On Friday after work, I stopped by the 2009 Affordable Art Fair for a couple hours. The Fair, located this year at 7 West 34th Street, features 60 or so galleries- surprisingly an international bunch- that keep their prices within the $100-$10,000 range. It’s open this weekend on Saturday from 12-8pm and on Sunday from 12-5pm. Oh, and before I forget, be sure to print the $5 off entrance coupon on the AAF website if you decide to go.
It seemed by the line at the wrapping station in the room, which I passed three times, that a good amount of sales were taking place. And while there was a lot of mediocre art, I discovered two galleries that particularly impressed me on this trip:
Like the Spice Gallery, out of Brooklyn, featured computer-drawn, aerial perspectives of what appears to be community sub-divisions by Ross Racine and a large, dreamy painting of a well-lit home by Allison Edge. The gallery’s young director, Marisa, was friendly and genuinely excited to talk about the artists’ work. TAG Fine Arts, based in London, displayed photographs of hauntingly-empty bath houses by Gigi Cifali and unbelievably detailed and charming paper cuts and screenprints by Robert Ryan.
