The START Art Fair was held at the luxurious Saatchi Gallery in London. The gallery provided generous space spread over three floors well-suited for displaying contemporary art. The fair focused on emerging artists from around the world, especially Asia. Gallerists and artists attended intimate dinners hosted by the founders to network. The fair director selected galleries from over a dozen countries to achieve a quality, varied selection of works underscoring the fair's identity of discovering new art scenes. An immersive installation by teamLab was very popular with visitors. While the fair was successful in attracting audiences, its focus on unknown talents made it difficult to draw major collectors interested in established artists and auction prices.

1. REVIEWS
180 181START ART FAIR / HEIDI ERDMANN
An Intimate Affair
START ART FAIR at Saatchi Gallery,
London, UK
by Heidi Erdmann
The Saatchi Gallery is a dream location for an intimate art fair. Its
fifteen interconnected galleries are generously spread over three
floors; the double volume ceilings, architectural minimalism and all
white interior were purposefully designed to focus on the display of
contemporary art. The temporary walls installed for the purposes of
the art fair are solid and sturdy and clad in thick canvas – a seamless
addition into this luxurious museum environment. The Saatchi
brand offers an established and loyal audience. Admission to this
gallery is free (not during the art fair) and its location, just off Kings
Road in Chelsea, is easily accessible and extremely family-friendly.
“A high-quality location” was the prerequisite for husband and wife
team, Serenella and David Ciclitira, who founded this fair in 2014.
They were also clear about its identity; a fair for emerging artists from
across the globe with a strong emphasis on Asia. For the second
edition they introduced a new section, ‘This is Tomorrow,’ and
selected fourteen international galleries to present solo exhibitions
by emerging talents.
Mingling and networking with a hand-picked guest-list is what
art fairs are all about. The Ciclitira’s initiative of hosting dinner
parties, spread over two evenings prior to the preview with selected
participating gallerists, artists and collectors deserve a mention.
It is not often that gallerists have an opportunity to meet fellow
exhibitors, particularly when the group is drawn from across the
globe. Tuesday evening’s dinner was in support of the Singaporean
art industry, but the talk at the table was very much centered on the
vibrant commercial gallery industry in Teheran. The quality, spread
and variety of works on offer at START did not disappoint. Fair
Director, Niru Ratnam did an excellent job in selecting his range of
galleries from countries like Hungary, Vietnam, Iran, Slovakia, South
Korea, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Latvia and India. The START
Projects sections, which occupied a whole floor, underpinned
the fairs identity of discovering and presenting new art scenes.
The Prudential Eye Zone exhibition was dedicated to art from
Singapore, which is a fast developing young and exciting art world.
An impressive, interactive and immersive installation by the Tokyo
based teamLab was definitely an audience favourite and attracted
queues of visitors on Saturday and Sunday.
After the preview evening, the London media gave the fair the
thumbs up, with loud applause going to the ‘This is Tomorrow’
section. START is an intimate affair; visitors needed nothing more
than a morning to do the rounds. No sore feet, no fair fatigue, no
endless food halls, no coffee or champagne booths, no sponsored
VIP lounges; just three floors of art. It also has its problems, however,
and perhaps its greatest one lies with its strongly focused identity.
Although the fair managed to attract a large audience, particularly
over the weekend, its ability to attract the major collectors to an
art fair with generally unknown talents proved to be trickier. Many
of the artists presented are at the start of promising careers and
in many cases are included in museum and private collections, but
major collectors are interested in the latest auction prices. This
index is still absent on the curriculum vitae of an emerging artist,
particularly those represented by countries with a young art world,
and a small and developing secondary market for contemporary art.
START’s greatest success came via its secondary tagline, “a strong
emphasis on Asia.” Young artists from these regions are tapping
into global inspirations, keeping up with world affairs, producing
arresting works and simultaneously finding and growing a collector
base.
Heidi Erdmann is a gallery owner in Cape Town, South Africa.
Her gallery, Erdmann Contemporary, participated in START
2015.
‘START art fair’ ran from 10 - 13 September 2015 at Saatchi
Gallery, London. 01 teamLab’s Butterfly Room. Courtesy of START Art Fair.
02 Donna Ong, And We Were Like Those Who Dreamed (Cocoon #5) (detail), 2013. Paper cuts-out, wood, acrylic, LED lighboxes and furniture, 48 × 63 × 38cm. Courtesy of the artist.
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