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LONDON ART FAIR

London Art Fair returns this January for its 36th edition.  Promising a selection of the best galleries from the UK and beyond, the Fair presents modern and contemporary art for established and aspiring collectors alongside curated displays, talks, tours and performances.

Amongst the 120 galleries participating in 2024 are new exhibitors Bluerider Art, Stowe Arthouse Gallery, Liss Llewellyn and Common Sense Gallery alongside returning names including Gilden’s Art Gallery, Jill George Gallery and Jonathan Clarke.  Featured artists include Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley and David Hockney.

This year’s Museum Partnership is with Charleston, the modernist home and studio of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and the regular meeting place of the Bloomsbury Group.  On display at LAF will be works by Bloomsbury Group artists, including Vanessa Bell’s portrait of Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant’s fireplace screen and Omega ceramics from a private collection.

Inspired by the partnership with Charleston, the 2024 Platform section of the Fair brings together art that shines a light on queer love and life selected by guest curator, Gemma Rolls-Bentley.  The name of Platform’s exhibition, A Million Candles, Illuminating Queer Love and Life, takes inspiration from a quote from Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel, Orlando.  The exhibition brings together art from ten galleries that reflects the resilience, beauty and passion of queer love and life.

Plus the return of Encounters, curated by Pryle Behrman.  This section of the Fair supports emerging and international galleries, as well as more established galleries wishing to present new bodies of work by mid-career artists who are exploring new mediums or themes.

And Photo50, LAF’s forum for examining distinctive elements of current photographic practice. For 2024, Photo50 will be curated by Revolv Collective presenting works by artists such as Joshua Bilton and Hannah Fletcher.

New to the Fair this year is a Prints and Editions section, featuring galleries whose displays will focus on limited editions. The section is aimed at nurturing collectors who will want to grow their collections in years to come and will feature prints from both emerging and household names in printmaking. Featured galleries include Enitharmon Editions, the exclusive publisher of Caroline Walker’s lithographs.

Also this year London Art Fair is partnering with Artsy, the largest global online marketplace for buying, selling and discovering art by leading artists. As the Fair’s online Marketplace Partner, Artsy will provide a unique opportunity for exhibiting galleries to promote their virtual booths to Artsy’s global audience.

London Art Fair  takes please between 17 and 21 January 2024 at the Business Design Centre, London.  For further information and to book tickets: londonartfair.co.uk

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Image: London Art Fair credit Mark Cocksedge