Featuring artworks with a price range of £500 to £50,000, and a geographic range from Buenos Aires to Peckham, the third edition of Start art fair at London’s Saatchi Gallery is as diverse as they come.
Expect a balanced selection of group and solo presentations taking over the prominent Kings Road space. Highlights include an impressive first London solo showing of Iraqi-born artist Mahmoud Obaidi’s work, which features as part of Saatchi’s Start Projects programme. Rooted in the recent history of Iraq, Obaidi’s work uses domestic appliances to make darkly humorous objects exploring the absurdity of war.
Another Start Project, ’Future Island’, focuses on a new generation of Taiwanese artists such as Su Yu Xin and Ting Tong Chang, many of whom are internationally renowned for investigating the unique position of Taiwanese culture in a contemporary context.
It is this cross-cultural, young-gun focus that Start hopes will distinguish it from the myriad art fairs in Europe. As hinted by its name, Start dedicates generous wallspace to emerging talent, from all corners of the globe, many of whom are new to the London art world’s discerning glare – and its deep pockets.
’I’m really excited by the range of this year’s Start Projects, which go from in-depth presentations of one artist’s practice through to a vibrant group show of Taiwanese art and an artist-curated project,’ Niru Ratnam, the fair’s director, explains. ’I was also delighted to bring Sumakshi Singh’s project to London, having initially seen it in India earlier this year. Each project strongly links back to our aim of introducing artists and art scenes that are new to London’s audiences.’
