This Is London Sept 14th

12
Gertler: Still life with pears, courtesy Richard Green.
BRITISH ART FAIR AT SAATCHI
GALLERY
The thirtieth edition of the British Art
Fair (previously the 20/21 British Art
Fair) opens at the Saatchi Gallery on
Thursday 20 September.
With 50 galleries and three special
projects, the event promises to be a true
celebration of British art. It remains the
only fair entirely dedicated to Modern
British Art and is timed to take place at a
moment when the market is in a strong
position. Writing in June in the Daily
Telegraph, the art market analyst Colin
Gleadell observed: ‘When you measure
results against expectations, however,
modern British art is outperforming
impressionism and modern art.’ Gleadell
noted the strong performance of
sculpture and Scottish colourists as well
as some significant price inflation. For
example, a relief construction of painted
wooden rectangular shapes by Victor
Pasmore that sold in 1999 for £6,000
sold for £125,000 to an online bidder
and a jazzy abstract by Bridget Riley
quadrupled its price of seven years ago,
selling for £1.6 million.
The presentations at the British Art
Fair range from well-known names
through to discoveries of overlooked
artists. The visitor has the chance to
acquire works ranging from previously
unoffered works by the key names of
Modern British Art through to prints and
works on paper at the more affordable
end of the market.
Amongst the many highlights in the
fair, Richard Green will be showing Mark
Gertler’s ‘Still life – pears’ (1932) and
Terry Frost’s ‘Olive Sun Ride’. Gertler’s
work was commissioned by Cadbury’s as
James Reeve at work. Long & Ryle.
part of a ‘Famous Artist’ series of
chocolate boxes designed by a number
of artists that also included Paul Nash,
Laura Knight and Arthur Rackham.
Frost’s ‘Olive Sun Ride’ (1987)
celebrates the bright sunshine and olive
groves of the Mediterranean and was
acquired directly from the artist by the
leading photographer Roger Mayne.
The Mayor Art Gallery will be
showing works from the collection of
Ray Hughes. The Australian art dealer
acquired British artworks for both his
gallery (located initially in Brisbane and
then in Sydney) and his own collection.
The presentation will include 9 works by
Alfred Wallis from Hughes’ own
collection. It will also include works by
Roger Hilton, Howard Hodgkin, Allen
Jones and Alan Green amongst others.
The critic Richard Dorment described
James Reeve (b.1939) as ‘one of a long
line of British eccentrics’, ‘a miraculous
draughtsman’ and also ‘a true original’.
Reeve painted landscapes in the
Australian outback, Uganda, Haiti and
Madagascar before settling on Mexico
where he produced his most interesting
paintings produced with a virtuoso
technique and filled with idiosyncratic
detailing. Long & Ryle will be showing
works by Reeve at their stand at the fair.
The British Art Fair takes place at the
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ,
King’s Road, SW3 4RY between
Thursday 20 and Sunday 23 September.
The fair is an incarnation of the 20/21
British Art Fair under the new ownership
of Robert and Johnny Sandelson.
Participating galleries in the 2018
edition include Richard Green, Robin
Katz Fine Art, Offer Waterman, Flowers,
Piano Nobile, Beaux Arts, Jonathan
Clark, Osborne Samuel and Redfern
amongst others across all three floors of
the Saatchi Gallery.
t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g a z i n e • t h i s i s l o n d o n o n l i n e