London art fair returns to launch the International Art calendar this January

London Art Fair returns to its traditional January slot, launching the international art collecting calendar once again with an exceptional collection of modern and contemporary art from over 100 emerging and established galleries from the UK and across the globe. The Fair’s extensive gallery line-up will showcase a diverse cross-section of art from emerging talent to established art-world favourites alongside an arresting programme of curated exhibitions, immersive installations, engaging performances and topical talks and tours.

London Art Fair 2023’s curated talks include ‘Revisiting Modern British Art’, ‘The Fine Art of Commissioning’ and ‘Does The Artist’s Muse have a place in the Modern World?’ with contributors including Jo Baring, Director of The Ingram Collection, Adriana Paice Kent, Founder of Woven Spaces, and Ruth Millington of Sotheby’s Institute.

Photography lovers will enjoy the contemporary photography showcase, Photo50, an impressive guest-curated exhibition of current trends; celebrate the breadth of different artists responding to a topical theme or medium, with London Art Fair’s own Platform section and discover the new and unexpected, from the next generation of artists and gallerists in Encounters.

The 2023 Fair welcomes new international exhibitors including Iceland’s foremost fine arts dealership Gallery Fold and kick-starting their centenary celebrations at the Fair will be Modern British painting and sculpture specialists, Redfern Gallery. The Fair will feature work by a host of renowned contemporary artists including Purdy Hicks, Rebecca Hossack, Charlie Smith London, and international artists such as Galerie Olivier Waltman from Paris and Miami and Mollbrinks from Sweden.

“London Art Fair will continue to evolve and reflect the art market in all its breadth, from established and more traditional art forms, to mediums of growth such as digital art and textiles; as it returns to its January dates to open the art collecting calendar once more. The Fair will be celebrating its heritage through initiatives such as our annual Museum Partnership, whilst also embracing change and disruption through our curated sections which feed our visitors’ and collectors’ appetite for discovery and to engage with art in new and innovative ways. It’s fantastic to bring the London Art Fair community back together in person and to be connecting great art and people once more.” – Sarah Monk, Director of London Art Fair

DISCOVER

Discover expert insight into new innovations in contemporary art through the Fair’s new curated section, Encounters. Encounters is a provoking space in which the two meanings of the word ‘encounter’ collide. Encounters can both lead to the discovery of something previously unknown or, alternatively, indicate a confrontation between opposing positions that challenge entrenched views and understandings.

LEARN

London Art Fair 2023’s curated talks programme compliments the work on display, providing expert insight and topical debates including ‘Revisiting Modern British Art’, ‘The Fine Art of Commissioning’ and ‘Does The Artist’s Muse have a place in the Modern World?’.

● Chaired by Jo Baring, Director of The Ingram Collection, ‘Revisiting Modern British Art’ will draw out what we mean by ‘modern British art’, why we seek to define what ‘British’ art is, and how its future will be shaped by contemporary ‘British’ artists.

● ‘The Fine Art of Commissioning’ explores how collectors move from building a collection to commissioning an artist to create a unique work for either a private home or public space. This live panel discussion will be recorded and released as part of the BeSpoke podcast, which reveals the stories behind the creation of unique objects, experiences, and places, hosted by Adriana Paice Kent, Founder of Woven Spaces.

● ‘Does The Artist’s Muse have a place in the Modern World?’

Ruth Millington, Sotheby’s Institute, and author of Muse, will chair a panel of leading art historians and lecturers from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, including Programme Director Dr David Bellingham, and contemporary artist Roxanna Halls. The panel will discuss the role, representation and history of the muse, across time and cultures, with a focus on Modern British Art and the Bloomsbury Group, right up to today.

ENGAGE

Each year London Art Fair presents their curated Platform section – where invited galleries present overlooked and emerging artists whose work aligns to a single distinct theme. For 2022, London Art Fair was thrilled to welcome back Candida Stevens to curate the section with works which explored music’s relationship with contemporary visual art. Previous editions introduced by Candida have included Threading Forms in 2020 and Folk Art in 2021.

First introduced in 2014 to showcase important regional collections; London Art Fair’s annual Museum Partnership has seen collaborations with the Hepworth Wakefield, Pallant House Gallery, Jerwood Gallery, The Lightbox, Towner Art Gallery, and Southampton City Art Gallery. Housed in a specially designed pavilion at the front of the Fair, the Museum Partnership provides a prominent London platform and significant opportunity for patrons, collectors, and general Fair visitors to engage with an exhibition of exceptional museum quality works – bringing some of the UK’s most important regional private collections into the public domain; whilst highlighting the gallery’s broader programme, engaging new audiences and supporters.

London Art Fair’s museum partner and Platform theme will be announced this autumn.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://londonartfair.seetickets.com/