What is the point of the London Art Fair? Same as every art fair I guess, to sell art. Stating the bleedin’ obvious, no shit Sherlock, this isn’t an exhibition, it isn’t a challenge, this isn’t a set of artistic statements, there are no questions being asked other that do you want to but this painting? There’s dealers dealing, “a grand to you…”, there’s artists hoping and it is vast in here, way too big to have any artistic soul but you know all that. I’m in early for the press preview, ahead of the crowds, apparently I’m a taste maker or so the invite tells me, yeah right, come taste this. I’m in before the crowds, booths are still being set up, gallery assistants, put-upon gallerinas are still being forced up ladders, one more go with the hoover (no one pushing a blue one, they could do with a hint or two of performance in here).  

There’s a lot in here, way too much, some of it, a lot of it, just feels like nice decoration, style over substance, stuff, nice stuff, stuff all the same. Big prints of book cases are (still) a thing, and some of it, well, no, not rubbish, but why are some of these pieces even here? Polite, conservative (again), small c again, although once more it could be a Middle English big C Conservative in here. None of the awfully bad taste of Frieze and the cheesy ultra rich, it is mostly rather conservative in here though.  And yes, a lot of it really is little more that coffee table decoration and there’s this year’s obligatory big painting of a cute dog, and there’s another soup can, but then this is just a big cattle market, it is an art fair, they might like to tell us it is more than that, it really isn’t though and however much they might like to dress it up, it almost all about nothing more than buying or selling and no one is really pretending anything else. 

Sure there’s a couple of booths that do stand out by doing a little more than just setting up shop, Annka Kultys is treating it with a touch of rebellion, treating her gallery booth as an installation piece, has she finished installing? Apparently yes and shock of shocks, she has lots of paintings. French Gallery Ricardo Fernandes (Paris) have gone a little further, their booth does look rather exciting with that gang of Antonio Sergio Moreira paintings on cardboard packaging and such that demand you circle around them, while Julian Page Gallery‘s installation of work by Abigail Norris is a standout, Julian Page also has a booth in the main area showing work of a big name or two but it is the solo exhibition of new work by Abigail Norris at P3 on the first floor later on that really that does catch an eye

I guess the polite thing to say here is that there’s something to satisfy almost everyone’s tastes, well maybe not those who’s tastes lean more towards the street and so called urban art, but you get the drift and of course there’s good art to be found in the vastness of it all, how could there not be? There’s one or two really exciting pieces, now and again a painting that stops you and here and there something that really worth you being here. And yes, as much as I tried to see everything – I was in here for well over four hours (and no, I didn’t stop to partake of the free press brunch. A room full of troughing art critics? No thank you! Although I did spy one or two of them posing for selfies with artists and curators to post on their social media feeds and hey look at me me me standing in front of some art aren’t I cool. Hey critics, we don’t want to see your boats, it ain’t about you mate! I’m standing next to one of ’em now as he sells his snake oil and his importance to one fawning gallery, he has no idea or indeed interest in who I am or that I’m standing next to him trying to see the art he’s standing in the way of (handy devices these camera phones that record things. He sounds like he doesn’t know one end of a paint brush from another, what a lot of poop he’s talking. On with it all. yes, four hours and change walking around, double checking, going back again), And yes, as much as I tried to see everything, and I think I can say I caught most of it, of course there were things that I missed. Here’s my one eyed view of what at times was a very annoying experience, of what was now and again kind of rewarding and was occasionally rather brilliant. Let me try and hide my cynical smile and share some of it for apparently I am a taste maker… 

First thing we see once we’re past the check-in is Sainsbury’s flogging bacon, who’d have thunk it, actually, I said I’d hide that cynical smile, those supermarket patrons of the arts and  showing some fine pieces of Francis Bacon as we walk in, a small attempt at a Frieze Masters moment before we get into the body of the beast, actually it is more than welcome at the entrance to the whole affair, I mean who can moan about a nose to nose encounter with the strength of Francis Bacon as a starter before the main event is tackled.  

