THE PANDEMIC FAIRE
by Todd Camplin
I hope everyone is taking quarantine seriously. Watching a few things on streaming video, catching up on piles of magazines and books, and having meetings on Zoom might be your way to cope with this strange moment in time. But if you’re tired of distracting yourself with Tiger King, you might want to pause and take a look at some art. My suggestion this week would be looking through the Pandemic Faire launched by Ted Kincaid and Scott Anderson.
You might recall that Art Basel in Hong Kong had to move to an online viewing room for their galleries. Dallas Art Fair has also created an online platform before its October event. They will open to the public online from April 14-23 this year. Unlike these other fairs, the Pandemic Faire has links to the artists or their representing galleries so you can purchase the work more directly. Plus, this is a passion project for Ted Kincaid and Scott Anderson, and they are only getting paid in Kudo points for all their effort. Another feature of the art faire is that artists are added each week until the Pandemic is over. The images on the site are high quality and you can even zoom in for a closer look.
If you’re still uncomfortable ordering art online, most galleries and artists are experienced with this model and they will help guide you through the process. This could give someone that enjoys collecting art a more direct correspondence with the artist than one might normally have had encountered pre-pandemic. Being able to email artists and have conversations with them could significantly give your art personal meaning.
Some of the highlights of the Pandemic Faire are artists like Matthew Bourbon, Jonathan Higgins, and Lorraine Tady. Matthew Bourbon continues to get more abstract in this body of work. Before, you might have encountered a figure or object obscured by shapes and forms, but now almost all references to the real world are painted over. Jonathan Higgins brings us some formalist work that is satisfying in its elegance and execution. Grid, line, and shape feel well-considered and aesthetically pleasing for their simplicity. Lorraine Tady has a series of paintings that seem to be inspired by scientific models with aspects of systems breaking down. I am attracted by the geometric forms and the energetic abstract mark-making. Tady skillfully balances the types of marks to make a complex image come alive.
Ted Kincaid and Scott Anderson not only organized this Pandemic Faire, but their work is also included. A little over a year ago, Kincaid had a significant museum show at the Georgia Museum of Art which came down in January 2019. In the Faire, he has his blurry clouds on display. I can’t tell you how many of his shows I have seen, but if he is showing locally then go see his art. Scott Anderson’s blueprint images are mesmerizing. I applaud their efforts in getting the word out for DFW artists. The Pandemic Faire features almost 40 artists right now and every one of them is worth your attention. We have so many talented artists here and this venture is a creative treat that I hope you will partake.