London art?

June 10, 2012 11:33 AM

Where can I buy original art in London?

I'm in London next week. I'd like to have visited Spitalfields Arts Market, but I've missed it.

Where should I go to buy some modern affordable original paintings? Modern art/stencils is what I'm looking for. Definitely not big names!

posted by devnull to media & arts (4 answers total)

She is a friend but Anne-Catherine Phillips might fit your bill.
posted by TheRaven at 12:06 PM on June 10, 2012

You're on the right track with Spitalfields. Shoreditch, Columbia Rd, both of which are nearby, are teeming with little galleries.

If you're into Banksy-ish stuff then Pictures on Walls is what you want, although you need to make an appointment to go to their shop.

It's not a physical shop, but worth looking at Degree Art.
posted by MuffinMan at 12:15 PM on June 10, 2012

There are a lot of small galleries that feature younger artists work around the Hackney / Bethnal Green area. In particular I would recommend a visit to Redchurch St (right near Brick Lane) and Vyner St off Mare Street in Hackney.

These two streets have a high proportion of smaller galleries and some of the work may be affordable.

If by chance you are in London on the first thursday of the month, then many of these galleries have simultaneous new exhibit openings which can be fun in the evenings: http://www.firstthursdays.co.uk/

actually http://www.firstthursdays.co.uk/maps is a map of most of the significant smaller galleries in East London.
posted by mary8nne at 1:43 AM on June 11, 2012

For some really unusual, idiosyncratic contemporary art at reasonable prices, you might like to check out the Portal Painters.
posted by aqsakal at 3:56 AM on June 12, 2012