All photos by Caroline Claisse for ArtObserved.
The last visitors have filtered out, the gallerists have begun packing up and preparing sold works for buyers, and another year of the Frieze London Art Fair has concluded, following another action-packed week of new works, special commissions, sales, auctions and openings that once again placed London at the center of the contemporary art world’s cross hairs.
Work by Pierre Huyghe at Esther Schipper
Opening to VIP’s and press on Wednesday, the fair saw its predictable surge of buyers competing over some of the more sensational and iconic works of the fair. Jennifer Rubell’s sculptural rendition of her own pregnant form, a favorite for photographers and visitors throughout the week, sold one of the three versions of the work for $200,000. Also commanding an early sale was Paul McCarthy’s She Enis Penis Cut, a visceral return to painting that was claimed by a European collector for a sum of $750,000.
Esther Schipper
Oscar Murillo also had a strong week during the fair, living up to much of the excitement around the young artist. On top of strong sales of several works at auction this week (reaching over $1 million in total sales across a handful of works), the artist also held a strongly attended gallery show at the South London gallery, where he sold out a limited run of hand-painted lottery tickets, each priced at £2,500 pounds. On top of this, the artist’s work was also on hand at the David Zwirner booth, commanding the attention of several buyers.
David Zwirner
Despite a highly praised Frieze Film section, as well as intriguing commissions from artists like Pilvi Takala, who used her place in the fair to host a committee of children discussing what her final piece would be (the final product was a surreally designed “Bouncy House,” complete with ball pit), many collectors seemed content to settle for more traditional, painted canvases. Charline Von Heyl and Georg Baselitz both had successful sales, as did Julian Schnabel, who presided over the fair proceedings as a godfather of sorts to the current crop of young expressionistic painters.
Chert booth
All in all, the vibrant atmosphere and strong selection of works was as expected for the 11th edition of the London fair, despite talk of reduced attendance and a cut back on the number of galleries in attendance. Focusing on a more concise, cohesive experience for buyers, the fair nevertheless remained a leader for the contemporary art landscape.
Aaron Young (burnout work, background) and Yeesookyung (foreground) at Kukje Gallery
Arratia Beer
Cabinet London
Pilvi Takala, Carlos/Ishikawa
Olafur Eliasson, Fade door up (working title) (2013)
Mary Weatherford at David Kordansky Gallery
Formalist Sidewalk, Poetry Club. Ian Cheng
Kader Attia, Repaired broken mirror (2013) Krinzinger
Kevin Francis Gray and Li Songsong at Pace Gallery
Works by Julian Schnabel at Contemporary Fine Arts
Haim Steinbach, it is III-1 (2008) at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
Haegue Yang, Sonic Nickel Dance (2013) at Galerie Chantal Crousel
Chantal Crousel booth
Galerie Max Hetzler with work by Richard Phillips in foreground
Galeria Juana de Aizpuru
Galeria Helga de Alvear
Frith Street Gallery
Frieze Project
Overduin and Kite
A Gentil Carioca Booth
Works by Yoshitomo Nara, Carroll Dunham and Friedrich Kunath at Blum and Poe
Yan Pei Ming and Massimo Bartolini at Massimo De Carlo
William Kentridge, Rebus (2013) at Marian Goodman Gallery
Tony Cragg, Red Pair (2013) at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Robert Longo, Untitled (Chevalier) (2013)
PSM Berlin, Eduardo T.Basualdo
Tony Cragg, Group (2011) at Marian Goodman Gallery and Barnaby Furnas, Creation of Adam (2013) at Victoria Miro Gallery
Steve McQueen, Lynching Tree (2013) at Marian Goodman Gallery
Adrian Villar Rojas at Marian Goodman
Altman Siegel booth
Campoli Presti booth
Ancient Modern
Sfeir-Semler
Sarah Lucas, kurimanzutto booth
Salon 94
Ryan Gander, A lamp made by the artist for his wife (Ninth attempt) (2013) at Annet Gelink Gallery
Terry Adkins at Salon 94
—D. Creahan
Read more:
“Frieze Art Fair 2013 – Review” [The Guardian]
“Frieze Scene” [Bloomberg]
“Frieze 2013: The Flashiest Photography” [The Guardian]
“Frieze London” [Wallpaper]
“Oscar Murillo Continues Auction Streak With $1 M. in Sales at Frieze Week Auctions” [Gallerist]
“Paint, Canvas, Action!” [Art Newspaper]
“Galleries Might Be Young, But the Art Ain’t Necessarily So” [Art Newspaper]
