The global lifestyle art brand, The Affordable Art Fair (AAF), celebrated its 28^th anniversary from September 25 – 29 with its acclaimed VIP Private View opening on the first day. Launched in 1999, the Affordable Art Fair brand has achieved amazing success with 13 fairs in 10 cities around the world, including New York, London, Honk Kong, Melbourne, Hamburg, Milan and Singapore. The global AAF fairs have attracted 2.5 million visitors and achieving sales of $587 million to date.   It is noteworthy that the affordable art market, priced up to $10,000, is the only segment of the market that has been expanding during the first half of this year, according to the Fall 2019 artnet Intelligence report. All other segments have contracted with the biggest shift being a 35 % decline for art priced over $10 million. Deloitte reports that  total auction sales have declined by $1.4bn to $5.5bn for the first half of 2019. Affordable art sales costing $10,000 or less has grown by 10%. Expanding its service for artists, galleries, and buyers, the Affordable Art Fair has extended its reach into online sales which allows for works of art to be sold in any of the global 2020 Affordable Art Fair venues provided the artist it meets AAF guidelines.

The Affordable Art Fair provides access to a broad range of artwork in virtually all media to many individuals who do not attend galleries or auction house openings. AAF has introduced a democratic element to the art world.  This year, 74 participating local, national, and international galleries showed the work of more than 400 artists. A significant proportion where emerging artists, frequently from non-traditional backgrounds.  2,000 works of art were purchased at NYAAF, totaling $3.3 million in sales. The 10,000 attendees were drawn in part by the fair’s strict policy of setting relatively low prices for artwork in all media, ranging from $100 to $10,000.  Because the selection of exhibitors is curated, quality of the artwork is assured. Many galleries return each year, including foreign galleries offering an opportunity to get a perspective on the current status and trends of the contemporary art market.

AAF is motivated to make acquisitions as easy as possible, driven by innovative approaches including online sales and personalized services. The AAF website has already been accessed by one million visitors where interested buyers can engage in sales transactions anywhere.  A newly launched Trade Hour at NYAAF allowed for one-hour private viewings for professionals.  Customer services included workshops empowering artist from underserved communities, special times, on two fair days, for families with children in strollers, arranging art projects for children and parents, connecting artists to new galleries, important because of the turnover of small and medium sized galleries, and offering low cost limited editions of artwork in special sections.  The Lunch Time Talks offer the opportunity for conversation between visitors and art professionals. Self-guided tours are part of the AAF program with specific suggestions for art works, costs, and tips on how to interact with exhibitors. Specific thematic areas are covered for each section such as EYE SPY and FLOWER POWER with works priced this year from $900 - to $ 4,950. Part of that effort is an annotated sneak preview by the fair’s director Vanessa Seis of her 13 favorite fall 2019 selections through an art preview page that identifies the galleries carrying them, and listed prices from $150 to $6000.

With the objective of facilitating access to unknown global artists  the New York SeeMe  gallery  showed work at the fair in the $350 to $550 range with a few reaching up to $2,200. The art is sold through fairs and galleries but also directly through SeeMe and their see.me website, a practice also embraced by AAF and numerous galleries at AAF. The gallery has 42 artists from more than 35 countries on its roster. Speakers for SeeMe at the fair maintained that the bulk of their juried original or multiple print art sales are within the $100 to $1,000 range, and that since 2012 the company has been involved in numerous exhibitions. They also shared that over $1.5 million has been provided to artists through grants and awards. On the last day of the fair, SeeMe presented a Pathway to Success Seminar exploring the use of digital media by artists to enhance their positions in the digital market place.

The London based linocut print maker Ellen von Wiegand presented her print She Seemed Off from the Beginning executed in 2019 on Jixuan paper. Through elegant, simple, and subdued lines of her own nude body She expresses her shyness and belonging, and the fear of being seen. The prints were sold for $300 each at the fair by the US and UK based Decorazon gallery. All her limited-edition prints had sold out when the fair ended.

For the Indian artist Vinita Karim, her extensive art experience in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe shaped presentations of landscapes linked to her roots in India. To date, her works have been shown in 25 solo exhibitions including India, Dubai, Singapore, the AAF fairs, and the Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh. Her gilt-leafed canvases are set in lands she lived in, around the borders of seas, cities, rivers and sand dunes, and reflect her vision in most impressive images. Her acrylic and gold canvasses sell for $5200 by the Studio3 Art Gallery, Mumbai, India.

Born in Italy but living in Paris after his first show in  Rome in 1956,  Paolo D San Lorenzo shifted his perspective towards neo-cubism and is considered today to be one of the few living post-cubist artists known for his mastery of colors, “thanks to his sophisticated technique ..which seduce the viewer into a game  of emotions pushing the imagination beyond its boundaries”, as stated by his dealer. His oil on canvas paintings were sold by the Italian gallery Palma Arte in Piacenza at the fair for $6,200.

Claus Mueller  filmexchange@gmail.com