A little piece of Brit Art you can call your own by Hester Lacey

inside... ...and out - Cool Britannia and the burgeoning of small galleries means buying art is no longer just for City types and connoisseur collectors. James Sherwood rounds up current buys, from pounds 50 to pounds 2,0 00

Hester Lacey
Sunday, 30 November 1997

"Moselle" by Paul Ryan, paper pulp and pigment, from pounds 750, from London Contemporary Art Fair, 21-25 January, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1. 0171 359 3535

Lucy Fields, London Contemporary Art Fair: "We had 40,000 visitors to the fair last year and we were excited that more than half of them were under 45. So, you'll understand that there is a great following for contemporary art in London. We try to be as inclusive as possible, showing work for pounds 100 as well as pieces at the pounds 100,000 cut-off point. We have the Brit Art gallerists like Jay Jopling's White Cube and the Jibby Beanes of the business. But we like to think contemporary art is a broad church and you will find something for you. This year, the Contemporary Art Society are showcasing young artists not represented by galleries in 'Art futures'."

"Who killed Cock Robin?" by Mat Collishaw, edition of 10, pounds 2,000, from Lisson Gallery, 52-54 Bell Street and 67 Lisson Street, London NW1. 0171 724 2739

Barry Barker, Lisson Gallery: "Clients come to an established gallery like Lisson because of the relationships we build up with the artists we represent. Mat Collishaw's work is in the 'Sensation' exhibition and he has featured in group shows. This is the first time a body of his new work is seen together as a solo London show. We've had many interested collectors who have followed Mat since his graduation. But we were conscious of a significant number of high-earning young professionals Mat has brought to the gallery. These people spend on contemporary art the way they would on a designer suit. But buying art isn't as capricious as buying Armani. Don't forget that Cool Britannia started with the art world then mutated into fashion."

"Orange Box" light box by Tessa Hunkin, pounds 200 from Shop, 1a Princeton Street, London WC1. 0171 404 9249

Tessa Hunkin: "I am a partner in the Mosaic Workshop and most of my work is commissioned mosaic design for interiors. I was frustrated by only working in mosaic materials and wanted to produce pieces using materials like coloured glass and marble, mounted in boxes and back-lit with fairy lights. We opened Shop in October as a showcase for the mosaic mirrors and interiors pieces and my light boxes do have a relationship with the furniture on show. Shop is about lifestyle and contemporary art should be a part of your interior. I suppose selling in a shop environment demystifies the work and people feel comfortable buying in a multi-faceted arena."

Screen-printed metal boxes by Jane Duncan, pounds 225 each from Places & Spaces, 30 Old Town, London SW4. 0171 498 0998

Nick Hannam of Places & Spaces: "We sell Fifties and Sixties interiors pieces. As soon as I saw Jane Duncan's work, I thought, 'This is going to work in Places & Spaces.' Out of the context of the shop, her work isn't retro, but she's caught the mood of the shop. But then again, good design - and good art - is timeless. Jane has sold incredibly well already and we're hounding her to give us more. I think people are attracted to Places & Spaces because it is open, light and modern. They don't immediately think of buying a piece of art because the emphasis isn't on art, it's on interiors. But somehow that's worked in Jane's favour. We like to think of her as the finishing touch to Places & Spaces."

"Sea" by Sarah Frances, screen print, pounds 50, from Alternative Art, 47a Brushfield Street, London E1. 0171 375 0441

Marlene Dickson, Alternative Art: "The Alternative Art Market is held in Old Spitalfields market every Sunday to 21 December, showing the work of up to 25 artists each week. We want to bring art to the high street without compromising the quality. Spitalfields on a Sunday has a unique atmosphere. It's not as aggressive as Petticoat Lane, where the stallholders growl at you if you browse too long. It is the perfect place to buy contemporary art and you know you can pick up something for pounds 50 to pounds 1,000. We need to take the elitism out of buying art. That's why artists of ours like Vaseem Mohammed are showing work in the Whitechapel branch of Burger King - and he's sold three pieces already. I'm sure Cork Street galleries would turn their noses up at this kind of initiative, but so what?"

"Leisure Lounge" by Seamus Nicolson. C-type print mounted on aluminium, edition of 10, pounds 800. From The Agency Contemporary Art Ltd, 35-40 Charlotte Road, London EC2. 0171 613 2080

Bea D'Souza, director, The Agency: "The message we want to get across is that contemporary art isn't as scary as people seem to think. Or as serious. Humour is a major element of Agency artists' work. I take it as a compliment to hear someone laughing with - not at - pieces in the Agency. The Agency focuses on concept-based contemporary art: video installations, photography and CD-ROM. You come to a gallery like The Agency to see artists whose work is fresh to London. For collectors, that means they may be buying an investment piece. But we get more pleasure from young people in their twenties and thirties who may be buying their first piece simply because they want it in their living space."

"Brain Drain Cane Sane" by Robert Holyhead, mixed media on canvas, from pounds 435, from the Paton Gallery, London Fields, 282 Richmond Road, London E8. 0181 986 3409

Graham Paton, director, Paton Gallery: "We have just finished an exhibition of four artists who graduated from Chelsea post-graduate course in 1997. But we've also had 13 of our artists bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, for their permanent 20th century collection. So, you can come to the Paton Gallery for very fresh, young artists you may buy as a speculative acquisition. But you would also come to Paton for our stable of established artists, like Tim Ollivier, Cecelia Vargas and Mary Mabbutt. Our customers are what may be termed urban and fashionable media types: people like Face publisher Nick Logan and Arena fashion director Nick Sullivan. They are a relatively new breed of collector."