Some pictures of the affordable art fair at Gallerie Padi which opened on Friday and runs through to the 22nd. Unfortunately no one thought to take any photos at the private view but we had a good turnout and much mulled wine and mince pies...
Foreground, Craig Allan, 'A Triumph of Ambition Over Ability'
Background Manifesto Screenprints
Paul McDonald, Geoffrey Leung & Sam Smith
Manifesto 001-005, Screenprints
Left, Stephan Bertrand, Right Eric Grundy
Sam Smith,'Oh Aye Big Man', Screenprint on Paper
Left, Francois Dallet,
Centre Nathan Elliot , 'For Me, Not For Her'
Foreground, Sam Smith, 'I'll Tell You Summat For Nowt', Terracotta & Gold Leaf
Background, Robert Blair, Lagons 1-8, Ink & Bitumen on Paper.
Left, Ingrid Sandsborg, digital prints
Right, Kit Mead, 'Advert'
Iris Priest, 'Ts U'
Stephan Bertrand, 'Peinture'
And this is a little something I wrote for the catalogue...
It’s funny how life tends toward patterns. Five years on
from starting the now defunct BadgerBadger Gallery in Carlisle, England I
hardly expected to be so involved in a very similar enterprise here in Caubon.
The parallels are strong, both galleries were founded with similar aims and as
a response to a perceived void locally. This is the essence of DIY culture,
trying to fill a gap yourself without necessarily waiting for funding or
official support, build it and they will come, field of dreams style.
This attitude can be seen in many of the artists we are
representing here; they are artists who, in the main, have yet to make a living
from their work. All the same they are involved in various projects or are hard
at work in their studios. Art needs to be received by an audience in order to
truly function and that is where we come in, that is the gap we identified.
Artist, Gallery and Audience, a triangle is the strongest structure.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed work
Sam x
