Claus Mueller

New York: Affordable Art Fair, Spring 2019 

There is a growing fascination in in art created outside the boundaries of established pathways; works of art that can be classified as ordinary art, outsider art or art brut. This art is often shaped by individuals who have no formal training and innovate through their intuition. Personal taste and spontaneity are their only guides. A relatively large number of these works were part of the spring 2019 Affordable Art Fair and with some pieces puzzling viewers. Christie’s successful outsider art auction this past January made clear there is a market, with sales of $4.2 million. Most works at the auction house were sold well above the $10,000 limit of the Affordable Art Fair.

There are some very real reasons for concern at both the lowest and highest level of the art market.  The disposable income of individuals that would traditionally purchase in the middle and lower priced art markets has not grown over the last three decades and the number of young collectors is declining. The increase in the cost of living and housing alongside the stagnation hourly and monthly wages is an obvious factor. Past promises of generation after generation increasing standards of living and of securing reasonable incomes after graduating from college can no longer be assumed.  There is an unignorable and growing discrepancy between income and the cost of living in major urban areas, the very places where most affordable art fairs are held. A possible decline of revenues by the Affordable Art Fair may be slowed given the pricing philosophy of AAF.  The so called “1%”, most commonly associated with the purchases of art, have enjoyed a sharp upturn in their income over the last decade, but there has been no parallel growth between their increase in wealth and their acquisition of art. The highest art market level is driven by a small group of super wealthy buyers.  The data of 2018 does not reveal a significant increase over the $68 billion total global volume generated in 2011.  Both the bottom and top of the art market are stagnating.

Held from March 28-31, the New York edition of the Affordable Art Fair celebrated its 27^th edition this year. More than 16,000 visitors attended the fair at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. From a commercial perspective, it achieved record breaking sales of about. 2,000 works of art were sold for a combined $4.4 million, more than the revenues of Christie’s January Outsider Art auction.  The fair drew first time buyers as well as experienced collectors.  69 local, national, and international galleries presented artwork by 400 new and established artists. Among the highlights of the fair were the Art After Dark Evening Soirée, a sensory experience performance by Vessna Scheff and the Young Talent Exhibition, a platform for emerging artists and curators. This spring, two new programs recieved worthy attention, Stroller Hour Presented by HEYMAMA, for families and their children, held before the public hours, and Lunch Time Talks, intended inspire discussion with visitors of the intersection of art, design and architecture.

The Affordable Art Fair is guided by the philosophy of making contemporary art more accessible and democratic.  This is reflected in pricing limited to between  $100 to $10,000 for art that can be sold at the fair. and limiting works shown to those of living artists. The Affordable Art Fair is a global brand and is one of the most popular art fairs in the world.

It is held annually or in some cases biannually in multiple cities and has organized  13 fairs in 10 metropolitan cities this year, including New York, London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hamburg, Melbourne, Singapore and Stockholm. Established in 1999, the fair has attracted 2.5 million individuals so far and sold, including revenues from the recent New York fair  $491 million worth of art. The next edition of New York’s affordable art fair will take place from September 25-29.

This year, some of the most intriguing work was installed by foreign galleries including The Tulman Collection (Tokyo /New York), the London and New York based Decorazon Gallery, Palma Arte located in Salicito di Aseno, Italy, and Galerie Barrou Planquart from Paris. Works shown by these galleries struck me as unique. Other interesting pieces could be found at the TAG Fine Arts, the Emanuel Fremin,  and Art Space Warehouse sections including takeoffs on Jeff Coons for a plastic dog for $5300and kudos for Basquiat  for $575.

The Tulman Collection presented works by Toko Shinota, 104 years young. She had her first solo show in 1936 and has had many solo and retrospective shows, with her work collected by in more than 40 international and Japanese museums and institutions. She successfully integrates traditional Japanese calligraphy in her sumi ink paintings and prints. Noteworthy is the impact of abstract expressionism her fluent imagery. Her offered works at the fair started at from $5350.

Michele Mikesell characterizes her work and paintings as influenced by an extremely eclectic assortment of orientations and schools ranging from Dutch masters, German Expressionism, and Pop Surrealistic movements. Based in Dallas, TX, she was by the Decorazon Gallery.  Her work has been shown in private and corporate collections as well as national and international art shows. She is considered an important Pop Surrealist artist and characterizes her work as reflexive narratives. In her words, “Creating individuals is what I find most interesting in the studio.  These portraits will be familiar characters to the viewer, subjects we recognize and identify with. My work consistently travels along a general vein of the universal human experience”.  Her startling oil painting LITTLE JUICE FACE sold at the fair for $7,500.

Personally, the Italian Max Gaspari, 49, from the PALMA Arte Gallery was a revelation because of his unique way mirroring the image of women. His mixed media approach portraying the faces of female subjects seemed to lift their visages from the canvas and give them a dream like mystical power. A background in art restoration alongside exposure to nontraditional material has led to the capture of the secrets behind a woman’s face and psyche, alluring and capturing the viewer’s gaze.  His expressivity, and the illusions of reflection he has created, have made him one of the best known artists in Europe, though he did not start exhibiting until 2007. His 21 YOURS mixed media on wood configuration sold for $5500 at the fair.

Equally surprising was Francois Bel’s small BIG BANGS sculptures from the Gallerie Barrou Planquart. At art fairs, there is always the quest to discover a new approaches or unexplored territories Many works of art often seem to be redundant or variations of other artists’ approach.  What Francis Bel has made is truly new. He has created sets of ordinary dismantled objects which are suspended in rectangular synthetic clear crystal.  The objects are frozen in space, dislocated and levitated. Bel succeeds in transforming the function of the objects by redefining their purpose.  He has been inspired by street art, Dada and Pop art neorealism and suggests that he undermines consumerism through the appropriation and compartmentalization of everyday objects. His embedded objects sell for $6,200.

Claus Mueller  filmexchange@gmail.com