Over the weekend of May 16 – May 19, thousands of visitors poured into The Palmer Events Center to view work from 60 local, national, and international galleries for the launch of the Affordable Art Fair Austin, the city’s first international art fair. The first Affordable Art Fair debuted in London’s Battersea Park in 1999 and has since grown to 17 cities globally, with its affordability parameters set to include works between $100 – $10,000. Austin is one of Affordable Art Fair’s three new launches in 2024 (the other two openings are in Berlin and Brisbane). While the launch may be one small step for Affordable Art Fair’s expansive programming, it’s a giant leap for Austin’s evolving art market. Expectedly, the newborn limb has yet to find its stylistic footing, but a few notable trends emerged: abundant abstraction, limned landscapes, and the occasional (read: inevitable) cowboy.
Affordable Art Fair launched in Austin May 16 – May 19 at the Palmer Events Center. Photo courtesy the Affordable Art Fair
Abstraction’s universality makes it a safe bet for galleries gauging a new market and collector base. As I began navigating the maze of booths, it was quickly evident that the non-representational impulse was adopted by many participants — especially those exhibiting in Austin for the first time. Installed side-by-side in Galerie Duret’s booth (Paris, France & Brussels, Belgium) the undulating curvatures of Anna Kruhelska’s sculptural wall installations produced dynamic shadow play in contrast to Simone Christen’s painted pools of diluted blue, like dye drops magnified under a microscope, that offered stilling meditation. I found the earthy counterpart to Galerie Duret’s cool-toned fluidity at Shibori PTY LTD (Sydney, Australia). Striations of rich reds, deep browns, and orange-yellow caught my eye, leading me to their booth in the corner. At first glance, the work seemed deceptively flat, like a hyper-detailed photograph of Australia’s famous Banded Iron Formations. The works actually comprised hand-dyed textiles layered into shadow boxes of non-reflective glass. The cushy relief produced a topographical quality, reprising the geographical allusion initially brought to mind, like a vignette of a natural landmark — another prevalent subject among participating galleries.
From left: works by Anna Kruhelska and Simeone Christen on view in Galerie Duret’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Works by Karen Davis and Pepa Martin on view in Shibori PTY LTD’s booth at Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Perhaps it was the vast and varied landscape of Texas itself that inspired galleries to exhibit numerous representations of the natural world. Kristin Moore’s precisely painted compositions of Ruscha-esque Texas roadside scenes were offset by, again, strong abstraction in Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth (Houston, TX & Austin, TX). Fremin Gallery (New York, NY) had a similar installation inclination in displaying Thannyo De Freitas’ floating forests in oil alongside Alex Voinea’s splashy streams of color. Other booths featured a fusion of abstraction and landscape, similar to Karen Davis and Pepa Martin’s work on view in Shibori’s booth, such as Marie Laforey’s haptic aerial moss assemblages and Isabella Menin’s photographically manipulated floral compositions in Muriel Guépin Gallery’s booth (New York, NY).
From left: Works by Kristin Moore, Luke Diiorio, Ruth Borgenicht, and Michelle Weddle on view in Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
From left: Works by Alex Voinea and Thannyo De Freitas on view in Fremin Gallery’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
Of the wide range of subjects and styles on view, none was more befitting for Austin’s branch of Affordable Art Fair than the Neo-Western. After all, it wouldn’t be a proper Texas art fair without a proper Texas cowboy. Just through the fair’s entrance, Michael Gorman’s Giacometti-mannered cowboys and their steeds sprawled across Axiom Contemporary’s (Philadelphia, PA) two-artist booth, offering Austin up as the Western Art Capital within Affordable Art Fair’s kingdom. Austin’s own B Shawn Cox exhibited his sultry lenticulars that superimpose burlesque showgirls over cinema’s all-time-favorite cowboys in Davis Gallery’s booth (Austin, TX). However, the most defining component of Affordable Art Fair Austin was not a stylistic identity constructed from the exhibited work, but the significance of the fair opening in Austin as the city itself emerges onto the international art scene.
From left: Works by Michael Gorman and Max-Steven Grossman on view in Axiom Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
“The [selection] process began two different times, once four years ago, and then another two years ago, which is when we then decided to launch Austin as our next U.S. location. Post-Pandemic we took another look at Austin after the boom in real estate took place with people moving from each coast, but there were many factors that went into it,” said Cori Teague, Fair Director of Affordable Art Fair Austin. “We have a business development team who looks at every statistic you could imagine on who we are as a city. With Austin’s recent evolution and lack of an art fair of its kind, we just knew it was time.”
Affordable Art Fair Austin director Cori Teaque. Photo courtesy Affordable Art Fair Austin
Over the course of the weekend, the Affordable Art Fair featured two panel discussions, two print workshops led by Flatbed Press, and a Director’s Tour. Jill McLennon (of McLennon Pen Co. Gallery who featured a solo booth by Austin-based artist Andy Coolquitt) led the panel discussion Art Advisors and Arts Initiatives Within Austin with Penny Aaron, Nick Campbell, Keli Hogsett, and Amanda Kadinov. “I think everyone in the Austin art scene is hopeful and optimistic about the upward swing that is happening right now; all the growth we are seeing. The art fair coming here is one of those major signals,” McLennon commented. “Our discussion highlighted some of the initiatives these art advisors have been doing in order to progress the art scene in Austin.”
Andy Coolquit’s solo exhibition in McLennon Pen Co.’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
As for what to expect from the forthcoming iterations of the Affordable Art Fair in Austin, Cori Teague is keeping her finger on the pulse of the city’s humming creative hub to incorporate into the fair’s future programming: “I’m excited to evolve different programs throughout the year to continue to build a community of art collectors and enthusiasts, and I want the fair to grow as an event that everyone gets excited to attend every year. Austin can expect new curations, new galleries, bigger installations, exciting events, and more!”
Installation view of the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Muriel Guépin Gallery’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Dimmitt Contemporary’s booth at the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino
Installation shot of the Affordable Art Fair Austin. Photo: Rebecca Marino.