Hampstead – AmeliasMagazine

Last Friday my good friend Helen of East End Prints persuaded me to join her in a trip to the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead, taking advantage of our lovely new overground line to drag the toddlers with us. As is usual at these large fairs, there was loads of wonderful art alongside plenty of dross: here is a tiny snapshot of what I saw and loved whilst trying to keep track of my child.

In the entrance we were entranced by art from University of London graduate students, shown as part of the Made in Arts London initiative. My favourite was a series of surreal landscapes by Central Saint Martins graduate Hyunjeong Lim.

I also liked enigmatic miniature sculpture using everyday household items by Rebecca Rendell: she calls these ‘autobiographical cleansing‘.

From there it was into the main part of the exhibition, chasing small boys up and down the aisles, to the chagrin of some and amusement of many. This upcycled pewter teapot is by Carola del Mese, who gains inspiration from her career in theatrical prop making and a love of Edwardian charm jewellery.

David Shillinglaw’s iconographic artwork is instantly recognisable. I particularly love his use of colour.

The trend for bastardising old works of art shows no sign of abating. How about this humorous portrait by Shuby?

Neon artwork by God’s Own Junkyard manages to be both kitsch and sophisticated, combining garish lighting with elegant typography.

I was most enamoured of clever photorealist paintings by Gerry Smith at the Sol Art Gallery.

Lauri Hopkins at Four Walls Contemporary reassembles found materials with paint in these lovely abstract collages.

This gigantic Bishops Pom Pom is by former restauranteur Frances Doherty, who calls herself ‘the ceramic gardener’ and works between Normandy and Brighton. She has a lovely blog here.

And yes, that is our children, lolling around on the floor dangerously close to expensive pieces of art. The upholstered dogs are by Dominic Gubb and take on the various characters of the salvaged sofas from which they are made.

Eye ceramics by Myung Nam An made for a stunning wall show at the Cube Gallery.

Downpatrick Head by the Dutch artist Reinder Ourensma has the bizarre feel of a fantasy world but it is an actual location in Ireland.

There was a strong neon trend running through the show and I particularly liked this circular paper artwork by Eliza Kopec.

I first saw these prints by Victoria Browne at an exhibition in Margate and instantly fell in love. Her Training Nature series highlight our attempts to improve nature through constant pruning and shaping. This gave me a second opportunity to lust after one… but they sadly do not come cheap.

Ice cream art by Marie Robinson was perfectly kitsch and delicious on the Will’s Art Warehouse stand.

Simple graphic portraits by Cristina Gayarre work well in bold red and black.

I can’t resist a more traditional print by Richard Bawden.

I am a sucker for strange landscapes, especially if they feature curious modern architecture, like these delicate charcoal pieces by Jemma Appleby.

Lastly, lovely ceramics by Helen Beard (based at Cockpit Arts) feature whimsical swimmers on delicate porcelain.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday June 17th, 2014 6:35 pm

Categories ,2014, ,Affordable Art Fair, ,Bishops Pom Pom, ,Carola del Mese, ,Central Saint Martins, ,Cockpit Arts, ,Cristina Gayarre, ,Cube Gallery, ,David Shillinglaw, ,Dominic Gubb, ,Downpatrick Head, ,East End Prints, ,Eliza Kopec, ,Four Walls Contemporary, ,Frances Doherty, ,Gerry Smith, ,God’s Own Junkyard, ,Hampstead, ,Helen Beard, ,Hyunjeong Lim, ,Jemma Appleby, ,Lauri Hopkins, ,Made in Arts London, ,Marie Robinson, ,Myung Nam An, ,Neon, ,Rebecca Rendell, ,Reinder Ourensma, ,review, ,Richard Bawden, ,Shuby, ,Snarfle, ,Sol Art Gallery, ,The ceramic gardener, ,Training Nature, ,University of London, ,Victoria Browne, ,Will’s Art Warehouse

Amelia’s Magazine | Affordable Art Fair Hampstead 2014 Review

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