The contemporary art world sashays into London this week, anxious to gauge the state of the market as the autumn season gets under way and lured by a bulging calendar of fairs, exhibitions and auctions. Frieze fair opens to the public on Thursday, but another event is already up and running in Chelsea. Art London, held in a roomy marquee in the grounds of the Royal Hospital (continues until October 12), has carved out a comfortable niche for liveable-with modern British and contemporary art, and at prices that won’t terrify your banker. Offerings include animalier sculpture, still lifes and colourful abstracts: Portland Gallery is showing Old-Master-ish still lifes by Martin Mooney (£17,500-£24,500), while John Iddon Fine Art is exhibiting a piece in tune with the zeitgeist, Justine Smith’s “Bigger Bang” (2009). This shows an exploding world, as countries, represented by their banknotes, disintegrate into chaos. The limited edition prints are priced at a recession-friendly £1,590.

The recession has eliminated a number of satellite fairs, the smaller events that clustered around Frieze in previous years. Three have disappeared, while Zoo, which features young galleries and was always a precious adjunct to Frieze, has made some radical changes after a forced move from its previous home in Burlington Gardens. “This year’s edition is hybrid: partly commercial and partly non-commercial,” explains director Soraya Rodriguez. The fair, which opens on October 16, has moved to three Victorian warehouses in Shoreditch, in the East End of London.