Art London at Royal Hospital Chelsea

As the small child beside me drop-rolled precariously close to the £14,000 cheetah sculpture, I’d be lying if I said a tiny part of me didn’t want it to fall over.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see the kids getting so excited about art but having never been to an art fair, let alone one as renowned as Art London, I wasn’t expecting  it to be the kind of place to take kindly to such frivolity amongst highly valued pieces of art.

In a 75,000 square foot marquee in the grounds of Royal Hospital Chelsea, Art London invites galleries from around the world to display their equally cosmopolitan works ranging from aboriginal to the quintessentially English with the special exhibition of the traditional oil paintings of Victorian artist, Frederic Lord Leighton.

The Richard Goodall Gallery showcased the recent works of digital artist extraordinaire, Ray Caesar, whose disturbing yet alluring prints introduce the deformed and alien into the world of portraiture, a slight departure from Lord Leighton. In a beautiful freak-show, his porcelain-faced models sit demurely in period costume with batgirl accessories, their tentacled limbs gently crossed on their laps. It’s the first time these works have been exhibited in the capital making the discovery of Caesar’s bizarre Gothic world all the more exciting.

The sight of the decapitated cast of the Lion King caught me off guard until closer inspection revealed it to be David Farrer’s collection of animal heads, fascinatingly constructed from newspaper, a must have for any anti-hunting art fans who still have a penchant for hunting lodge decor.

At the Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, former graffiti artist James Holdsworth’s makeover of cartoon characters in a tabloid world sees Sylvester leering at Kate Moss with his suggestively low-slung camera lens while Daisy Duck coos over the Terminator. Another excited child runs over to see Minnie Mouse, now a groupie for Led Zeppelin, neon make-up dripping down the canvas, wearing suspenders and a corset. Clearly this is her after-work wardrobe…

The collection transforms the power of urban graffiti’s political message into modern art. Similarly, the saturated acidic colours of Yves Kreif’s city scenes at Envie d’Art, show urbanity in all its child drug-dealing, hobo-sleeping, prostituting, Jesus-loving glory.

These were just a few of my personal favourites which, if I had any expendable income to speak of, I would like to grace my wall. Sadly I don’t and so seem fated to forever wander the aisles of art fairs, spectating not purchasing. But, all things considered, it’s very rare to find such a wide array of artists and styles under one (canvas) roof and with a similarly wide variety of people and chihuahuas to keep you entertained, Art London has got it right when it comes to bringing art to the people.

Art London runs until October 12 at:

Royal Hospital
London Gate
Royal Hospital Road
Chelsea
SW3 4SR

Opening times: 11am-8.30pm.

Entry fee is £12 for one, £18 for two.