While the world descended on the latest iteration of TEFAF (The European Fine Art Foundation), the Maastricht fair with literally billions worth of art on view, I made it to AFF, (the Affordable Art Fair) the only T being served in the café of the tent in Battersea Park in London that housed the event. While the private jet set mulled the old masters, and cream of the impressionist and modern offerings, I was left adrift in a world of thousands of art works with no discernable, name brand recognition factor to grasp onto. It’s a sobering experience to test one’s mettle and attempt to cull some wheat from so much chaff, only to realize how dependent and complacent I’ve become on the comfort of the canonized.
Kenny Schachter