Is it an art fair? Is it an open studio event? Actually the truth is somewhere in between the two and nearer to one of those open studio events where you get to explore rabbit warrens of artists spaces especially tidied up, paintbrushes all in a tidy line and sanitised for the event. True there’s a marquee at the front of the building giving it more of a sense of an event but this is far more than one of those awful art fairs. Wimbledon Art Studios is a big complex, it isn’t like one of those glorious East London spaces in an old factory, it doesn’t feel like a place steeped in history or artistic defiance like say Chisenhale or Martello Street, this is more like a fairly modern, rather ugly set of buildings on a soulless industrial estate plonked somewhere in the gap between Wimbledon and Earlsfield sometime late in the last century – I kind of like that, I kind of like this big complex almost on the edgelands of London, I like that this is how the space is being used, I like that this complex is here and full of life. 

.

There’s something like 150 artists, mostly in their own studios, it really really is a colourful rabbit warren to get lost in, have we been down this corridor already? Have I been in this studio four times now? So much in here, you really need to give it a good few hours to do the event justice and you do have to be prepared for some bad musical decisions – hey artists, you might like the blandness of Coldplay but I’m not coming in if you’re playing them that loud, there’s quite a few of us probably not coming in, music in your studio is never ever a good idea, and what are you telling us about your art if your choice is Coldbloodyplay?  

So yes, a seemingly endless warren of small studios full of art, design, ceramics, textiles, was there a flower arranger? I guess there’s something for everyone in here, we’re after the serious art, the painters, the sculptors, actually I didn’t see that much sculpture.  Hey look, there’s lot of artists in here, some just finding their feet making their early moves, some clearly enjoying a life-long hobby, there’s some more interested in design and turning their studios into little more that gift shops full of mass produced cards and prints and really there’s no need to comment on all that “stuff”, good luck to ’em. not what we want though.  this quest is for the paint and painters, the serious committed artists that must be in here amongst all the noise and well how can I politely put it, the maybe not so good? Let’s be frank here, there is a lot that maybe doesn’t thrill, old master wannabes, a lot of politeness, twee bits of this and that, you really have to search for the treasure, it is worth it though, every new room entered reveals more and more and now and again something really worth is all.

What was spied the? here’s a few of the highlights, Bill Bate has some warm inviting work, rich in colour, subtle, Fanny Roche has a rather alive room and a wall of work that really comes together as an exciting whole, she also has a georgous smaller piece hanging in one of the many corridors that are also full of art. Kevin Herlihy‘s bees hanging beneath one of the outdoor staircases in the November greyness start things off in rewarding way, comic book maker/artist Jason Simuyuni Mangrove Nine painting is a powerful piece of work, his self produced comics are worth checking out as well.   Mel Barrett has some rather beautiful work, leafy paintings, powerful reds that take on a hint of a textile designer’s eye although she says that isn’t quite the case. Lizzie Reid has an intriguing work in progress on her studio wall, she also has some rather fine Jamaican flavoured pop art that’s rather striking (and clearly hitting the right note with those who know more than me about the subject matter), Lizzie works under name Lizzies Lines, really looking forward to seeing that piece she’s currently working on finished, it looked like powerful commentary. Jan Shand‘s has some beautiful work, her room is a quietly understated delight, a real pleasure to be in. Paul-Emmet Costelloe has some distinctive work, do rather like his stylish lighthouses. The aforementioned Kevin Herlihy‘s room is full of wonder, full of sculptures made of found material, his warren is full of rabbits and seagulls and foxes and more and more (and more) as you spin around his packed (and I mean packed) space. 

It is painter and to a lesser extent sculptor Yasmin Grant who has caused this journey from East to the South West London sticks (hey, it takes time to get across the city, this is commitment). I’ve written quite a lot about Yasmin Grant’s art in the last couple of months, there’s something powerfully demanding in her work, and yes  the coverage is getting dangerously close to hype now, but there is something genuinely powerful about Yasmin and her work, her mysterious Zelpa pieces (of which there was a new one hanging in the Fair’s reception), there’s something about the confidence of her paint, the way she paints, the way she uses paint, about things she is saying with her work. Yasmin Grant is a strong powerful exciting painter, her yellows are alive, her golds delicious, hey look, I’ve said this several times in the last couple of months, her work excites me and that is what art should surely do? And that is why open studios are always worth going to, and that’s really what this is rather than an art fair. open studios are almost always worth exploring, there is always something or someone to discover, most of the names mentioned were new to me, a rewarding time was had. (sw)

The Wimbledon Art Fair continues this weekend and ends on Sunday 19th November. Earsfield station is your nearest in terms of public transport. The signposts aren’t that great, look for the big Enterprise car hire place   

As always, do please click on an image to enlarge, see the whole thing or t orun the slide show.