A run around London Art Fair on Tuesday, and these are the artworks that caught my eye – will be back for the talk of the fair on Saturday when Paul Carey-Kent and Tabish Khan (the @londonartcritic) talk galleries. The Talk also marks the launch of our first book, Paul’s Galleries to Go – Details HERE
Time For Oniric at Perve Galeria E15
Celebrating its 10th year at the London Art Fair, Perve Galeria (picked by Sarah Monk as one of the galleries to see for FAD back in 2017) returns with another confident, tightly curated presentation. The Lisbon gallery has become a consistent highlight at the fair, and while there were several strong positions on the booth, one collaboration clearly stood out.
Time For Oniric was the standout. The Portuguese duo — Micaela Guedes and Carina Prazeres — bring a surreal, feminist edge that lands fast and visually. Working with an acidic pink-and-yellow palette, they blur the line between painting and installation, extending imagery beyond the canvas and into the booth itself. Strange, mythic and knowingly off-kilter, the work feels playful but pointed — the kind of presentation that sticks with you long after you’ve moved on.@pervegaleria @time.for.the.oniric
Marya Al Qassimi at Perve Galeria E15
The second artist we spotted on Perve’s stand was Marya Al Qassimi, whose restrained surrealism draws on psychic automatism and the unconscious. Her work references Arab and Middle Eastern cultural frameworks, using the moving body as a site of introspection and transcendence. The imagery unfolds slowly, offering a quieter, more contemplative counterpoint within the fair.
Al Qassimi is also the founder of ReKN, a platform supporting experimental artistic practice in Sharjah.
Laetitzia Campbell at Ed Cross Stand: P1
Next up is Laetitzia Campbell, presented by Ed Cross Fine Art. Campbell brings a quietly compelling textile practice rooted in memory, movement and touch. Trained at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the Institut Français de la Mode, with a background in luxury embroidery, she uses thread as a form of drawing — loose strands functioning like sketch lines across surfaces that hover between figuration and abstraction.
There’s something distinctly punk, cut-and-paste about the work (showing my age).
@laetitziacampbell @edcrossfineart
Solo presentation Fumie Onuki at Gallery KITAI E9
A solo presentation by Fumie Onuki, whose work rewards time and attention. Delicate yet structurally complex, the entire object matters — including the cedar wood frames with gold and silver leaf. Japanese washi paper layered with Nepali paper reveals itself slowly, even under the unforgiving lights of the Business Design Centre.
The more you look, the more the painting unfolds, producing a rare sense of calm. This is work that must be seen in real life — photographs simply don’t do it justice.
Onuki has said only this about her practice:
“By mixing and contrasting inorganic and organic elements, I attempt to visualize something that cannot be seen, yet is undeniably ‘there.’”
From there, interpretation is left entirely to the viewer.
Solo presentation of Vanessa Barragão at Ben Austin Projects P10
It’s great to see Ben Austin back exhibiting in London — FAD has missed him. Long-time readers will remember his PR days, but here he’s back doing what he does best: presenting strong work by serious artists.
Vanessa Barragão works with recycled and dead yarn stock to create labour-intensive textile pieces that raise urgent questions around environmental fragility. Based in Portugal, her sculptural rugs, wall works and suspended pieces use crochet, latch hook, weaving and fibre manipulation to powerful effect.
Her CV is formidable: exhibitions at Serralves Museum, works at Heathrow Terminal 5, a major acquisition by the United Nations, and a recent residency linked to Expo 2025 in Osaka. This is textile work operating confidently on a global stage. @benaustinprojects @vanessabarragao_work
Solo presentation of BAISHUI at Rong Art Space in Encounters
Wow — this is bonkers (in a good way). AI paintings, 3D-printed sculpture, a raindrop signature (which I love), and a genuinely strong video and sound work. Larger versions of the sculptures appeared at Art Basel Miami 2024, and it’s easy to see why.
Currently based between Shanghai and Hong Kong, BAISHUI was named one of Forbes China’s Emerging Artists for 2025. Her practice blends hand drawing, AI-assisted painting, collage and mixed media to explore humanity, nature and technology through what she terms Neo-Naturalism, informed by Eastern philosophy and digital cosmology. @baishuiart
Joe Cheetham at The TAGLI Stand 41
Great to see THE TAGLI, frequent FAD favourites, presenting three artists — but it’s Joe Cheetham who caught our eye.
Cheetham’s recent paintings shift toward a more restrained, sombre register. His figures appear as atmospheric visions — ambiguous in time, gender and expression — moving between the socially inscribed body and internal psychic experience. The paintings engage portraiture while quietly resisting it: gazes meet ours briefly, then slip away.
Oil paint becomes a tool for suspension, holding moments open rather than resolving them. These works don’t dictate feeling; they let it gather slowly. @thetagli @cheethamwj
Selby Hi at Alverstone Gallery Stand: 24
I like these cats — I’ve seen them before at LAF, but judging by the red dots, I’m not alone.
Selby Hurst Inglefield uses rug punching to create textile works that carry a strong sense of nostalgia and domestic intimacy. Raised in Brighton by a textile-artist mother, Selby later studied Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, winning the Graduate Show Prize in 2019.
Her process begins with writing drawn from personal memory, translating lived experience into dreamlike imagery and self-portraiture. @selby_hi / @alvestonfineart
& Special Mention for the Moniker Projects Stand: 14a
Another strong showing from Frankie and the Moniker Projects team. Two smaller works caught my eye: a joyful sculpture by Tracey Emin (ahead of her major Tate Modern retrospective) and a beautiful Bridget Riley study later translated into print.
As well as work from Hirst, Kaws, Ai Weiwei, and Kruger – Furniture from Yunus Khan @gallerykiy @monikerprojects
LONDON ART FAIR, 21st-25th January 2026 londonartfair.co.uk