Where to look first? There’s booths everywhere, a Thiago Barbalho piece catches an eye first, probably the busy colour of the mixed media piece in the middle of the formality of the booth showing it (Elizabeth Xi Bauer), but then your eye drifts towards a red butterfly that looks like something from almost everyone’s junior school art class on a Friday afternoon, hey, no cynical smile, Oswaldo Maciá is a respected artist and I guess some kind of innocence has been rediscovered in the piece? Onward, up the stairs and into the belly of it all, past the sponsors signs, past the James Freeman Gallery booth that always has something classically old school to offer (I do like going to the London gallery’s often rewarding space just down the road from the fair, there’s a Daniel Hosego exhbition on right now), there’s those bookshelf prints Rebecca Hossack Gallery (the gallery that recently brought us Jason Shulman’s rather impressive Immerse in their London space) was showing here last year yet againwhile Benjamin Rhodes Gallery has devoted everything to long-standing Scottish artist Jack Milroy (b1938) and his “profound fascination with life’s absurdities and ambiguities” – Jack Milroy’s satirical sense of pop flavoured humour is rather enjoyable. Most of the booths have just been packed with a complete mix of whatever, some of them are way too over crowded, some look like dogs dinners, a touch of less might be a bit more here and there, the Jack Milroy presentation looks and feels really good, most of the booths in here look rather cluttered…  

London’s Gildens Art Gallery has three more slices of Bacon, there’s a rather nice Gillian Ayres piece over there and that piece by the late Myles Richmond, Borough Figure Study no.1 (1948) that Messum’s Gallery are showing is just a glorious privilege to see up close. Alas Messum’s two Peter Prendergast pieces that they have at the fair aren’t on show, they are happy to bring them out though, David Messum Fine Art’s most recent exhibition of Peter’s work was hit by Covid, hopefully there will be another show and more than just standing outside the gallery during lockdown looking through the window to catch a glimpse. There’s a delightful Charles Walter Simpson painting next to that Myles Richmond piece in the Messum space

And on the search for the best fruit goes and yes, I am going to cherry picking, and yes, most of what I’m seeing is doing little for me, some of it is just annoying me, some of it has me wondering what the hell the gallery were thinking or indeed, as this is mostly about selling, who the hell would want to buy that? There’s some very average pieces on the walls of the booths in here, there’s some annoyingly twee pieces, why would someone spend time painting that? There’s a slightly punky (cheesy) portrait of the Queen, gawd save us, I mean it maan. There another cartoon pop art dog over there and there’s a Campbells Oyster Stew soup piece. hang on, what’s that over there? Ralph Fleck‘s Stadion 17 shown by Purdy Hicks Gallery (I did get that painting title right, and that’s the name of the gallery on the label although the booth sign says Crane Kalman Gallery), that Ralph Fleck piece does stand out, it really does stop me, it really does does demand a minute or two longer than most, icing-on-a-cake thick oil paint on a 120x100cm canvas. There’s another Ralph Fleck painting of the River Thames (2022) that doesn’t quite excite as much. 

There’s a Jason Hicklin print that I thought might have been a Norman Ackroyd, I guess that should be seen as a compliment, maybe it was the Eames gallery connection? We have featured Jason Hicklin’s work on these fractured pages before. And on we go past the slick “stuff” Jealous Gallery have, there’s those lips again, doesn’t she ever get bored with repeating the same thing, does she ever do anything else? There’s a Barbara Rae print being shown by Glasgow Print Studio that’s rather strong, there’s a Stuart Hartley piece that’s kind of fun, some rather enjoyable Liu Yu black and whiteness. Not sure what those giant keyrings are about? The Grace Lee painting Izena is showing is worthy of mention and further investigation.  Dare I say having your Bridget Riley books out on the table is so Frieze circa 2018? Nah, I promised no cynical smiles, leave mocking the carefully placed coffee table books alone (not that they actually have a Bridget Riley on the wall of their booth). On past the rather good looking José Parlá piece, on past the Endless Summer print (really?) and there’s another print of a book shelf, how many have we seen today now? Past the Anita Taylor paintings that a gallery from Istanbul are showing (wonder if they’ve heard of Melike?), on past another print of a book shelf, edges of books rather spines this time, on past East London’s Columbia Road Gallery and some crying over some spilt milk, there’s a piece by Soviet-born French artist Lydia Masterkova that quiety talks, part of the non-conformist Lianozovo Group, alas no longer with us, never seen her work in the flesh before, Quad Fine Art are showing the piece. This fair really is big, and kind of shoehorned in so they gallery are almost fighting for breath as well as battling for attention. 

