Thursday 20 September 2012

UNSEEN OPENING NIGHT & beyond..



Here is our stand in all its panoramic glory, taken by my glamorous assistant Gabrielle. 

Well, we survived opening night, & what a night it was. The champagne was flowing, the guests were many & there was so much to see including contemporary dance no less that it was hard to know where to look. And look they did. 


Here I am with Emily Allchurch (left) & Lisa Holden (right) at our stand. 


We have work from 3 different series on display by Lisa Holden. The Geisha series consists of self portraits which are bold & graphic, yet with all the subtle paintilly notions she encorporates into her multi-layered work. Her 2 works from the  'Trees' series have caused quite the stir with the varnish layer on top of the photograph markedly visible in pools on the surface. Having such a sculptural & textured finish encourages multiple views & visitors are fascinated by them.

Again here, we have Emily & Lisa enjoying the atmosphere of opening night.

At 8.30pm all the exhibitors gathered high up on the central platform to listen to the opening speeches. Here is the view from above.


Marloes Krijen, the co-director of FOAM gave a wonderful speech before the gong was struck (just like the Dutch stock exchange does each day at the start of trading) as visitors watched from below.


Can you spot Emily Allchurch here? She is standing with the amazing printer Mark Foxwell from Genesis Imaging, where several of my artists have their work printed. 

      Marloes Krijen here, looking elegant -as always- in white beneath the purple lights. 

 After the excitement of opening night came the first full day of the fair, with huge crowds in attendance. The day began with a slow walk along the canal towards the Unseen site...

On the way to the fair we passed the Unseen Collection display, housed in a huge glass building. This was our first glimpse of the exhibit just before it opened. 

People were already peering in to try & see the huge range of works valued at €1,000 euros or less. This is a wonderful opportunity for first time buyers of photographs to sample a wide selection of works with affordable price tags.


Then as we arrived at the stand to our surprise we were greeted by a bowl of fruit courtesy of our kind hosts.

After a very successful day, busy with sales, familiar faces & new ones too, we left happy & expectant to see yet more great photography - this time in book form...

(I strongly advise that you can purchase one from studio.melindajgibson@gmail.com)

This is a book like no other that I know of & watching one being made at a launch was fascinating as each takes 3 hours to make.
Melinda Gibson painstakingly sticking her collaged works into the book. 

 With absolute precision...
Her project is truly wonderful & deserves to be given more exposure. 

I have left you here with a tease. To find out more do see this feature explaining it. 

And so to bed my dear readers, it's late & another big day ahead tomorrow. Till then...zzzzzzz







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