Culture -- 19 days ago
Words: Charlie Gardiner-Hill
Taking place at the height of London’s design season, this year’s Masterpiece Fair attracted an audience of over 35,000 and continued to establish itself in the increasingly crowded international art fair calendar.
The incredible diversity of objects available at Masterpiece ensured that there was something at the fair to suit every taste. Collectors, curators and designers from across the globe were drawn by the astonishing diversity of material on offer, including Charles Saatchi, Jay Jopling, Jasper Conran and Marc Quinn
Receiving the award for ‘Stand of the Year’, Sladmore Contemporary was certainly one of the highlights of the fair. The booth had been meticulously designed to resemble the studio of the great equestrian sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green and Sladmore Contemporary not only resembled a studio but acted as one as well. Amongst surfaces laden with maquettes of every shape and size, Nic Fiddian-Green could be found in the ‘studio’ working on the focal point of the display; a large bronze horse head that occupied the centre of the booth.
The prize for ‘Object of the Year’ was awarded to Tim Noble and Sue Webster for their ‘Masterpiece’, on display at Blain|Southern. The entirety of Blain|Southern’s booth was devoted to one of Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s iconic silhouette works. Created using the remains of mummified animals forming an oddly shaped menagerie of creatures and cast in Sterling silver, the work took the form of a shadow sculpture which when illuminated created a silhouette portrait of the artists profile on the blank wall behind.
A fantastic selection of European sculpture could be found at Tomasso Brothers’ booth. A striking Nineteenth Century Roman écorché skull, representative of mankind’s fascination with anatomical composition and the Nineteenth Century’s fascination with one’s own mortality.
David Linley delivered a wonderful display of entirely bespoke pieces including the Silhouette Chair, The Grace Cabinet and the Quantum Screen. These pieces continued in Linley’s tradition of creating furniture that not only serve as fascinating objects but as exquisite pieces of art – The Grace Cabinet in particular.
The fair was lent some international flair by Jennifer Guerrini-Maraldi of JGM Fine Art, who was exhibiting contemporary aboriginal paintings and sculptures. In particular, Sally Gabori’s painting entitled ‘Dibirdibi Country’ was extremely abstract in its representation of nature and the work provided a vibrant contrast to some of the more traditional works of JGM’s neighbouring booths.
The impressive historical coverage of the fair was demonstrated best by Robilant + Voena who were exhibiting a selection of Italian masterworks spanning from the 17th century to the 21st.
In five short years, Masterpiece has grown to become a hugely established international art fair and, with 150 exhibitors descending on Chelsea from across Europe and North America, it has now cemented its place as one of the year’s most crucial trade fixtures.
