I heart Amsterdam

Foam 

What a shame to leave such an amazing city such as Amsterdam. With so much of it spent at the fair it was over in a flash. I did however, want to share some photo's with those of you who have never been or intend to visit again soon. Foam who organised the fair are well worth a visit as they always have great shows of great variety. When I last visited I loved all 5 exhibits.

Foam

The entrance is very beautiful, with a very contemporary interior.

Erik Kessels amazing carpet of photo dreams

 The curation is exceptional, with the Erik Kessels exhibition full of amazing & varied displays. I fell in love with the photo rug which if I had had the chance would have happily crammed in my suitcase!

I really want this carpet

Classic shot, bike, canal, & Unseen banners everywhere!

Upon our arrival we were thrilled to see Unseen banners all over the city, & gave up taking pictures as we soon realised we would run out of memory on our cameras if we kept going.

I mean EVERYWHERE!

No canal was left banner-less

The architecture is so picturesque as houses lean left, right, backwards & forwards towards the canals. 

Oh how we love the buildings

 Even the industrial architecture of the 2 buildings that housed the stands at the fair were full of beautiful lines & textures. 

Fabulous roof inside Transformatorhuis

And inside the Gasfabriek

 It is hard to see in a photograph but the clouds above the stands were projected onto the screens & flickered with many colours when you saw them up close.

The amazing L A Noble Gallery stand at the end of the hang

The first day was spent setting up the stand & it was a wonderfully satisfying experience with the whole space shiny & new, each wall telling a new story but all linking & complimenting each other as well as we'd hoped.  

From left to right, Lisa Holden on the first 3 walls, with Kate Owens centre, Herb Schmitz & finally Emily Allchurch. The space really attracted people to walk in & stop inside to spend time there. It felt lovely to be inside as the nature & nurture combined.

A visitor to the fair is mesmerised by Lisa Holden's trees

Herb Schmitz with his work premiering at Unseen

Herb Schmitz's incredible images from the 1970's & 1980's looked stunning in the space. More about his work soon. This man has travelled the globe many times & the stories behind his images & the people contained in them are great. He has a keen eye for detail & sensitive flare to truly get the most out of his models. When working for world famous designers, he would only shoot if he could choose the models himself. This assertion provided sensational results of artistry & imagination. 

Gabie prepares to show the public the temptation of Martin Usborne's amazing Dogs in Cars

The large print portfolio of Martin Usborne's work drew in so many people. Once the blue gloves were on a crowd would gather to watch each print, cooing at the dogs full of personality, matched with the perfect vehicle. Here we see Gabrielle having just taken off her gloves knowing that it would not be long before she would have to don them again.

The first of many wanting to view the portfolio

We also had portfolios & prints by several other photographers, notably Lottie Davies 'Memories & Nightmares' series drew in the crowds as well. Her majestic award winning portrait fascinated viewers. When they were informed that the 5 babies were all the same child everyone looked closer in wonder at her seamless imagery. 

©Lottie Davies

I encourage you to see the whole series on her website. The prints are beautiful in the flesh. I have harked on about this before, but there is really a presence to a great portrait that is no mean feat. The image coupled with great printing is a joy to behold.

Our bakery heaven each morning

Then there was the bakery. Thanks to one nearby we made our way through their wonderful scones, breads, sandwiches & coffee each morning. Freshly baked fair is surely the best start to the day, we felt like champions soon after. 

Yum

The chocolate scones were fantastic

By the time the fair was over we were so used to coming to the site it was hard to leave. All the amazing staff at the fair made our experience a great one. It had become our hone for a week & we count the days till the next one. 

All over, but the sign still looked smashing...

Packed & ready to ship

One last glance at the roof

Out into the open to admire some of Haarlem on our last day

So as we had till 3 on our last day to do some shopping, so Gabrielle & I headed into nearby Haarlem for a chance to go inside the shops we had been ogling the evening before on our way to dinner. Needless to say too much money was spent, but we left happy. Next time I shall be admitting to our other guilty pleasure on our first day, the fabulous Museum of Bags & Purses. Yes you heard right. Brace yourself!

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

USEEN pre-fair preview...

This is how our day began, with grey rain clouds, but with hope on the horizon...

Well the UNSEEN photography fair is just a matter of hours away & lots of preparation has been keeping yours truly very busy. The site has been a hive of activity all day with miles of walls, cables, pictures & the like to assemble into the wonderful display that is the best fair in town.

We arrived at Transformatorhuis ready to work.

Excited to see our first glimpse of the stand we will call home for the next 5 days. White walls of possibility beckoning us to work some magic upon them.

Our stand is looking wonderful if I do say so myself, with works by 4 artists : Emily Allchurch, Lisa Holden, Kate Owens & Herb Schmitz. Lisa Creagh's work is in the Unseen Collection exhibition also.  

Gabrielle (pictured above) has been amazing throughout, as my assistant, co-curator & organiser-in-chief. We are both thrilled with the way our stand looks (number 9) & the end result is worth all the effort - as Patrick Stuart says, to 'make it so'. 

I thought a sneaky peek at the preparation for the fair the 'before' would be of interest, if only to show the mammoth undertaking by our fabulous hosts. 

Who knows what is being observed here, but I liked the shot.

These worked magic on what is now a huge 'Unseen' banner extravaganza with neon!

As far as I'm aware, no one has been decapitated during the installation process.

A blurry teaser of the fully hung L A Noble Gallery stand

Now in focus minus white balance issues, I must keep you guessing & waiting with baited breath for more to come.....

Till then.....