{"id":23305,"date":"2025-09-26T15:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affordableartfair.com\/?post_type=inspiration&p=23305"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:24:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:24:06","slug":"fair-directors-picks-boston-2025","status":"publish","type":"inspiration","link":"https:\/\/affordableartfair.com\/inspiration\/fair-directors-picks-boston-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Fair Director\u2019s Picks: Boston 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The debut edition of Affordable Art Fair Boston<\/a> will be an event bursting with artistic talent. But, as we’ve learnt from our many years running art fairs, there are always artworks that stop our Fair Directors in their tracks. They might find something unexpected and playful, or with quiet depth and restorative color. For Erin Schuppert, Fair Director in Boston and NYC, her top picks for our first event in Boston are perfect examples of what the fair is all about \u2013 art that makes you feel something real, and that you can imagine living with every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give you an idea of what to expect this Fall, here’s a selection of Erin’s favorite pieces from ten different galleries<\/a> to be found at our fair, October 23 – 26 at SoWa Power Station<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New England Galleries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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13FOREST Gallery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Local artist Nicole Duennebier marries her interest in undersea ecosystems with her love of 17th<\/sup> century Dutch still life painting to create fantastical, dark scenes. I’m a huge fan of Gothic novels and their film adaptations, so this world that Duennebier has created in her work feels like my ideal eerie escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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13FOREST Gallery<\/a>, Nicole Duennebier, ‘Malden Monolith and Cemetery Debris’, 2024, acrylic on panel, 48x36in, $9,000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Alpha Gallery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth Livingston paints women alone in their homes. These isolated, indoor moments when no one else can see us rendered with tender care and detail. What sounds lonely can also be comforting and blissful. I love the few and far between stress-free nights I get to curl up with a book by myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alpha Gallery<\/a>, Elizabeth Livingston, ‘Once Upon a Time’, 2024, oil on canvas, 22x18in, $4,000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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New England Contemporary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rhode Island artist Ainsley Bonham Lawson was inspired by her maternal grandparents to pursue a creative career. This small portrait of Otto the dachshund feels like a family heirloom. I love the sweetness of the drawing itself, as well as the brass frame and bow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New England Contemporary<\/a>, Ainsley Bonham Lawson, ‘Otto’, 2022, Pencil drawing with brass frame, 2x3in, $150<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Amai<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Christy Powers begins each work by projecting a photograph onto a panel and tracing the outlines. After removing the projection, she paints the rest of the image from memory to capture the feeling that drew her to the photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amai<\/a>, Christy Powers, ‘Four Seasons Lunch’, 2024, gouache, acrylic, ink, and pencil on yupo paper, 20x16in, $1,500<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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KW Contemporary Art<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trained as a traditional realistic painter, Chloe Saron now challenges herself to be more expressive and embrace imperfections in her work. Choosing to \u201cfog\u201d the scene allows the viewer to connect with the subject in their own way, taking the image in as a whole without being distracted by particular details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KW Contemporary Art<\/a>, Chloe Saron, ‘Fenestra (opening)’, 2024, oil on canvas, 36x24in, $1,900<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Highlights from around the world<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Art Dog, London<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sophie Crockett\u2019s work draws on folk art and magic realism to depict stories from her childhood. I immediately thought of Der Blaue Reiter, the early 20th century German Expressionist movement led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. The works coming out of that movement were spiritual, incorporated folklore, and showcased bold colors, just like The Ploughman\u2019s Dream<\/em> (main image). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artspace Warehouse, LA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Combining elements of impressionism and graphic design, Shiri Phillips creates thickly painted, \u201cpixelated\u201d works. I love that this painting feels like a reveal, as if we are seeing where Phillips has scraped away the neutral top layer to expose warm colors underneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artspace Warehouse<\/a>, Shiri Phillips, ‘Ruby Rose’, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 24x24in, $700<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Galerie Duret, Paris<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ugandan artist Ronald Mugabe\u2019s expressive and bright portraits reflect the complexities of the human condition. In this work, both the human and canine subjects gaze out directly at the viewer wearing forlorn expressions. I love the way the shadows are rendered because they seem to be larger than life and looming over the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Galerie Duret<\/a>, Ronald Mugabe, ‘I believe in life change’, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 41x48in, $2,828<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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