Continuing from where we last left off at Part 1, let’s get right onto business and dive into my second day at the Affordable Art Fair 2011.
More works that caught my eye:
1. Michele Mikesell
2. Chanel and Perrier by Leo Liu
3. Prihatin #3 by Budi Eka Putra
Inspired by daily objects, animals and geometric forms, Budi Eka Putra creates superimposed images that combine all these elements. Typography is a recurrent object in his work such as numbers and fonts where he experiments with lettering, size and composition. He is part of the Sakato Group, Indonesia’s up and coming artistic collective from the region of Sumatra, which is expected to become the next Jendela Group.
4. Chandelier series by Sarah Choo
Exploring themes of escapism, childhood and family, artist Sarah Choo uses the recurrent motif of a suspended dress as a representation of her presence in a self created and whimsical realm. More recently, she has begun to portray herself as a marionette in large scale set productions, so as to immerse herself in these alternate realities. Forced to confront the imaginary spaces, she begins to unravel the layers behind her obsession and desire to delve into fantastical lands. Sarah’s passion for oil painting and her newly acquired interest in photography lay the foundations for this young artist’s career.
5. Untitled by Will & Caro
I really love these chiyogami pieces. Something about them being aligned neatly in a row, with strategic placements of individual colored items in a grid of white = 100% appeals to Type A folks like me. :P
Primarily working with washi (Japanese paper) Will and Caro create stunning art pieces with a story to tell. The focus is on the simplicity, purity and delicacy of working with paper, a dying culture among the technology advancing era. Carolyn has a fascination with geometry balanced against subtle textures and intricate patterns, while William is intrigued with movement and disorder. Both work collaboratively on designs that evoke calmness yet also tantalizing a magnitude of senses. The inspiration lies behind nature in that its design is both deliberate and effortless which is reminiscent in some ways of the life experiences unique to each individual.
6. Instant Karma by Billy Ma
7. Isa Ansory
Isa Ansory has worked incessantly to create images that have powerful messages, especially by alluding to problematic issues such as the environment, poverty, inequality and the uncertainty of the future. With careful brushstrokes and the use of intense colors, he depicts these issues in an unexpected way, mainly through children’s imagery, as their future and them will be affected by the mistakes of today.
8. Tin Lizzie by Jon Homewood
Now here’s something really amusing that happened during the art fair. You may or may not have noticed the bag which I was carrying that day. It basically got a lot of attention from the gallery people as well as random patrons during the fair; one of whom pointed out that I needed to check out such and such booth which had a display of a metal lizard made of the same material and using the same technique. Naturally I beelined my way to locate this booth and lo-and-behold, there it was. A huge lizard made out of recycled sodacan tabs (which are what my bag was made of)!
Upon discovering this coincidence, the artist Jon and I joked about how my bag would be the continuation art commentary to his lizard masterpiece, ie. exotic near-extinct animal killed and its skin made into a high-end bag. :p Heh!
Joking aside, my bag is of course not high-end – d’uhhh. I picked it up at Paris, it’s handcrafted by Brazilian fair trade artist cooperatives and part of Pull Tabs for Charity (eco-conscious and charity initiative). In short, for a good cause. Look stylish while doing your part for the world. ;)
So that concluded my AAF 2011 experience. Like I’ve written earlier, I brought home several pieces of art work for my walls. As a first-time art buyer, it was very exciting and very scary at the same time. Buying art is a very emotional decision! Daunting at first, but after a couple glasses of wine, walking around the fair a bit before looking at the intended pieces again with fresh eyes, all was well.
Then came the time to submit payment…… oh lawd, my hands were trembling. -___-” Sure, the event was Affordable Art Fair but “affordable” was highly subjective. In the end, I made peace by reminding myself that this had all been allocated for from the home decor budget. :)
I bought four pieces total this time (if you’re following me on Instagram, you’d have gotten sneak peeks of which pieces I got). And a couple of them couldn’t fit in the car. D’oh!!! :P
Happy art owner. *^_^* See you again next time, Affordable Art Fair!
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