Objects of Desire

The Wick - Samantha Michell, Gentle Chimes, 2021

Object Samantha Michell, Gentle Chimes, 2021

Rolling into town this weekend is the Battersea Spring edition of the Affordable Art Fair. With thousands of contemporary artworks up for grabs, from sculpture and prints to landscapes and portraits, there is something here for every taste. The even better news? All the exhibited works are priced between £50 and £7,500. Standout works at the fair include this vibrant mixed media painting by Samantha Michell. Exhibited by ARTCODE, a gallery dedicated to showcasing artists from the Mexican state of Yucatán, Gentle Chimes (2021) blurs the boundaries between figurative and abstract art to dazzling effect. With its geometric composition and bold colour palette, it’s sure to brighten any home interior this spring. At just £1200, it could also prove a savvy investment. Hop to it.


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The Wick - Choose Love Ukraine Crisis Fundraiser t-shirt by Cressida Jamieson

Object Choose Love Ukraine Crisis Fundraiser t-shirt by Cressida Jamieson

In support of the ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, London-based designer Cressida Jamieson has created a unisex t-shirt embroidered with a Ukrainian flag love heart and Choose Love ribbon. All profits from the t-shirts will be donated to the charity’s Ukraine Crisis Fundraiser, which is supporting projects providing vital aid and services, including food, shelter and emergency medical care, to those still in and fleeing the country. Buy one for your mother, brother, sister, friend, or colleague now. #westandwithukraine


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The Wick - A Brief History of Protest Art By Aindrea Emelife

Object A Brief History of Protest Art by Aindrea Emelife

This short but powerful debut from art historian and curator Aindrea Emelife surveys eight decades of defiant artworks by over 50 established and unknown artists working across a variety of media, from posters to murals. Opening with Picasso’s Guernica (1937), it includes critical and satirical responses to the most urgent socio-political issues of the past 80 years, including the AIDS epidemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the climate crisis. In doing so, Emelife highlights the role of art in challenging injustices, inequalities and, most importantly, the status quo. ‘I believe art and visual culture can change the world,’ she has said. ‘It can help us understand our own subjectivity and transport us to other worlds, histories, and viewpoints to better understand the world we live in now.’ Add to basket immediately.


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The Wick - Ugg TS Fatale Heel

Object Ugg x TS Fatale Heel

Last autumn Tschabalala Self presented her first performance piece, Sounding Board, at the Performa 2021 Biennial in New York. The play’s two protagonists discussed everything from the literal to the non-sensical against a backdrop of colourful, patterned, painted boards and oil paint projections created by the artist. They wore costumes and footwear designed by Self and made in collaboration with Ugg. Now, her first capsule collection with the American brand, which includes some looks from the Sounding Board wardrobe, is available to buy online and in store. Think bold colour-blocking, harlequin checks and prominent seams on some of Ugg’s most iconic styles. ‘It was a kind of natural fit,’ she has said. ‘Ugg is a brand that deals a lot with materiality and texture and I deal with that stuff in my painting as well.’


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The Wick - Ella Fearon-Low, Lipstick Brooch (2021)

Object Lipstick brooch by Ella Fearon-Low

Ella Fearon-Low’s striking jewellery designs draw on everything from nature and architecture to the decorative arts. ‘Inspiration comes from fragments of visual language that I collect throughout my life,’ she has said. With their bold colours and slender forms, her designs are a fun way to start a statement yet affordable jewellery collection. For Collect Art Fair 2022, the London-based designer has created a new set of sweet-themed pieces and brooches, including this delicious Lipstick brooch formed from hand-carved richly coloured Lucite, a type of acrylic glass, and set with vintage pearls. Equally delectable is the looped Doily brooch, a playful take on the presentation of patisserie in French cake shops.


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The Wick - Vogue Collection x Off-White™

Object Vogue Collection x Off-White Education Hoodie

British Vogue and Off-White have teamed up to create a limited-edition capsule collection in support of The Black Curriculum, a UK-based social enterprise committed to empowering Black communities through education. Virgil Abloh, Off-White’s founder and former men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton, was the initiative’s first patron. Launched with the Abloh family’s blessing, the ‘I Support Black Education’ capsule comprises two hoodies and a t-shirt, each bearing the combined logo. All net profits raised will go To the Black Curriculum.


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The Wick - LolaLuk Pink - Try Me Bitch

Object Lola Luk — Pink — Try Me Bitch Resin and Wood Sculpture 2021

Art on a Postcard is Back! Running from 24 February — 15 March, the third edition of its International Women’s Day auction features works by established and emerging female identifying talent including Charmaine Watkiss, Allison Katz and Katherine Bernhardt. Each of the participating artists has created one or more mini postcard-sized masterpieces to be auctioned, with bidding starting at just £50, to raise money for the The Hepatitis C Trust’s vital work in women’s prisons and beyond. While we could bid on every piece up for grabs, Lola Luk’s Try Me Bitch lolly sculpture has really caught our fancy. Place centre stage and you’re sure to set tongues wagging. Happy bidding!


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The Wick - KAWS x North Face retro pink jacket

Object KAWS x NORTH FACE

KAWS is everywhere right now. As well as launching a smash-hit show at the Serpentine in London, he has released a new capsule collection in collaboration with The North Face that celebrates both technical innovation and contemporary art. Available online from February 17, the XX KAWS collection features men’s, women’s and children’s styles, all of which are characterised by the artist’s eye-catching patterns and vibrant colour palette. Expect bold contrasting panels, visible stitching and abstract camouflage. ‘I treated the garments in our collaborative collection like a blank canvas,’ said KAWS. ‘I enjoyed exploring their extensive colour and material archive as I would a new paint set.’ We’ll take the retro 1986 mountain jacket in pink please.


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The Wick - The Fendi Set by Kim Jones

Object The Fendi Set: From Bloomsbury to Borghese

Fendi’s artistic director Kim Jones has long been fascinated by the Bloomsbury Set, a group of 20th-century British artists, writers and intellectuals including Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. So entranced is Jones by the group that he even centred his first Fendi couture show on Woolf’s gender-blurring 1928 novel Orlando and the group’s love of Italy.

Now comes this Rizzoli-published tome spotlighting the iconic landmarks integral to both Fendi and the Bloomsbury Set, notably Charleston House, Sissinghurst Castle and Rome’s Villa Borghese. Alongside diary entries, love letters and excerpts from Bloomsbury members are ethereal photographs by Nikolai von Bismarck, which have been produced using methods employed during the early 20th century such as Polaroid and Super-8 film.

This is a delight from start to finish and will appeal to fans of the era and the Fendi brand! Pre-order now.


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