What Can $500 Buy at the Affordable Art Fair?
And, more importantly, is the work on view worth the price?
“How hard could it possibly be?” was the question I asked myself after setting a hypothetical but realistic budget of $500 at the Affordable Art Fair. I soon realized that I had my work cut out for me: I spent the entire three-hour opening last night combing through the 90 exhibitor booths to see if any work was actually available in that range.
The fair, which advertises a range of global art priced between $100 to $12,000, returned to the Starrett-Lehigh building in Chelsea for its spring run through this Monday, March 22. It positions itself as an approachable environment for first-time and young collectors while also welcoming veteran enthusiasts. There's something for everyone here when it comes down to taste, but that doesn't necessarily mean that what you like is within reach — especially given that affordability varies drastically from person to person.
So, what can $500 actually get you at the Affordable Art Fair?
To state the obvious, you've got to think small. And I mean small. Like, bite-sized in the most literal sense of the word. I adore creating and viewing tiny art, but this fair made me think twice about the legitimacy of expecting people to drop half a band on something that's the size of a drink coaster. I really liked Marike Andeweg's tulle and resin works that were practically glowing on the walls at the ART_020 gallery booth, but the smallest one would fit in my pocket for a hot $450.
I ran into the same dilemma with Sasinun Kladpetch's arguably lovely moss-and-concrete wall hangings at the Themes+Projects booth. Another admirer turned to me, sighed, and stated plainly: “The problem is that you kinda need all of 'em.” And that visitor was right. While they can stand alone, these little works function best as a series.
Speaking of bite-sized work, I should note that $500 puts us in the running for plenty of food-themed art. Macaron sculptures and confectionery paintings at New England Contemporary stood out as prime examples, as does the ... fusion menu of sushi, cupcake, and soup paintings at JJ Contemporary.
Kai Gallery's booth offered several strong pieces at the price point — Chinese artist Yuan Lin's paintings of pearls on porcelain were thoughtful and resonant, and most of them would leave me with enough cash to Uber home to Brooklyn. Jared FitzGerald's geometric drawings on vellum, priced at $250, were simultaneously spunky and elegant.
Korean-American artist Hoya Chung's paintings and illustrations were a nice treat at the JC Contemporary, and I was charmed by the fact that he was showing work alongside his father while his mother made the sales. I also appreciated Joyce Pommer's dozens of small, abstract mixed-media paintings for well under $500 a piece.
I must underscore that I had to put my blinders on and deliberately hunt for the work I've mentioned so far. It's sidelined by the fluorescent rainbow palettes, splatter-painted Marilyn Monroes, resin pours, and corny, large-scale street art of Times Square and subway maps that dominate the Affordable Art Fair. In the kindest possible terms, these cacophonous variations of normie pop art clichés really don't suit my taste. That said, I hesitate to be a jerk about it when they elicited such profound emotional responses and heartfelt joy from so many fairgoers. In the end, it's probably not worth dwelling on — especially considering their hefty price tags.
But to the fair's credit, it did one thing right: inspire me to price my own work higher. (When I eventually start making some again, at least.) Then I'll be able to give it another try, possibly with a four-figure budget next time.
