Sheltering from the winter chill is the 37th edition of London Art Fair, which I am pleased to say blew my expectations away this time. New exhibitors brought in a wider range of emerging international artists, as well as little-known historic artists to re-enter the well-trodden canon that the fair has peddled for far too long.
Much recommended are the Encounters and Platform sections on the upper floor, where the quality and display of work has noticeably improved. Not to be missed, as always, is the fair’s museum partner: the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich.
This year’s highlights have been the tightest I’ve ever had to shortlist:
Mikako Nakagami at Gallery KITAI (stand E4)
Maxim Burnett at BWG Gallery (stand P8)
Satyanarayana Gavara at Art Incept (stand P7), presented by Virginia Damtsa
Anna Staritsky at Quad Fine Art (stand G17B)
Michael Leonard, Three Disciples, 1960, pen and Indian ink, gouache and wash on paperboard (Henry Miller Fine Art; stand G18B)
Margaret Green, Interior – Elm Park Gardens, oil on canvas (Oriel Fine Art; stand G22A)
Loraine Rutt at TAG Fine Arts (stand 15)
Yeside Linney at TIN MAN ART (stand 51)
Augustus John, Portrait of a Girl (Angela or Hermione Baddeley), c.1912, charcoal (Jenna Burlingham Gallery; stand 40)
Siphiwe Mnguni at Oliver Projects (stand 2)
London Art Fair (22-26 January 2025) is at the Business Design Centre, Islington, https://www.londonartfair.co.uk/
Nigel Ip 
Leave a comment