Review: Affordable Art Fair 2017 (Hong Kong)

The concept is simple. To encourage the public to be engaged in the arts by allowing young and up-and-coming artists to display and sell their works at a more affordable level.

People who buy art here are not investors looking for a higher yield or some sort of reputation-wive benefit. These are husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, looking for something to hang on the wall instead of purchasing a second television set.

Works of John Ho (Kubrick)

Here are some of the works I’ve laid eyes upon and all under US$2000 (except the Damien Hirst you right here below):

A real Damien Hirst (from the slightly higher-end of the Affordable Art Fair Collection) and a much cuter local imotation/homage of the maestro.

According to the official mission statement,

Affordable Art Fair gives you the opportunity to see, fall in love with, and buy art in a fun and friendly environment. Each fair is fully engaging for aspiring buyers, seasoned collectors and families alike, with all kinds of free talks, workshops and interactive installations taking place, as well as all of the inspiring art — in all shapes, sizes and mediums for you to take home and enjoy for years to come.

One fun game I always like to play with myself is people-watching at art events. Usually when I attend the auction house public viewings or if I go to an opening reception of some exhibition at some gallery in Soho, I am greeted with more or less the same crowd — the art-savvy (or not even) or the investment-oriented ones. Some of them are the coolest friends I’ve ever made whilst the others are just another sales guy in a suit.

This time, walking around the booths and playing the same game again, I had more fun. I saw a guy bought a painting for his wife to tell her how important she is to her. I saw couples shopping for something nice to put in their living room. Nothing too pricey, not too fancy and not at all a show-off of wealth or success. People just like to check out beautiful things.

I’m not saying those who go to the big galleries and the auctions are either snobs or banker wankers, but you all know what I mean. So it’s refreshing to see so much young art, local art and so much support for these artists, with money going back to the artists instead of enriching galleries or collectors.

We picked something for ourselves too — a cute little drawing by Hong Kong artist Mr John Ho with the help of wonder staffers at Kubrick.

Also, special thanks to BLINK Gallery for their media invite. I adore what they’re doing and I wish them nothing but the best.

Efforts like this will help shake off the “art is only for the rich” mindset. You don’t need to have wealth to have a sense of beauty in life. So congrats to the Affordable Art Fair people, and I hope to attend again next time around.

Special thanks to Blink Gallery for the media invite and we applaud their work in celebrating innovative waterink paintings, with a much cuter contemporary twist.

Not only New York, many artists also showcased their talents in portraying the cityscape of Hong Kong in the rain.