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Affordable Art Fair Singapore 2013: Spoilt for choice

SINGAPORE — The Affordable Art Fair Singapore (AAF) opens today (Nov 21) and with a slew of artworks in over 101 galleries, you’d be spoilt for choice — I certainly was.

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SINGAPORE — The Affordable Art Fair Singapore (AAF) opens today (Nov 21) and with a slew of artworks in over 101 galleries, you’d be spoilt for choice — I certainly was.

One highlight of this year’s AAF is the Under S$1,000 wall — the name is pretty self-explanatory. You can get work from Spanish artist Cristina Gayarre (Standarte gallery) or how about something created by Matthew Kwan (Picture This gallery)? The wall is perfect if you are on a tight budget.

If you are not, however, it might be worth your time to pop into each gallery — after all, you never know if you’re snapping up the next big thing.

Speaking of being spoilt for choice, it was hard trying to choose a particular favourite from Utterly Art’s booth.

A success story at the first AAF, TraseOne is showcasing his work again at this year’s AAF — and I have to say, his Mockumental series are “to get”. Check out MBSelipar, just one of his many amazing works that will be sold at the fair.

(If the name TraseOne sounds familiar to you, it’s because we’ve mentioned him in a previous AAF article that featured upcoming young local artists — another reason for you to check out his work!)

Also available at the Utterly Art booth are works from Swiss artist Vinc. I am going to jump right into one particular work that I’m sure had everyone talking — a pair of shoes. Titled Girl Playing Over The Fire, the art piece uses translucent resin as the medium of work and it definitely caught my eye. Check out his Pop Vintage series as well, where his works take after vintage comic books.

Goldmann Inc is featuring another local urban artist for this year’s AAF — Samantha Lo aka SKL0. Her work never fails to win me over and yes, it is cheeky as always, if you were wondering. Featuring a popular cultured milk drink here, the words “More cultured than you ever will be” got me grinning when I saw it.

Thai artist Somnuek (Parn) Klangnok’s works are also being showcased by Goldmann. In fact, one of his works was sold within a few minutes when I was at the booth — Mr Woon Tai Ho, Director, Media and Marketing of the National Art Gallery Singapore bought it during the private viewing yesterday.

Describing Klangnork’s contemporary work as “a style that sells”, Mr Woon said: “It captures the animated world, and yet it is also very sweet and very innocent.”

The AAF is also a great platform to spot new talents. This year, eight young artists’ works have been selected to exhibit under the Young Talent Programme 2013.

Two of the artists featured are Wilfred Weegee and Noor Iskandar.

Weegee, the winner of Noise Singapore Award 2013 was on The Apprenticeship Program under Singapore Biennale artist Robert Zhao Renhui, while Noor was selected for MOCAFellows 2013 in London. Both Weegee and Noor’s works revolve around social issues — Weegee’s photography acts as commentary on the socio-political happenings in his hometown in Malaysia, while Noor’s work often uses Muslim imagery and icons to raise social issues. I saw the photographs for myself and found them thought-provoking — worth a look if you are on a lookout for new artists.

On a more fun note, one of my favourite things at the fair would be the Edible Art Movement’s interactive showcase Cirque Du Scent. Drop by the booth and you will be given a liquid in test tubes to smell — no labels, you won’t know what it is — and once you have taken a whiff of it, you are encouraged to draw what the scent reminds you of. Your drawings will be placed up on a wall as well. Mine reminded me of the chemicals used in Chemistry practical lessons back in school, so I drew chemistry set (or something close enough to it anyway).

You can also do some good while purchasing art. Earnings from sales at the fair by Galerie Francesca from the Phillipines — that feature works from Filipino artists such as Migs Villanueva and Roel Obemio — will go to Typhoon Haiyan survivors, according to the gallery’s Managing Director Susanne DS Tiausas.

Of course the galleries and artists listed here are merely some of what you can expect at the AAF this year. There are many others such as Galerie Sogan & Art (who have previously featured Joleane Lai’s work) that will also showcase works from uprising artist Henry Lee. You can also get your hands on works from Boo Sze Yang and Anish Kapoor as well.

I won’t list all the galleries here — after all, what better way to experience and purchase art than by heading down to the Affordable Art Fair yourself!

The Affordable Art Fair Singapore opens today to Nov 24 at the F1 Pit Building. Tickets are S$12 from Sistic, S$15 at the door. (Free admission for those below 16.) For more information on the AAF, visit: http://affordableartfair.com/singapore/

Check out the buzz on the local arts scene at http://www.todayonline.com/artlanders.

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