Image Credit: Affordable Art Fair

I can only speak for myself here, but last year I would have done unspeakables to get my hands on Damien Hirst’s For the Love of God – aka: ‘that gawdy diamond-encrusted skull-thing’.   While I’ve yet to create a 3D Room around it,  I can assure you this lil’ beauty would have perched ostentatiously atop my hand-chiseled marble fireplace, guarded by none other than my purebred Persian vigilantes.  Needless to say, I would have been forever ahead of the current skull trend, and I’m pretty sure MTV’s Cribs would have cruised on over for high tea and a game of polo. Shame about the whole thing, really, as I was only about £50 million short!

In reality, to even let Hirst’s name escape from one’s lips is enough to turn many completely off from the thought of owning any original piece of contemporary art.  With the art market being so jaw-droppingly expensive, how can the other 99% of the population juusst outside the periphery of art’s elite afford to decorate our homes with inspiring works from some of Britain’s best up-and-coming?

Image Credit: London Town Hotels

If you’ve been sitting at home wrestling with this quandary (staring at your blank-and-blah walls no doubt), be sure to check out the Affordable Art Fair, now on through Sunday night in Battersea.  Unlike Frieze’s boggling £25 admission last week, tickets to the AAF will set you back the cost of a trip to the Tate (£12).  With pieces from 120 carefully curated galleries exhibiting works  between only £50-£3000, I can definitely speak for everyone else here at mydeco when I say that you’ll be able to find some cool, modern, or retro piece to ‘really tie the room together’.

And, if you’re keen on checking out the newbies, be sure to peruse the Recent Graduate Exhibition (hint: new trends in the art world often inspire future interior design trends, so take notes!).  There are also opportunities to get your hands dirty with some fun and educational artist-led workshops.  Who knows – maybe you’ll be the one to create that masterpiece perfect for your home!

Image Credit: Affordable Art Fair

22-25 October 2009 -Battersea Park Event Arena, London SW11 4NJ

www.affordableartfair.com