The London Art Fair, the first Art Fair of the London calendar, over at the Business Design Centre in Islington, is a good one to take in - not only to see the extent to which things have become accepted by the more mainstream artworld, but also to see some old favourites in the flesh and take in artists we wouldn't normally have much exposure to. There's a lot of very cool work about and it's not all about the Emperor's New Stencils. There really is something for everybody here - so a full critiqué or review is somewhat pointless. Instead I have just picked out a few artists and galleries we admire - both new and old. I have linked these up where possible - so you can have an online meander and explore the artist's own sites. Enjoy.

I was pushed for time - aware that it takes a good 2 hours to get round, even at a bit of a sprint, so I tucked into a glass of the bubbly stuff & got moving. First to reel me in were some great prints from John Dove & Molly White - stalwarts from the 70's Punk cut n' paste aesthetic who have been a massive influence, if not downright "borrowed", in recent years. Next up - the chaotic sculpture work of Zak Ove - drawing on both his African roots and Western pop culture - exploring the ideas of identity, split across the two cultures he inhabits. Gavin Nolan was next to arrest the eyeballs - with his awesome, slightly disturbing portaits which remain stunningly beautiful despite the fragmented, almost violent treatment.

John Dove & Molly White		Zak Ove		Gavin Nolan

I've never seen the work of Andrea Mastrovito - and I was pretty blown away. The works are made up of cut paper and collage - and it's pretty hard not to gape in awe at the craftmanship and scale. Beautiful stuff. On a facing wall - Alexandre Órion's amusing, clever outdoor works couldn't have provided a more stark contrast. Admittedly - photographs just don't do the works justice.. but it's good to see him getting much deserved attention. If you haven't seen his "clean graffiti" tunnel of skulls in Sao Paulo - then I'd suggest you check it out. Bartha Contemporary Gallery played host to Vanessa Henn's work - which I've never seen but liked the look of. Very striking, graphic wooden sculpture - apparently drawing influence from bannisters, signage and Health & Safety madness.

Andrea Mastrovito		Alexandre Órion		Vanessa Henn

I was grabbed and pulled across the floor by the work of Victor Pasmore. After giving up on figurative painting - he became a pioneer of abstract sculpture, working with Hepworth and Nicholson down in Cornwall. Lovely, geometric works. Check him out. Marilene Oliver's awesome "Protest" piece can't fail to impress as it hangs from the ceiling - both delicate and an implied violence. Another piece that will make you hurry to look more closely is definitely the lifesize "Miya" from Cathy Lewis - made out of resin & marble. Truly awesome - and we'd like one please!

Victor Pasmore		Marilene Oliver		Cathy Lewis

I've been a fan of the England & Co Gallery for some time now. Their artists are consistently top class - with a very graphic, often tactile aesthetic. John Furnival is one of those - with his striking, typographic, map influenced works. Another one from England & Co I have admired since first seeing her work at Zoo Art fair 2 years ago is Chris Kenny. Stunning, poetic constructs made up of cut out words, images or objects pinned into simple shapes and forms. Definitely a favourite! Mark Hayward was a pleasant surprise - with his fresh, simple drawn figures and vehicles.

John Furnival		Chris Kenny		Mark Hayward

Helen Ingham's clean, retro letterpress work is pretty tasty and worth a look. Other fellow Tag Fine Arts artists of note are the ever awesome map-meister Stephen Walter ( you will have seen his work already, but go look just to be sure ), Tibetan artist Gonkay Gyatso with his stunning, Pop influenced intricate pieces, Paula Scher with her awesome map based works and also the ubiquitous Rob Ryan. Tag is definitely another one of our favourite stables of top notch talent.

Helen Ingham		Gonkay Gyatso		Paula Scher

Dresses. Made from maps. Simple as that - but I like them a lot. Not the dresses themselves. I wear trousers. But the work of Elizabeth Lecourt is strangely beguiling and very hard to not like. She is another favourite since first seeing her work a few years back. Fernando Costa's work is probably - out of all I have seen at the fair - one of the biggest influences on my own work and I have admired his reassembled signage for some time. Similarly - Laura Jordan's slightly scrambled, muddled landscapes of London always inspire with their detail, composition and familiarity.

Elizabeth Lecourt		Fernando Costa		Laura Jordan

Some new names to me that I will certainly be looking out for in the future... Eduardo Buzon with his graphic, stark landscape works combining photography, paint and collage. Very strong, vivid work. Zac Freeman - I have no idea how I haven't seen these before.. breathtaking portraits made up from found objects and clutter. Even Lego. Anything involving Lego gets my vote, especially artwork as awesome as this. Continuing on with the hand-assembled paper works that seems to be a running theme - the work of Susila Bailey Bond is pretty arresting - with her "flock" or "shoal" like arrangements of handcut paper butterflies.

Eduardo Buzon		Zac Freeman		Susila Bailey Bond

More butterflies ( is it me or are they everywhere in recent years.. is it Hirst's fault ? ) from John Dilnot whose work conveys collections, repetition, archiving and mapping - through his boxed works and his prints. Francisca Prieto continues (and concludes ) the themes of mapping and the qualities of folded paper - with his "Between Folds" works. Using Encyclopaedias, Envelopes, Sheet music and in this case Maps - his works combine the interlocking shapes through colour and line - as well as exploring the content of the paper he uses with great results.

Finally - just as I was trying to make my way to the exit - bleary eyed and in need of a Guinness - I came across controversy in the form of Littlewhitehead's Vader Kid sculpture. Based upon a photograph originally by Alex Brown - it's a somewhat low note to end things on. There is a lot of original, strong work out there.. but there is always the murky area of influence, appropriation and downright robbery. I was too weary to judge - but you can join in the discussion here.

John Dilnot		Francisca Prieto		Littlewhitehead

It's also worth saying that Michelle Thomson, Ceal Warnants and Charming Baker are all up there - but I somehow managed to forget all about Jealous Gallery Needless to say - with those three alone they rule that top balcony.

I've no doubt I missed out some other cool stuff - people should go and explore for themselves, but hopefully this is an interesting round up of some of our favourite works. Get yourselves along this weekend. - it's on till Sunday - more info here.