Tracking the wobbly toddler-stage ascent of soon-to-be household names is usually a game of chance. The Cavern Club on a 1960s Friday night, or the Café Guerbois on a Sunday afternoon in the 1890s; elusive points in time and space to be recognised as significant only after the fact, as history catches up to a pivotal moment. A little like getting in on bitcoin when it was still a dollar for three.
You can shorten the odds, though, by spending time in Islington. With enough of an edge to crank out career-defining early gigs at the likes of The Lexington or XOYO, connected enough to weave the political webs of party leaders (Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn both established themselves in Islington), and astute enough to be the launching ground of both Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, the north London borough is arguably one of the world’s prime sifting stages. Make it past Islington, and the rest of the world is but shopfront.
London Art Fair returns for its 37th iteration on January 22nd. Still essential. Still extensive. Still discovering. Still in Islington.
Extract from promotional materials:
London Art Fair returns from 22-26 January 2025, highlighting a selection of the best galleries
from the UK and beyond. The Fair will offer both seasoned and aspiring collectors a diverse
presentation of modern and contemporary art, alongside curated displays, and an inspiring
programme of talks, panel discussions and artist insights.
The Fair’s Prints & Editions section will return after its launch in 2024. The section, which
features prints and multiples from both emerging artists and household names, provides an
introduction to art collecting with a more accessible price point, encouraging art enthusiasts to
start their collecting journey at the Fair.
Courtesy of Ricardo Fernandes Gallery.
In addition, London Art Fair continues to champion and support regional museums through its annual Museum Partnership, which this year invites the celebrated art museum, Sainsbury Centre, to showcase their world-class collection at the Fair.
For its 37th edition, London Art Fair will welcome over 120 galleries from around the world, including 22 international galleries from the Czech Republic, Ireland, France, Iran, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, and more. New exhibitors such as Henry Miller Fine Art, Annka Kultys Gallery, The Tagli, Middlemarch Fine Art, Oriel Fine Art, Narrative Gallery and Oxford Ceramics will join returning names including Osborne Samuel Gallery, Elizabeth Xi Bauer, The Redfern Gallery, Christopher Kingzett and Galerie Olivier Waltman. The Fair will feature works by some of the world’s most renowned artists across various media, including sculpture, prints, paintings, photography, textiles, and ceramics, by artists including Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon, Bridget Riley, and Barbara Hepworth.
The Fair will [also] include critically-acclaimed sections Encounters and Platform, which seeks to
understand the interconnectedness of human society and the natural world.
London Art Fair
22 – 26 January, 2025
Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London,
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
