40
USD$481
Based on the other work of Vicky’s I’ve seen, I suspect that this image doesn’t do the print justice. I love this style of illustration and the quality of the line.
You can buy this work here.
Vicky’s Instagram
Vicky’s website
“Witchcraft”
Brian Riley
Acrylic on board
USD$516
I’m really into the collision of colors, shapes and especially textures. It’s amazing how this all hangs together as a composition.
You can buy this work here.
Brian’s Instagram
Brian’s website
“Untitled 03”
Girish Adannavar
Acrylic on canvas
USD$439
For me, Girish’s work evokes Gustov Klimnt’s. There’s a build of texture and shape that resolves in a human form with focus on the face. I really love this work. You should dive in a see the others.
You can buy this work here.
Girish’s Instagram
“North Shore Motel Steps, Salton Sea, California”
Richard Heeps
C-Type print, Edition of 25
USD$830
Centering the composition around the teal shape that echoes the blue of the sky is what does it for me in this image. And, the shadow shapes are awesome. And, who doesn't love a good bit of decrepitude? You should buy this.
You can buy this work here.
Richard’s Instagram
Richard website
“This Does Not Mean You Have No Way”
Chika Osaka
Woodcut print, Edition of 50
USD$460
By far, my biggest discovery at the Affordable Art Fair has been the Hanga Ten gallery which specializes in contemporary Japanese prints. There’s huge breadth of work, not all of it to my taste, but a lot of it is revelatory. This is one of my favorite works in the collection. It’s both funny and elegant, and an incredible feat of craftsmanship.
You can buy this work here.
Chika’s Instagram
That’s it for this edition. I can’t pretend that I covered the whole fair, so dig in for yourself and let me know what you find. As always, thanks so much for subscribing! (And, tell yer friends!)