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SPRING FAIR UPDATE 2022

Gustavo Ortiz – Pink Couple

Get out your diary, we are busy preparing for a bumper Spring 2022 packed with art fairs, just the way we like it! Here’s our action packed Spring schedule:

We’ll be kicking off the year with AAF in London’s beautiful Battersea Park 10-13 March. We enjoyed two brilliant fairs at Battersea in 2021 and can’t wait to return in 2022.

Next we’ll have the rescheduled and long awaited London Art Fair in Islington, London, 20-24 April. In a change from it’s usual January slot London Art Fair will be taking place in late April, we’re hoping for some springtime sunshine in wonderful Islington.

Our final fair of Spring will be the AAF Hampstead on glorious Hampstead Heath 4-8 May. Oh how we’ve missed this this one. Art and Hampstead Heath couldn’t be a better combination!

As always we’ll be showing a gorgeous selection of work from our brilliant artists. We’re so looking forward to catching up with our regular visitors and seeing lots of lovely new faces too. We have a limited number of free tickets to the fairs available so do look out for our updates.

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MUSICALS ARE BACK!

We’re so happy to see theatres beginning to open after what has been a very difficult period for all those who work in the industry and of course those who love musicals! With this in mind Mark Vessey set about to capture a collection of iconic musical scores in his photograph ‘Musicals‘.

Earlier this year ‘Musicals’ was projected onto the stage of the Theatre Royal Brighton in a collaboration that documented the dark empty space and highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the theatre industry.

‘After waiting so long I feel a sense of relief that the theatres are opening up to welcome audiences back again’ says Vessey.

20% of the net sales of this edition will be donated to the charity Acting For Others, which provides financial and emotional support to all theatre workers at this challenging time.

Mark Vessey – Musicals
Projection of Musicals at the Theatre Royal Brighton

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AMY WINEHOUSE, 10 YEARS ON

Friday marked the 10 year anniversary of music legend Amy Winehouse’s sad passing. Time has passed but it is clear that Amy’s impact and musical legacy remain.


Pop artist Gerald Laing captured an infamous moment between Amy and her then husband Blake Fielder-Civil in his 2007 work ‘The Kiss’. The painting became Gerald’s iconic image for his contemporary work and was hailed as his ‘new Bardot for a new era’.


Gerald was best known in the 60’s for his paintings from media images of starlets and astronauts, and in later years became fascinated by what he called Amy’s ‘episodic’ life. He was offered the chance to meet her several times but always said ‘later’, as he wanted to stay true to his Pop Art roots and focus on her media image rather than be influenced by having met her. He said: ‘For the past three years I have been painting various contemporary images, but the one subject which has engaged me most is Amy Winehouse, and there is no doubt that she has become my most recent muse. What interests me is the combination of the wonderful graphic power of her visual image and the extraordinary and almost mythical events of her life. The latter are always misunderstood, misinformed and misrepresented by the media; but they are the stuff from which a mythology is created.’

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AAF LONDON, SUMMER 2021

What an incredible week at AAF London! It really was a pleasure to meet the visitors to our stand. A huge thank you to the wonderful artists, customers and the organisers who made the fair such a success (and so safe) under tricky circumstances.

Our stand featured Mark Vessey’s photographs of iconic pop culture heritage, joyful collages by Gustavo Ortiz, and stunning silkscreens from Henrik Simonsen and Waleska Nomura.

Pictured are just a few of the gorgeous artworks sold over the weekend. If you are one of the lucky owners do keep in touch, we’d love to see them in their new homes. If you missed it, we’ll be back in October for AAF Autumn 2021!

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AAF LONDON, 8TH TO 11TH JULY – IT’S REALLY HAPPENING!

Mark Vessey – Soundtracks

We’re beyond excited about the fast approaching AAF fair, opening in Battersea Park next week on the evening of Wednesday 7th July and running until Sunday 11th. Our first physical fair in 16 months and we and our artists can’t wait! 

The AAF team have been working tirelessly to ensure that it’s a safe and enjoyable event for all, with extra space for distancing and timed tickets to evenly spread visitor numbers and ensure that everyone has plenty of room to enjoy the fair. Do come and join us for a leisurely admire of work by our lovely artists, Gustavo Ortiz, Henrik Simonsen and Mark Vessey.

