A Guide to the Most Affordable Art at the ‘Affordable Art Fair’

Eric Guo, $400

There could be no better statement on the status-driven nature of collecting art than use of the term “affordable’ in describing the art for sale at the 20th annual Affordable Art Fair, running this weekend at The Metropolitan Pavilion. Affordable is defined as something “reasonably priced.” In this particular instance, that means art with a price tag ranging between $100 and $10,000, which begs the question (as it pertains to contemporary art), what the fuck even is “reasonable”?

Is it the price tag in relation to the cost of the materials (srsly, there ain’t enough gold leaf in the world)? Perhaps, it relates to the creative originality of the work, which is a whole different kettle of fish. More likely, it’s something closer to the economic value attached to an artist’s name. This is nothing new. The intersection of art and commerce has long been a topic of heated debate. Yet still, adding insult to injury, this word – affordable.

Affordable gives off an air of inclusivity, a sense that you, the common man, can also enjoy the high-browed fruits of the fine art world. “Art is for everyone,” as the Affordable Art Fair proclaims. Keeping things quotidian, we approached the fair as we would going into any old marketplace in search of a good deal. All things relative, we kept our criteria as egalitarian as possible, removing any investment considerations and simply looking at the artwork as objects for sale – that’s the point, right?

Combing through the 70 local, national and international galleries present, we located what we thought were the best deals to be had. In keeping with the mostly random nature that value is attached to fine art, our basic criteria was locating anything under 800 bucks that we’d genuinely be pleased to have on our walls. The result can be found below, our guide to the most affordable art (still up for grabs) at the Affordable Art Fair.

Jackie Case, "We'll Call Him Gimpy," $280 (can we call him half-price if we take the panda too?)

Jackie Case, Knitted Panda, $280.

Ian Penney, "Alcock and Brown" & "Airship America," $420 apiece.

Karen Walker, "Luscious," $485.

Daniel Egnéus, Salamanders, $725.

Guillame Cornet, "Floating in the Clouds," $698.

Guillame Cornet, "Desert Favela," $750 (it was only a matter of time before Waldo ended up in a gallery).

Julia Jensen, $300 each.

Maryline Lemaitre, "Mini," $100 (prime deal-making room here).

Denitza, "Beyond the Sea," $325.

Denitza, "Dusk," $530.

ZanRe, $600 each.

Bobby Pearce, "Tattooed Butterfly," $531.92.

Take my strong hand.

Anka Dabrowska, $680.16.

Cyclops, Charlie Brown, $272.50.

Ben Javens, "Forgotten Players of Hide and Seek," $209.28.

Ben Eine, " 'C' Set," $819.68 (sure they'll knock off the 68 cents after some haggling).

London Kaye, "London Glows," $350 (yes, knitted sneakers #butisitart).

Alyson Provax, "Do it Until You Can't," $220.

Left to right: Britt Bass Turner, "Green Eye," $235; "Red Eye" 1+2, $160; "Coral Jellyfish," $235.

#1 CHEAPEST/TINIEST ART

Elizabeth Lever, "Gold Esther," $500.

Yeji Moon, "Samson - Dong," $700.

Yeji Moon, "Anguk - Dong," $700.

Marta Gutierrez, $440.

Marta Gutierrez, "Ayrton," $440.

Jin Cho, "White Cube," $550 each.

Ilyana Martinez, "Untitled," $650 ($700, with explanation of what is)

Peter Barelkowski, "untitled," $600 each.

Nancy Liang, "Cloud House," $550.

Izumi Kawai, "[Drifts]," $350 (with frame, without photographer's reflection).

From top to bottom: Ráyka, "Soul Gems: Germination," $250; Ráyka, "Supernova," both $180

Roxanne Faber Savage, "Metal Print 6 Orange Danse," $400 (probably each, we're still unsure)

Marta Gutierrez, "A, B & C." $200 each

Or the triptych, still 400 bucks a pop, but maybe for all three - special price?

Yoram Gelman, "Outer Cape Station," $400

Eric Guo, $400.

Eric Guo, $400

The Affordable Art Fair takes place at The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th St., and runs through the end of this weekend, with tickets priced between $10-$30.