Calvin Marcus, Blue Devil (2018) at David Kordansky, all images by Diletta Fenicia and Quincy Childs for Art Observed

Opening its doors this week for its 16th edition, Frieze London 2018 has once again turned the art world’s collective eye towards the British capital for the next week, as sales and installations across its spacious halls make for a fitting center to one of the city’s busiest art events. With 160 galleries from around the globe showing at the Regent’s Park exhibition space, the rest of the world seems to have come along for the ride.

Daniel Arsham, Patch 5 (2018) at Perrotin

Antony Gormley, FRONT (2016) and Alvaro Barrington, A Straight Face (2018) at Thaddaeus Ropac

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Frieze London, via Art Observed

Frieze London returns to Regent’s Park this week, bringing with it its reputation for presenting the best of international contemporary art by emerging and established artists, and its signature program of dynamic commissions, talks and films, all unified under the fair’s bespoke tent design at the heart of the British capital.  Opening Wednesday, the fair will offer a unique look at the state of the British art market, and that of the EU more broadly, while providing a platform for artists in Europe and abroad to explore and express new concepts and ideas in art practice. (more…)

Do Ho Suh at Victoria Miro, via Art Observed

On a cloudy Wednesday morning in London’s Regent’s Park, the doors opened on this year’s edition of the Frieze art fair, marking the latest edition of an event that has long billed itself as the premiere at event in the British capital.  This year’s opening continued to show why, as strong sales and an increasingly attentive approach towards curating and showing works made for an immersive and nuanced whole. (more…)

Frieze London, via Art Observed

The flagship event of London’s bustling art week, Frieze London opens this week at Regent’s Park, opening the month of October with one of the fall’s largest art fair events around the globe. Bringing over 160 galleries from around the globe to the fair’s grounds, the fair will turn 15 years old this year, looking back on its run as an increasingly vital part of the international art circuit, and one of the main players in the shifting landscape of the art market’s move towards more temporary, globally distributed events. (more…)

The Art Newspaper charts the attempts of Frieze London to aid young galleries struggling against the ongoing rent hikes in London, and the increased costs of doing business in the contemporary market, including marked discounts for galleries included in the Focus section of the fair.  “The section tends to produce stronger presentations because artists are really thinking about the spaces as a whole,” says curator Jacob Proctor. (more…)

Frieze London, via Art Observed

The doors are open and the 2016 edition of Frieze London is now underway, bringing a wide range of works and artists to bear on the fairgrounds at Regent’s Park in the northern part of the city.  With its VIP Preview concluding today, the fair made its first big push of sales alongside the kick-off for a number of its projects and performance works, which conclude this Sunday.

Samara Golden at Canada Gallery, via Art Observed

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Bloomberg has a piece this week on proceedings and business behind the multi-million dollar dealings at Frieze London, noting the strategies and time dealers take to sell their works.  “The amount of work to compile work for an art fair or gallery is huge,” says Daniella Luxembourg of Luxembourg and Dayan. “There is a lot of thought and research and digging in order to bring these works together.” (more…)

Mona Hatoum, Electrified (variable II) (2014), via White Cube

Drawing gallerists, collectors and artists from the UK, Europe, and even further afield, Frieze London is set to open its doors this week for the fourteenth edition of the market calendar staple, and the first since the summer’s Brexit vote drew a line in the sand between the UK and the rest of Europe.  Considering early assurances by gallerists, many seem to think that the UK’s pending break may not bode as poorly for the country’s role as an international market capital as initially thought, but the proof will be in the pudding at Frieze, where the number eager buyers will serve as the real bellwether for a market that has already seen its share of struggles this year.

Martin Soto Clemente, Frenetic Gossamer (2016), via Frieze

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Frieze London has announced Swiss curator Raphael Gygax as the new curator for its Projects section.  Gygax currently serves as Curator at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich. (more…)

Tracy Emin, You Made Me Feel Beautiful again! (2015), at White Cube, all photos by Andrea Nguyen for Art Observed

As the weekend arrived, Frieze London shut its doors on another week of strong sales, live projects and installations taking up the yards of Regent’s Park, with the fair reporting an impressive 260% increase in attendees during the VIP hours.  Even after the rush of buyers in the fair’s early hours, sales continued steadily through the rest of the week, concluding yesterday as the last vistors left the space. (more…)

Bloomberg notes the strong interest on site at Frieze this week, and the collectors getting aggressive on buying even while other markets flounder.  “Russians are in trouble. Brazil is in trouble. Commodities are way down,” says Eli Broad. “The art market is very strong. You’d think there are no troubles anywhere in the world.” (more…)

Frieze London has announced its series of artist commissions for the 2015 edition of the fair next month in Regent’s Park, including Brazilian artist Tunga’s recreation of a 1987 work, Siamese Hair Twins, featuring a pair of young girls joined together by their hair.  “It is quite extraordinary, a sight to behold,” says Victoria Siddall, the director of the fair. “There is something ethereal and wonderful about it. People who have seen it when it was originally created say it was something special.” (more…)

Scott Campbell, Our Secret (2012), courtesy the artist and OHWOW

Scott Campbell, whose Saved Tattoo parlor in Brooklyn is a destination for ink aficionados such as designer Marc Jacobs, has in recent years branched out into the contemporary art world, presenting bodies of work that dynamically comprise the “alternative” aesthetic and draftsman’s expertise of his trade. Using an array of unique materials, such as US currency and ostrich eggshells, employing a highly technical creative process born from the precision of tattooing, Campbell’s work rests comfortably in the space between high and low, art and fashion, gallery and street.

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Lynda Benglis sculptures and Hans Hurting paintings at Cheim & Read’s booth at Frieze Masters. All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

Frieze Masters and Frieze London concluded on October 14th, with both fairs reporting solid sales on the high end. This year, there was a distinct focus on curated booths and curatorial projects and less of an overt feeling of commercialization. Frieze Masters in particular focused on serious connoisseurship and an academic approach, both of which translated into a successful fair for dealers.

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Image: Frieze London Courtesy Frieze

Exhibitors are gearing up for the tenth edition of Frieze London, which takes place in London’s Regent’s Park from October 11–14th. The fair kicks off with a vernissage on the evening of Wednesday, October 10th, once again housed in a temporary structure designed by architects Carmody Groarke.

Although mostly composed of UK and US galleries (almost exclusively from London and New York) account for 45% of the main fair, fair organizers are broadening the scope this year, with new sections and exhibitors from 35 countries, making it the most international event to date organized by Frieze.

Image: Mona Hatoum, KAPANCIK, 2012 Courtesy White Cube Gallery

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