There’s a couple of absolutely gorgeous Peter Wileman oil paintings that London gallery Thompson’s Gallery are showing, the person in the booth thinks they might be too bright for the rest of the art in her space, they’re stunning, they are bright, not noisy, they quietly bring you in, hold you, take you away from everything else for a moment, the two Peter Wileman paintings are a couple of the highlights of the day (that big signature is a little annoying though, that’s too loud, the colours aren’t, the signature is). On we go, London’s Catto Gallery has an interesting piece or two, that painting from Chinese painter Walasse Ting (1929 – 2010) Three Ladies Four Parrots is intriguing, acrylic on rice paper so it seems (178x94cm if you have £69,000 kicking about as well as room to hang it). There’s a Dan Parry-Jones painting called Girl In Armbands, Red Sky from 2024 that being shown by Bristol’s Gala Fine Art, another piece that demands a longer look than most…

We’re heading through some kind of neon blue corridor now, I say we, I like to think you’re coming with me here, I guess this is supposed to be a prelude to something more radical maybe? It has mostly been rather safe so far, I have been cherry picking, there’s a lot in here that really is, well, who cares what I think of most of it? I really don’t care about most of it. We like to cherry pick here at Organ, it always has been the way we do things, no time for the things that don’t engage. That booth from Ricardo Fernandes Gallery (Paris) really has gone a little further, like we already said at the start, their booth really does look rather exciting with that gang of Antonio Sergio Moreira paintings on cardboard packaging that are on the floor, the installation and the hanging and such really does stand out, in fact it calls for a #43Secondfilm and it is almost a merciful release to be challenged at last. Antonio Sergio Moreira paintings are exciting all gathered together like this, we needed it, we really did.

There’s a Julia Maddison dress hanging over there, although the way it is hung by the gallery (Siger Gallery) means we can’t really see what she’s embroidered on the front. London’s rather unfriendly (or at least unresponsive) Maximillian Wolfgang Gallery have an interesting piece or two, alas little information and no one around to ask, The Art Station (from Suffolk) have an engaging booth and rather a lot worth exploring – “We are thrilled to present I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, an exhibition stand featuring the works of artists supported by Art Station, at the London Art Fair 2025″ so they say and I beg your pardon, it is really rather good, a whole host of artists from Suffolk to explore at the fair or via the Art Station’s website, watch this space, we’ll be back in a minute or two.

Patrick Davies Contemporary Art (from Hertfordshire)  are showing some John Virtue paintings and works on paper that really are a privilege to experience like this, to experience right up close and in glorious real life, to have silent conversations with. It is also a privilege to pick up one of his sketchbooks and see inside, see those marks made, to leaf through the pages – sketchbooks really do feel like private things, intimate things, special things that artists need to mostly keep to themselves. There’s so much here in these John Virtue pieces, so much more than just black and white marks, so much substance, so much endeavour, commitment, so much life, so much of life, movement, nothing static, so much to spend time looking at –  so easy to walk past things at a vast fair like this, you really have to take care to look…

And is that a Marton Nemes piece over there? That’s unexpected, that’s genuinely exciting to see. There’s no sign on the Annka Kultys Gallery booth (apparently she’s been asking for one for a couple of days and nothing yet with about an hour before the fair opens to the public). Has she finished installing? The question amuses Annka Kultys. Works of several of the East London Gallery’s regulars are propped up against the walls of the booth and are things feeling a touch refreshing at last? A touch rebellious maybe? A kick against things? As has been said a number of times on these pages, Annka Kultys Gallery likes to challenge, to question, to make us question. Is she allowed to have fun in here? to laugh at it all? To laugh at how serious everyone is tasking it all? Good to see a couple of pieces from Brooklyn-based American artist Sasha Stiles as well, always good to see her work either on canvas in here or on a big screen at Tottenham Court Road, the Sasha Stiles show at Annka Kultys a couple of years back was rather special    

Chemistry Gallery from the Czech Republic – I thought it was Czechia now, the sign says Czech Republic – whatever the gallery sign says, the gallery is showing some rather interesting paintings by Zbyněk Sedlecký. The Molesworth Gallery booth from Dublin has some interesting work. There’s a delicious piece from American artist John R. Grabach (1886-1981), a figure study, charcoal on paper next to it a painting by Michael Leonard that’s also rather powerful that Henry Miller Fine Art (London) is showing in a booth packed with treasure. It is quietly one of the best booths in the fair, if you’re going then do find the time to search it out up on the balcony. There’s also a Horst P Horst piece, a male nude, actually everything in the positively hung Henry Miller booth is worth seeing, it is a considered hang, pieces that speak to each other, art that hasn’t just been thrown together like they’re having some kind of fire sale. I probably overstayed my welcome in the Henry Miller booth, yer man probably looked at my shoes and figured out I wasn’t going to buy a piece long ago. You do see the art hustlers checking you out at these fairs, the once over not even twice, weighed measured and dismissed in a moment if your shoes don’t look expensive enough or you’re not wearing the right jacket.   

