The second instalment from Boston Affordable Art Fair. Representation with Quantum Contemporary for this show.
This being my debut fair with Quantum, the part that has really stuck out for me is the attention to detail in the curation on the stand. I have seen Quantum at the Affordable Art Fairs in Battersea and Hampstead over the years in which I have been participating in the fairs set up by the Affordable Art Fair team. The style of curation enables each painting to tell its own story, there is a definitive colour match between the painting and its surrounding neighbours, this is a skill that is sometimes overlooked with Art Fair curation but goes massively to help determine wether your stand and your gallery has a good fair.
Affordable Art Fair Boston October 2026, Image courtesy of Quantum Contemporary.
The event was taking place in the SoWa Building (SoWa meaning South of Washington) the district is a thriving neighbourhood of arts events, artists and established galleries, the building itself built in 1891 was a large power generating building which is now a large events and community space.
Sideways on image of stand B11 from the opening night of the Fair with other artists. Image courtesy of Quantum Contemporary. 2026
The image here hopefully amplifies what I have been describing in the way of curation. Here, you have “Thirsty” by artist Celia Wilkinson whos use of pinks and whites in the painting helps lead the colours through to Jo Barrett’s still life work work seen here which in turn feeds into the pinks and bleached out colours used in my annular work. The vivid use of mark making and references to nature make this an extremely well thought out area of the stand. The whole selection plays off with the venues Industrial past.
Boston AAF Oct 2026 Courtesy of Quantum Contemporary.
When you talk to collectors about what they enjoy about a fair, it comes down to one main point, finding something new that absolutely blows your mind enough to want to invest in it and live with it. An art fair is ephemeral by its very nature, a fleeting moment in a collectors year. A burst of colour and idea. Boston is living up to that idea. Long may it continue.