A Survey of This Weekend’s Affordable Art Fair NY

NEW YORK—For relatively “affordable” prices, fine art can be had in the Chelsea gallery district—this weekend, at least. This year the Affordable Art Fair moved from 34th Street to The Tunnel on 11th Avenue at West 28th. When you enter the renovated train terminal the first booth beckons with a sign advertising art for $500. The “bargain” booth appears before you even pay the entrance fee to the fair, a long corridor of gallery spaces lining either side of the narrow terminal.

Once inside, more than 60 galleries are showcasing contemporary art, primarily paintings, photography, mix-media and some sculpture. Smaller canvases and photos are priced under $1,000. Modest-sized prints of Alain Amiand’s “Hotel” sign photographs are $200, for example. Many pieces can be found throughout the fair for a couple thousand dollars, while larger works such as “New Generation” an oil on canvas by Le Tran Anh Tuan ($8,500) cost several thousand.

The fair runs from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7, 2012. Today is the last day of the New York fair.

All photos © Arts Observer


Detail of “New Generation” (oil on canvas) by Le Tran Anh Tuan, at ArtBlue Studio of Singapore.

The canvas is part of a series created by the artist depicting Chinese youth with fighting fish. The images symbolize them navigating their way through life, struggling to figure out their futures.


Two photographs by Serge Anton at The United Gallery of Brussels, Belgium.


Four oil on canvas works by Cynthia Kirkwood, at Edgewater Gallery of Middlebury, Vt.


“Hotel” series by Alain Amiand, at 31 Galerie of Toulouse, France.


More than 60 galleries are exhibiting contemporary art at the fair this weekend.


Portraits of women by Claude Roegiers at The United Gallery of Brussels, Belgium. Each painting includes a gold border with a series of faint white cross-hatching painted on top of the portrait.


At left, from top, “La Coca” and “Los de Fiesta” (silver gelatin prints) by Diego Ortiz Mugica, at Kaller Fine Arts of Bethesda, Md.


Detail of work on paper from “strange individuals” series by Mara Claus, at Galerie juliane hundertmark.


“Faceless Portraits” series (metallic print on diabond with plexiglass finish) by Holly Wilmeth, at Retrospect Galleries of Byron Bay, Australia.


“Marxa” (collage and oil on canvas) by Juan Pajares, at Villa del Arte galleries of Barcelona and Amsterdam.


From left, Two collages composed of paint chips: “After Lone Ranger” and “After Batman” (mixed media on canvas) both by Carlos Tirado, at Besharat Gallery of Atlanta, Ga.

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