Back for another look at that Julian Page Gallery installation of work by Abigail Norris, it really was worth going back for a second time. Maxim Burnett has some rather energetic rather well worked rather committed rather big paintings that BWG Gallery are showing, they’re vibrant, I hate the way that overused word is thrown around, I make a point of not using it, but those paintings are vibrant, apparently he’s been sourcing old (toxic) paint that you just can’t get hold of now, paint that has that extra glow or bite, paint that’s worth using even it is likely to knock a year or two off your life expectancy. You can’t really photograph his colour, you can appreciate his lines though, his movement (and his rather enthusiastic need to talk about his work), something different here, a painter to watch out for if you haven’t come across him already, look out for Maxim Burnett, lets hope he’s not just one of those artists who pops up and then disappears again, there has been so many. 

Manchester’s Saul Hay gallery has more than a few interesting pieces including a Peter Davis study of a Stik piece that still survives just off Brick Lane, a piece called Texter and Screamer, there’s also a piece Helch graff on one of those wonderful Jen Orpin motorway bridges that thrilled so much in her recent Union Gallery show here in East London. Small pieces here but just as good, I like Jen Orpin’s bridges. And on we go, has everything been seen now? I have walked around the whole thing several times, I am starting to go art blind, hey, there’s a couple of those always refreshing Perdita Sinclair paintings over there that alway make me want an ice cream, and there’s Zavier Ellis and Sam Jackson doing something together and there’s some Rae Birch Carter monotypes of reality TV stars that 155a Gallery are showing, don’t ask me, I didn’t know I was selling a painting to some big league film star until the paparazzi started asking me who I was and what she had said, I don’t know anything about reality TV stars, do like the energy of those Rae Birch Carter pieces though

Those Jaime Sicilia six ultra matt black pieces, Dark Matter Sea, that Narrative Gallery (London) are showing are rather rewarding and demand some attention while I double back to check a painting I might have overlooked now I think about it – hey how can I be expected to know about reality TV stars when my head is full of all this art – there’s a painting I think I need to go back to at David Messum‘s booth. And yes I was right to go back, a Nancy Delouis painting that had stayed in my head since I first saw it a couple of hours ago, Table Aux Orange, an oil pastel on paper piece that really is good enough to eat. And oh, I almost missed a new Marie Elisabeth Merlin painting that Tin Man Art are showing, she was one of the stars of the fair in 2024 and there’s a Yeside Linney painting from the just mentioned gallery that’s worth a moment as well, actually a number of her paintings are, more in a bit, we really are overdosing on art now. Four and bit hours without a break, it might be time to head for the exit… More in a bit when I’ve replayed it all and chewed it all over some more. 

The London Art Fair then, most of it once again was rather conservative, a lot of it really isn’t worth mentioning, some of it is a little annoying, a touch frustrating (and yes, my paintings are far better than that even if I do say so myself), it can be annoying, although none of it really worth raging against that much, harmless you night say, the safe option taken. There was nothing that dangerous, nothing that seriously challenging, no edges were cut, but there were moments, there is always something, there are always highlights to be found at events like this. Yeah, it does feel like a cut price Frieze, it is mostly London galleries, a scattering from other parts of the UK (where were the Welsh?), one or two galleries from overseas, and hey, enough from me, there’s a bag load of photos down there that hopefully give you a flavour, I’ll write a little bit more about the highlights later, Ive got some paint to throw right now… (sw)  

The London Art Fair is at The Business Design Centre,  52 Upper Street, Islington, London, N1 0QH from 22nd until 26th January 2025

2024 – ORGAN THING: Searching for the positives at the London Art Fair – there was Marie Elisabeth Merlin and Alice Wilson and James Dearlove and Olivia Strange and Henry Ward and Alistair Gow and yeah, on the whole…

As always do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show and get a flavour or two. These are some of the highlights and maybe some of the not so good, but then you might think otherwise…