Jean Denant, Mappemonde, 2010 - L.A Gallery
I've had the chance to be invited to go to SWAB, the Barcelona art fair and I was pleasantly surprised by the high-standard organisation and the quality of the art. It was the fourth edition of the fair and this year, and 48 galleries from 13 countries took part in it.
“Our objective is not to make money but to serve as a platform for emerging galleries and young artists.” said the Director Joaquín Díez-Cascón. Galleries pay around 4.500 euros for a stand and artworks can be found for as little as 200€.
This fair reminds me of London Art Fair, which I used to work for when I was in London: emerging artists, reasonable prices, good atmosphere and an Art Projects section, curated by Laurent Fiévet and Silvia Guerra from Lab’Bel, a curatorial office. Pieces of this section were a bit more risqué than in any other parts of the fair.
I particularly enjoyed the works of David Oliveira represented by the Serrenho Gallery from Lisbon featuring iron sticks sculptures, really impressive and beautiful: especially the Gorilla (picture below). Jean Denant's mappemonde at L.A Gallery was amazing too.
This fair has got potential, though there are significant areas of improvements… I look forward to next year...
