Review: New Artist Fair London

New Artist Fair is the latest art fair to appear with an exhibition by London’s emerging artistic talent, having been set up to provide a platform for exciting new artists to exhibit their work and enable buyers to purchase directly from the artists themselves.

I visited their first fair over the weekend of 10th and 11th September in Wilkes Street, E1 and I was delighted to find an authentic exhibition containing a wonderful cross-section of talent, styles and media. Different tastes, ideas and presentation methods merged seamlessly into a relatively modest, but very well organised venue.

I am a huge fan of art fairs for this very reason, as the artists can show their work without the constraints of a gallery and the pompous, often stilted and unwelcoming feel that some galleries can emit.

New Artist Fair is the opposite. The organisers Leah Michelle and Oliver were a delight, full of genuine enthusiasm and a love of the work exhibited by the twenty artists they had chosen from hundreds of applicants. My personal favourites were Leah Michelle, one of the organisers, also an artist,(but no attempt was made to direct me towards her work), Lisa Andrews, an emerging talent about whom I have written in the past, Mark Allin with his interesting and captivating 3D photographic pieces, Aisling Fegan, for the vibrancy of her pieces and Sandra Jordan. The truth however, is that there was no poor work on display, which is a tribute to the curator, given the different styles on display.

I fully expect the New Artist Fair to move onwards and upwards from its New Kids on The Block position and to become a serious player in the London Art Fair scene. It fills a gap between Artists wanting to exhibit and buyers looking to acquire affordable art from the next big thing, before the galleries discover the talent on show, take the work into their expensive Galleries  and add their commission. The next fair is already planned for February 2012 and if you think it will be bigger and better than the first, then as they say on Top Gear…………..you’d be right.

New Artist Fair Website: www.newartistfair.com