- Venue
- Christie's London
- Location
- London
As is customary for many art fairs these days, Multiplied Art Fair opened on the same weekend as Frieze, aiming to capitalise on the influx of art collectors and enthusiasts into the city. Unlike the bigger fairs, which can be problematic in the way they display the work outside of context while trying to camouflage their true commercial purpose, smaller fairs like Multiplied seem to better come to terms with their raison d’etre. The fair doesn’t conceal the fact that it exists mainly to sell work, which of course is easier when you’re dealing with limited editions. It means that they can be less discreet about their profit-making ambitions: most galleries have no issue with pricing and red dotting the works on display. They also have fewer qualms about hanging and displaying the work: here, more is more.
Whereas most limited editions on display are naturally prints on paper, there are a few galleries that represent work that goes beyond what is usually considered a limited edition. LN Editions is one of them, the work showcased being something in between art object and print, between handmade original and reproduction; they effectively question the process, production and nature of the limited edition.
For the fair at Christie’s LN Editions displayed the work of four artists: Aurelie Mathigot, Francoise Petrovitch, Agnes Thurnauer and Tsuyu. What distinguishes the work of these artists is the focus they place on the materials: Tsuyu shows handmade origami- like paper birds, Petrovitch screen prints on mirror, Mathigot embroidery on canvas, Thurnauer limited editions on wood. But beyond the mastery of technique, what is made evident is the artists’ rapport with each material; that intimate knowledge allows them the freedom to reproduce the work.
The work of Agnes Thurnauer stands out from the rest by the use of text, the short phrases in her pieces referencing the medium and her processes. In I Wood, a box set that contains three panels with the phrases “I would prefer to be a good painter”, “I would prefer to be a bad painter” and “I would prefer not to be a painter”, her clever use of language points out precisely to the development and objectification of the work. The chosen typography, round and slightly childish, acquires the materiality of paint, while the wood brings into question the idea of the limited edition as original work.
There are artists who work exclusively with limited editions, and then those for whom they are an alternative solution, an after-thought. From the latter, only a handful is able to translate the original work into reproductions meaningfully. Amongst these, is Thurnauer. Her paintings are masterfully transformed into wood panels that could’ve easily come into existence only as limited editions.
Another excellent example is the With Collective. How does a collective of artists who produce intangible work make any money to carry on generating work? Through art print fairs. And when the concept translates so well to print, when the idea of commissioning an experience is manifested successfully into paper, you know that there’s good reason for the existence of fairs like this.