Making it’s London debut at the fair is Vessey’s incredible ‘Soundtracks’. The latest addition to Collections, Vessey’s ongoing body of work, ‘Soundtracks’ pays homage to the magic and music of film and of course the unique cinema experience which we have so missed!

Vessey’s portraits reflect snapshots in time, not only of the subjects themselves and the eras and zeitgeists that they represent but also of the personal chapters in our own lives and stories. In ‘Soundtracks’ Vessey captures some absolutely iconic film scores. Which is your favourite?

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    VANGUARD I BRISTOL STREET ART: THE EVOLUTION OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT

    Exciting news this week with artist Xenz featuring in a brilliant new exhibition ‘Vanguard’ at Bristol Museum’s M Shed. Exploring the instrumental role of local creatives in the development of British Street Art from the 1980s to the present day, ‘Vanguard’ brings together one of the largest collections of original works and memorabilia ever seen in the UK. Tickets are available now if you are lucky enough to be able to get to Bristol. The exhibition will be open until the 31st October.

    Click here for more incredible work by Xenz.

    Mural by Xenz at the Vanguard Exhibition (Image by Xenz)

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    MARK VESSEY FEATURES IN THE UK’S LARGEST OUTDOOR ART GALLERY

    We’re very happy to announce that Mark Vessey has been selected to take part in Art Without Walls, the UK’s largest outdoor art gallery. To launch Art Without Walls CAMPARI has joined forces with Affordable Art Fair – covering the streets of East London for two weeks from 14 June 2021, with vibrant art to support artists, independent galleries and inspire the nation. 

    After a year of gallery closures that hit artists and galleries hard, and cut the country off from a source of creative inspiration, CAMPARI and the Affordable Art Fair are repurposing space across London that would normally house adverts to instead exhibit 500 original works from independent galleries across the country.

    By combining digital screens, posters and projections in high footfall locations, the gallery will generate the same amount of exposure per artwork as if it were hanging in the Tate Modern – the UK’s most popular cultural destination – for a week.

    All of the artwork will be available to buy via a QR link, which will take you directly to the Art Without Walls collection on the Affordable Art Fair site – with 100% of the proceeds going to the art industry. 

    Look out for Vessey’s incredible photographs in the locations below!

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    NEW WORK BY GUSTAVO ORTIZ

    We’re delighted to share some incredibly beautiful new work from Gustavo Ortiz. Intricately executed in his signature collage technique, ‘Yellow Hand’ and ‘Rulos’ will be shown for the first time at AAF London 2021. 

    We’ll be showing Ortiz alongside incredible artists Mark Vessey and Henrik Simonsen from 8th-11th July at Battersea Park, London. We have a limited number of free tickets, including the Charity Preview and Late View, along with unlimited half price entry. Follow this link for further details of how to book your slot.

    • Gustavo Ortiz – Rulos
    • Gustavo Ortiz – Yellow Hand

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    AND WE’RE BACK! FREE TICKETS FOR AAF LONDON 8TH TO 11TH JULY

    Henrik Simonsen – Pine

    We cannot tell you how excited we are to be back at our first physical fair since March last year! AAF London will take place in Battersea Park from 8th to 11th July with its Charity Preview Night on the 7th. Our artists have been very busy over the lockdowns and have produced the most beautiful bodies of work that we can’t wait to show you. We’ll be exhibiting Mark Vessey’s stunning new pieces JAZZ, THE NEW YORKER and SOUNDTRACKS for the first time in London, alongside gorgeous new pieces by Gustavo Ortiz and the exquisite silkscreens of Henrik Simonsen.

    We have a limited number of free tickets, including the Charity Preview and Late View, along with unlimited half price entry. Follow this link for further details of how to book. We’re so looking forward to seeing you there!

     

    Gustavo Ortiz – Bird 1

    Mark-Vessey-The-New-Yorker

    Mark Vessey – The New Yorker

     

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    AAF BATTERSEA, SUMMER 2021

    We’re delighted to announce we’ll be back at the incredible AAF Battersea very soon! Keep posted for ticket details for the upcoming London AAF in July 2021. We can’t wait to show you new and beautiful works from some of our favourite artists.