LONDON.- The 29th London Art Fair, the UK’s premier Fair for Modern British and contemporary art, will be the most international edition to date when it returns to the Business Design Centre, Islington, from 18-22 January 2017. The Fair is renowned for providing a supportive environment for collectors of all levels, enhanced by an engaging programme of curated exhibitions, talks, tours, films and performances.

With art spanning the early 20th century to the present day, London Art Fair 2017 sees 129 galleries present museum quality Modern British art alongside the very best international modern and contemporary art. Over one fifth (22%) of this year’s exhibitors come from outside of the UK, with galleries from 18 different countries including China, France, Germany, South Korea and USA.

New features and highlights for 2017 include:

· A museum partnership celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Lightbox, Woking, with a curated exhibition of highlights from The Ingram Collection entitled ‘Ten Years: A Century of Art’

· Modern British art features prominently, with Waterhouse & Dodd’s debut in the pavilion and new galleries including Christopher Kingzett Fine Art, Katharine House Gallery, Beaux Arts London and Peter Harrington Gallery

· International contemporary galleries making their London Art Fair debut include Pi Artworks (Istanbul/London), Atelier Aki (Seoul), Victor Lope Arte Contemporaneo (Barcelona) and Island 6 (Shanghai)

· Art Projects ‘Dialogues’, curated by Miguel Amado, a series of five collaborations between galleries intended to encourage new forms of presentation and foster relationships on a global scale

· ‘Stranger Collaborations’ a showcase of artistic collaborations formed via the internet, curated by Pryle Behrman in the Art Projects Screening Room

· Photo50: ‘Gravitas’, a group exhibition of lens-based works curated by Christiane Monarchi, founding editor of Photomonitor

· Contemporary Korean artist Jaye Moon’s LEGO street art sculptures, installed by Hanmi Gallery in locations throughout the Fair

· Discussions throughout the week of the Fair, covering topics such as ‘Modern British art and the Idea of Europe’, in association with Apollo, and ‘Style and Identity’ in association with Photoworks

· Thursday Late sponsored by returning Peroni Nastro Azzuro, with talks, tours and performances until 9pm

Museum Partnership: The Lightbox presents highlights from The Ingram Collection
The Lightbox, Woking, is the museum partner of London Art Fair 2017, presenting major works from The Ingram Collection in a unique exhibition ‘Ten Years: A Century of Art’.

Curated by Peter Hall (Curator, The Lightbox) and Jo Baring (Director, The Ingram Collection) the display will demonstrate the breadth, depth and quality of The Ingram Collection spanning a century rich in artistic innovation and discovery. It will include key works by 20th century artists such as Elisabeth Frink, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Eric Ravilious. With The Lightbox celebrating its tenth anniversary since opening in 2007, the exhibition also introduces a year of major exhibitions at the Woking gallery, beginning with ‘Henry Moore: Sculpting from Nature’ (21 January – 7 May) and ‘John Minton and the Romantic Tradition’ (28 January – 26 March).

Modern British and Contemporary Galleries
Complementing The Ingram Collection in the Modern British pavilion, The Sladmore Gallery (new to the Fair in 2017) will present an overview of Bronze sculpture from 1870 to the present day, explaining the history of bronze and the casting method. Returning gallery Waterhouse & Dodd will debut in the pavilion, exhibiting paintings by Stephen McKenna, whose work is rarely seen in a commercial setting in the UK. McKenna will be shown alongside a new figure painting by his one-time student at Goldsmiths, Michael Taylor, whose painting ‘Boy with Apple’ was commissioned by Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Also in the pavilion, Piano Nobile will present strong examples from their Modern British holdings, including Leon Kossoff, Paul Nash, John Golding and William Crozier.

Returning Modern British galleries include Alan Wheatley Art, Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Osborne Samuel and Paisnel Gallery, while the Fair welcomes a number of new galleries with Modern British presentations this year, including Christopher Kingzett Fine Art, Katharine House Gallery, Beaux Arts London and Peter Harrington Gallery.

New international contemporary galleries for 2017 include Pi Artworks (Istanbul/London), Atelier Aki (Seoul), Victor Lope Arte Contemporaneo (Barcelona) and Island 6 (Shanghai). They join returning international exhibitors Venet-Haus Galerie (Germany), Sardac (Paris) and Galerie Heike Strelow (Frankfurt).

A notable number of UK and London based galleries also represent international modern and contemporary artists, including a focus on South Korea from Skipwiths and Hanmi Gallery. The latter will present South Korean artist Jaye Moon’s sculptural street art, formed from LEGO blocks, at locations throughout the Business Design Centre.

Other contemporary highlights include curiosities from The Hanbury Collection and Knight Webb Gallery, which will exhibit a line-up of contemporary female artists, featuring Alison Jackson, Juliane Hundertmark, Heide Hatry, and Lesley Hilling. Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art will return to present limited edition artworks by international contemporary artists including Tschabalala Self and Boy & Erik Stappaerts.

London Art Fair regulars Glasgow Print Studio celebrate 50 years of producing original fine-art prints in their 2017 presentation, while artist prints and editions will also be available through Eames Fine Art Gallery, Jealous Gallery, Eyestorm and Advanced Graphics London.

To celebrate the America’s Cup, TAG Fine Arts will be exhibiting a brand new exhibition of artworks by artist Ewan David Eason at The Princess Hamilton Hotel, Bermuda, opening in April 2017. Eason has used gold leaf to meticulously recreate maps of Auckland, Bermuda, Lorient, Osaka, Portsmouth, San Francisco, Shanghai and Stockholm – the eight cities sponsoring a ship in the race.

Photography highlights include Crane Kalman Brighton, which will be bringing works from the late British portrait photographer David Steen, including portraits of Elizabeth Taylor and Twiggy. Purdy Hicks will be bringing works by Awoiska van der Molen, recently shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize.