AAF NYC 2009 Report #2

After a week of exhibiting at the Affordable Art Fair in NYC, Laura and I returned home late yesterday. Whew. What a week!. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that working one of these art fairs is like one long, glamorous cocktail party. After five days of setting up, exhibiting, selling, and taking down all the art, we feel closer to grungy, blue-collar workers than fancy, well-groomed gallery owners. Very physical. Very emotional.

So… a recap of the show: Overall, this was a far cry from the killer show we had here last year; but, we knew it would be hard to match 2008. One issue we faced this year was that the Fair changed venues, and I strongly believe the new location attracted an entirely different clientele. Last year it was in a terrific building in Chelsea (the heart of New York’s art scene). This year it was on the eleventh floor of a glitzy building across the street from the Empire State Building – a touristy location to say the least. The vibe was definitely different.

With that said, Migration’s group of artists once again woke up the New York crowd to what we are doing here in central Virginia.

Numerous times we were told that Michael Janis’ glass pieces were the best work in the entire fair. All we could do was nod knowingly. This of course was the main reason we brought his work to the show.

 

Our newest (and youngest) artist, Ashley Williams, had people leaving skid marks on the floor when her exquisite and detailed work on paper caught people’s eye forcing them to spin on their heel as they walked by.

 

Tim Taunton’s surreal and colorful narrative paintings were also show stoppers – leaving most simply shaking their head in disbelief that any artist could have such beautiful and lyrical thoughts and execute them so beautifully.

 

Arturo Mallmann’s meditative paintings pulled virtually every passerby into the booth. It is always fun to see viewers’ blood pressure lower as they fall into Arturo’s glowing, meditative work.

 

We spent a good amount of time listening to people trying to decide exactly which of their friends/co-workers/family members were depicted in Brian Mallman’s drawings. His graphite on board drawings had everyone nodding their approval.

 

And, Warren Craghead’s drawings on paper forced people to stop, sit and read. Picking out this level of originality is no easy task at one of these fast paced fairs.

 

The most important result of the Fair was to give our artists the attention their work deserves. Nothing beats successfully exhibiting art in NYC. Although we had hoped for better sales, understanding the economic strains people have endured over the past year leaves us feeling pretty good about the results. Maybe next year the Fair will return to Chelsea where it belongs.

Comments

[Michael Janis]

thanks for taking me to NYC - will go with you guys anywhere you are showing!

I heard from others at AAF that what sold this year were more in the realm of bright, colorful, pop art-y sensibilities. And that the change in venues didn't help - the location was Midtown, but not the good part of Midtown Manhattan.

[Rob]

Thanks, Michael. Exhibiting and talking about your art was one of the highlights. Also glad to hear the info you've gathered. Being there for every minute of the Fair, I would have to agree 100% with the assessment. The colorful, kitschy stuff seemed to get the most attention and sell well. It was all good work (most of it), but the crowds that came through preferred the hot pinks, the flashy nudes, the primary colored geometrics, the politically oriented collages, and the straightforward photography. The richer and deeply narrative work was often passed over without much consideration. But, that’s the nature of fairs... hard to predict what will be successful.