Art Corner: AAFNYC Part 2

Last month, I wrote about my first experience at the Affordable Art Fair NYC and some of my favorite artists from the show. Here, finally, is Part 2!

 (Allison Gregory, Rockin Out at the Alamo)

  (Allison Gregory, Austin at Night)

  (Allison Gregory, Burying the Past)

  (Allison Gregory, Lava Love)

 (Allison Gregory, Beautiful)

 (Maria Clemen, Mariposa Negra)

 (Maria Clemen, Black Narcissus)

 (Maria Clemen, Betty Blue)

 (Maria Clemen, Doing God's Work)

 (Maria Clemen, Flower Power)

 (Maria Clemen, Merv)

 (Maria Clemen, Bob)

(Maria Clemen, Money Spinner)

 (Carol Bennett, Crop Float)

 (Carol Bennett, Inside)

 (Carol Bennett, Surface)

(Carol Bennett, Suspense)

(Carol Bennett, Lost)

(Carol Bennett, Fishskin 2)

 (Carol Bennett, Parrot)

(Carol Bennett, Fishskin 1)

Art Corner: AAFNYC Part 1

I realize this post is slightly overdue, since it was a couple of weeks ago that I finally was able to attend the Affordable Art Fair in NYC. I have been wanting to visit the biannual event ever since I was in grad school at Sotheby's, but for some reason it always seemed that I was out of town when the fair was in town. The fair, whose mission is "to serve every kind of art enthusiast," breaks open the art world for people who love and want to own art, but may not be highly educated in the art market or don't have millions of dollars to spend on one piece or to start a collection. All works at the fair range between $100 and $10,000, so while I wouldn't consider the higher end of that scale "affordable" for the average person, there are certainly plenty of less expensive, aesthetically pleasing, thought-provoking original works available. I've always said that one of the first things I want to do once I've "made it" is start an art collection, and the AAFNYC was absolutely inspiring to me. Some of my favorite artists...

(Corinne Dalle Ore, Lost in the jungle)

 (Marc Harrold, beach series)

 (Marc Harrold, beach series)

 (Marc Harrold, beach series)

 (Julio Valdez, In the Same Path as the Sun)

(Julio Valdez, In the Same Path as the Sun II)

(Julio Valdez, To the Sea, Mirror of My Heart)

 (Stiliana Alexieva, Spring Showers)

 (Stiliana Alexieva, Ecstatic)

 (Stiliana Alexieva, A Sense of Peace)

***these works were so cool looking, as they were mixed media on aluminum 

that gave them a metallic sheen***

 (Richard Heeps, Wendy - Flamin eyeball I)

 (Richard Heeps, Bobby - 'neckin')

(Richard Heeps, Belles of Shoreditch)

(Becky Buchanan, Wild Poppy)

(Becky Buchanan, Polka Dot Dress)

(Becky Buchanan, Flower)

 (James Sparshatt, El Ultimo Tango)

(James Sparshatt, Espiritus)

(James Sparshatt, Bestia)

(James Sparshatt, Swan Lake)

While I wasn't in the market to buy, I wanted to get in the spirit of the action so I purchased a small print that I can't wait to add to. Hey, you've gotta start somewhere, right?

Art Corner: Yellow Korner

Over the weekend, I discovered my new go-to for great art at even better prices - Yellow Korner. Created in 2006 by two photography enthusiasts, Yellow Korner is based on a concept that I am all for - making art accessible to more people, regardless of price. Coming from an art business background, the one thing I've always disliked about the international art market is its inaccessibility to the masses. Buying good art, traditionally, has only been for the very wealthy and very elite. Alexandre de Metz and Paul-Antoine Briat, the two behind this great business idea, were also frustrated that they could not afford to purchase an original photograph...and so began Yellow Korner.

Working to connect the world's most talented young photographers with a new audience, Yellow Korner makes art accessible by publishing a greater number of photographic prints at lower prices - essentially instead of producing 10 prints at $5,000, they make 500 prints at $100. Each photograph is a gelatin silver print available in a number of different size formats and reproduced in an open edition or a limited edition, with limits of 30, 80, 150, 200 or 500. Prints are then numbered and sold with a certificate of authenticity, all under the oversight of the original artist. The result? An outlet for photographic expression without forfeiting high artistic standards.

With galleries throughout Europe and the United States, Yellow Korner juxtaposes promising contemporary artists with those at the forefront of the art form, such as Dorothea Lange and Man Ray. On my first visit, I was introduced to two new artists that I fell in love with, Götz Göppert, whose work really reminds me of Massimo Vitali, and Kourtney Roy.

(Kourtney Roy, Self-Portrait Poppies 2)

 (Kourtney Roy, Self-Portrait Hotel 1)

(Kourtney Roy, Self-Portrait Poppies 1)

(Götz Göppert, Beach 2)

(Götz Göppert, Beach 3)

(Massimo Vitali, Scala Dei Turchi #3851)

The day after discovering this gem for myself, I was visiting the new apartment of good friends in NYC and saw this guy hanging on the wall...

(Laurent Baheux, Lion in the wind)

Recognizing the lion series and loving the impact the large photograph made in their newly decorated apartment, I asked my friend where she got it. "This really cool place called Yellow Korner," she said. Well, it seems that people are catching on!

Because I am such a huge advocate of making art accessible to a larger audience, so begins a new series here on Sand Dune Lane, Art Corner! Check back for new avenues of finding great works of art at prices we can all enjoy.