The Other Art Fair - Ambika 3 - Marylebone Road NW1 . 24-04-14
Every artist i spoke to seemed well pleased with the reception they had received from the packed preview night at this hangar like basement opposite Madame Tussauds. There was a general buzz of appreciation as we gently navigated our way through the vast array of art on show. Standard price was £200 - £400 for an original piece, with not a lot on offer for £30 as advertised. Not one thing, except a drink at the bar perhaps.
Some lovely taxidermy was in one corner, including a gorgeous peacock. Intricate wire works featuring the Moulin Rouge and other buildings had me fooled into thinking we had found the 3D printing stall. David Wombwell has created some nice graphic art including a homage to Picasso that caught my attention. Penny Stanway was well worth a linger but there were a few stand out artists who deserve a special mention.
Dolores De Sade had a nice line in inventive scenes including two pieces named "Apparatus for inducing Vertigo" which were really special in their simplicity. Her smoking monkey holding a dog by the tail was striking and carried a cruel theme that runs through a lot of her work. She is one to watch and I feel sure she must be a branch of the Marquis' family tree. She told me it's possible. No, probable, i replied. And I mean that as a compliment!
Dolores De Sade listens politely to your correspondent
For artistic accomplishment, the laurels were shared by the austere work of David Stockley, a regular at the fair. His painting of travelers in front of a London station has so much atmosphere I was reminded of Edward Hopper and Last Tango in Paris at the same time. Colour ran riot in Thomas Dowdeswells sweet shapes of Velodrome, working Leger and Riley at the same time...
Processed People by Thomas Dowdeswell.
But star of the show was not Tracey Emin, although the camera crews and crowd must have made her feel that way.The cut out Boys Own annuals of Alexander Korzer Robinson - see Rokoro.co.uk - were stunningly beautiful and brilliant. £425 seems reasonable for a one off creation, the pages of the book have been cut out to reveal a multi layered journey of dazzling originality and forethought. True one-offs, the books have glass panel covers through which you can pick out multiple scenes of life and thought, that have been left visible when the rest of the book has been discarded. You can literally look through the book without touching it.The prints were another masterpiece of care and precise scissor and scalpel work by another Robinson, Robert.Pete in Baker St
