London Art Fair 2026: Exploring the Unexpected

Curated this year by art historian, textile artist and Art Matters podcast host, Dr Ferren Gipson, the London Art Fair’s Platform section became a tactile space that made the rule of never touching the artwork even more difficult to adhere to.

Working to the theme of the “Unexpected”, artworks ranged from abstract works on canvas (or materials that looked like

canvas) to delicately intricate sculpture pieces. In her own words, Gipson described her curation as a desire to understand “why artists [are] choosing a particular medium or material to work with as a way of exploring a theme or story”. Through the course of 2025, we saw this exploration lean towards the shock of spectacle to create discourse.

However, Gipson’s curation exhibits an unexpectedness that represents the quieter trends of the previous year.

Over the course of last year, while conversations around tech and AI became immersed in the discourse of the art world, a simultaneous narrative quietly became popular in the form of work that related to the natural world. This dichotomy between nature and technology is far from new, and its presence in artwork is not novel. However, the rise in this prevalence as a counterpoint to the spectacle of tech showcased in the mainstream art world is certainly notable. Although Gipson’s curation was centred around the use of materials, many of the artists showcased work that contended with the natural world in subject matter or technique. British Nigerian artist Tiffany-Annabelle’s contribution with Ed Cross Fine Art is exemplary of this. Using brown paper envelopes as a canvas, her work is a love letter to African femininity and flora. Similarly, Portuguese textile artist Vanessa Barragâo’s tufted abstractions are reminiscent of luscious natural landscapes.

Perhaps what was the most unexpected aspect of Gipson’s section was that there was no need to use spectacle or overt surprise to intrigue visitors. Instead, the artwork on display came with their own small surprises in the details of their creation. Some called for a closer look to understand what made them unique enough to fit under the theme of the “Unexpected”.

Gillian Jason Gallery’s submission of Emily Ponsonby’s work was a clear example of this. Her use of oil paint seemed almost too familiar for what the section promised. However, upon closer inspections, her use of beeswax alongside the paint to etch out patterns and textures creates depth in each piece. Laetitzia Campbell’s intricately woven drawings using thread and a sewing machine also called for closer inspection to realise the painstaking amount of detail necessary to create such beautiful works of art.

Interestingly, Gipson’s eye for material, nature and intricacy was not isolated in her curation this year. Showing simultaneously were solo shows by Anya Paintsil at Ames Yavuz and Kemi Onabuale at Sim Smith Gallery – both exhibitions where artistic choices with materials told a story of the natural world highlighted in their work. It’s clear that despite this rise in technological advancements in the art world, many artists are finding their ways back to nature through craft-led practices.

Gipson’s platform offered a wider picture of a generalised duality in art at the moment. Spectacle versus quiet, technology versus nature. Looking ahead to the potential of art this year, it would be interesting to see how these two conversations converge. Is there a possibility where technology and ecology find their place side by side in a piece of art, or will they continue to exist as parallels to one another?