Affordable Art Fair Review: A smashing success

The Affordable Art fair took over New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion last week with 2 floors of over 50 galleries and 200 artists displaying their work. From the VIP opening on Wednesday to Sunday the aisles were filled with art enthusiasts eager to discover new favorites. Even the rain didn’t keep people away! Sculptures using magnets, paintings large and small and even live drawing at the Nicolas Avaray Gallery booth kept fair goers guessing as what would be around the next corner.

A French sculptor who believes in the power of personal transformation, Gaelle experiments with materials mixing metals and paint for some cheeky twists on the genre. We loved her Audacious III and Symphonie for their simplicity but cheekiness. The tiny people painted her signature brilliant blue hung onto the steel shapes in various postures - from doing headstands to sitting demurely with ankles crossed. The tiny figures can be moved as well, perhaps a nod to how she experiments with the connection of body and mind. If you are feeling playful you might turn the figure upside down that day!

An added bonus with some of Gaelle’s other works includes a motion component as some are created with electromagnets and will move when plugged in. Given the nature of the silhouttes she mentioned that many of her collectors use lights on the work to cast shadows for a more intense effect

Having interviewed Bianca Jean-Pierre recently we absolutely had a stop by her booth on the second floor! Their third time at the fair she was happy to have a bigger booth and she filled it with beautiful art from Zambian, Indonesian and a Brooklyn-based artist. Mwinga Sinjela, from Zambia, and Nabila Wirakusamah, from Indonesia, were both inspired by anime growing up.

Sinjela depicts action hero type figures in his work using predominantly reds and oranges inspired by their two favorite times of day – dawn and sunset. Certain pieces have a texture to them as Sinjela uses fabrics from back home in Zambia underneath the acrylics in their work. Our favorite piece was “Searchin”, a piece in classic anime style incorporating pieces of Sinjela’s Zambian roots with a textured jacket worn by one of the characters.

Wirakusamah, describes her self portrait pieces as a technicolor dreamscape. She uses painting as a way of coping with her “rootlessness” feeling. She grew up between Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand – something she considers a blessing but also comes with many emotions. This artist also serves as a creative director at Sheer!

In exploring the Nicolas Auvray Gallery’s booth we of course loved Marie-Chloe Duval’s “Overthink” pieces on the wall, but also stumbled into Carlos Penalver. Carlos is a London-based artist here for a one month residency and to show his work at the fair. I stumbed upon him drawing a new piece in his sketchbook underneath a very similar style large scale work above him and had to ask what inspired his work.

Line drawing is Carlos’ style and he walked us through a huge rendering of the island of Manhattan, which highlights his favorite parts of the city! The bean at 56 Leonard Street, Whitney Museum and Madison Square Garden were especially inspiring as were the taxi cabs that covered the work. Carlos had never seen advertisements on the top of taxis before and was absolutely in love with them.

Listening to Carlos I could relate to that “first love” feeling he was describing of his time in New York being so strong and unforgettable. The unlimited possibilities, interesting people you meet, experiences you’ve never had before are so heightened. Stumbling upon an unexpected sculpture on the street is a moment of joy. It made me romanticise the rain outside and slightly chilly temperatures as I left the fair, appreciating the city for it’s small charms a little bit more.