This Year's Affordable Art: Subway Comics, Sucking Face and Giant Mosquitoes

Affordable Art Beijing (AAB), the event that aims to both help new artists get a foothold in the industry and provide us non-millionaires with the opportunity to buy actual art, has reached its seventh year and is still going strong. The unconventional art fair will take place in 798 Space on June 2-3. Considering that China is now the world’s largest art market, this event's a good way to get in on the action.

After taking a look at some of the work that will be sold, we picked a couple we think are worth the trek out to 798. As aimed for by founder Tom Pattinson, the art that will be sold spans an impressive variety of styles from micro photography to comic book-style paintings of everyday subway scenes.

The image at the top of the post – and our favorite of the bunch – quite accurately depicts the cast of characters you might encounter underground. Before exhibiting his art at AAB, the artist Cui Jun did not feel his work deserved to be called “art.” This kind of sentiment bears witness to the role a fair like this can play in shaping both the art community and the art market.

Li Jingguo (see photo, above) enjoys using objects he encounters daily in his work such as briefcases, alarm clocks or, in this case, his own head.

Tian Xiaolei combines traditional elements with oversized mythical creatures, in this case a mosquito representing the oil industry that is slowly sucking the earth dry.

Below, what looks a lot like lots of squiggles is actually paper fiber photographed under a microscope by Celia Chi, who started out studying science but now only sits at the microscope for her next art photography shoot.

All of these and many more works of art by contemporary artists will be for sale during the two-day event. We think the fair is definitely worth a visit. Whether you intend to buy or not, it promises to be interesting.

Photos: Courtesy of Affordable Art Beijing