The Affordable Art Fair returns to Chelsea’s Metropolitan Pavilion from March 25-29. More than 70 international galleries will offer pieces from the downright cheap ($100) to the relatively splurge-worthy ($10,000), with half going for under $5,000 — only a touch more than the average price of three square feet of New York residential real estate.

“Photography continues to be popular at our fair,” says its director, Cristina Salmastrelli, “but I’m seeing more New Yorkers interested in oil paintings.” She also notes a comeback for works on paper, which make “a wonderful way to start a collection.” Salmastrelli encourages attendees to use the fair’s free personal shopping services to navigate the galleries, 25 of which come from the metropolitan area.

Among NYC dealers making their fair debut, Lilac Gallery will show diverse highlights from the nine exhibitions it’s mounted since opening in May, plus previews of what’s coming soon; and MZ Urban Art’s impressively international array will include works by French painter Sebastién Aurillon, Brazilian multimedia artist Claudia Furlani and manga-influenced Japanese painter Mari Yamagiwa.

Top NYC returnees, meanwhile, are the Spanish contemporary art-focused Art Angler, presenting childlike, abstract paintings by Xavi Carbonell; neon-hued Picasso-esque Pop-Cubist work by painter Jose Palacios; and Carlos Albert’s forged-steel sculptures.

Another longtime exhibitor, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery, will show work by artists new to the gallery, including Nathan Vincent’s crocheted-soldier sculptures and, for those seeking an artist with Pop Cultural cachet, serene photography by Beatles scion Julian Lennon.

Source: New York Post 

By: Polina Kurovskaya