Carsten Höller, Dice (2014), via Gagosian
After a summer pause, the major art fair circuit will look to get back up and running this fall, as collectors, dealers and artists flock to Regent’s Park in London for the 2014 edition of the Frieze Art Fair.
Daniel Arsham, Obsidian Edorded Keyboard (2014), via Perrotin
True to form, the fair will see a number of major trophy objects on sale this year, particularly at Gagosian Gallery, where advance coverage has already centered due to its sale of Carsten Höller’s immense, hollowed-out die that is intended as a children’s playground.  A Rembrandt from New York’s Otto Naumann gallery will also likely see healthy competition over its $48.5 million.  At Marianne Boesky, a series of visceral, slurred canvases by artist Diana Al-Hadid can be had, while Peres Projects is presenting new work by Assume Vivid Astro Focus.
Diana Al-Hadid, Mob Mentality (2014), via Marianne Boesky
Sadie Coles is offering a set of works by Matthew Barney, drawing from the artist’s recent work on his film River of Fundament, and complementing the recently opened exhibition on view at its Kingly Street Gallery.  Thomas Dane will also be featuring new video work from filmmaker Steve McQueen, who returns to the art world after his monumental Oscar win last year. Marlborough Fine Art is also bringing forth an impressive set of works at Frieze Masters with 10 Francis Bacon pieces (including two priced at $20 to $30 million).
Eric Fischl, Art Fair: Booth #16 Sexual Politics (2014), via Victoria Miro
Other galleries are bringing forth a strong group focus at their booths this year, with David Zwirner Gallery presenting series of works by Oscar Murillo, Francis Alÿs and Wolfgang Tillmans.  Casey Kaplan is also bringing forth a tightly curated booth this year, featuring works by Kevin Beasley, Liam Gillick and Giorgio Griffa.  At Victoria Miro, visitors will be able to get a fittingly placed Art Fair painting by Eric Fischl, alongside pieces by Yayoi Kusama and Idris Khan.
Assume Vivid Astro Focus, Four Balls (2014), via Peres Projects
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (HELP) (2001), via Sprüth Magers
On top of its normal sections, the fair is presenting a new section this year, titled Frieze Live, featuring a series of performative and relational works that will add a new layer to the event schedule.  Already gaining notable press is a performance in this section from Japanese collective United Brothers, titled Does This Soup Taste Ambivalent?, a piece where the artists are serving soup made from vegetables grown in the soil near the Fukushima radiation disaster.  “I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to eat it,†fair co-founder Matthew Slotover told The Guardian. “It’s not like we’re recommending it.† Other works in the section will feature choreography and interaction performance.
Cecily Brown, We Think the Same Things at the Same Time (2014), via Contemporary Fine Arts
Damián Ortega, Magnetósfera (2014), via Kukje Gallery
A number of high-profile exhibitions have also opened this week in London, pairing the main sales of Frieze and its satellite events with a series of tightly curated gallery and museum exhibitions.  Marian Goodman, for instance, is christening its newly opened space in Mayfair with a show of works by Gerhard Richter, while Gagosian Gallery is rolling out a pair of shows featuring new work from Richard Serra.  Over at the Tate Modern, Richard Tuttle has opened his new monumental commission in the museum’s Turbine Hall, filling it with elusively cloaked objects and flowing sheets of fabric, while the museum is showing Sigmar Polke’s career retrospective upstairs.  Another landmark exhibition focused on the career of Anselm Kiefer is also on view, open at the Royal Academy of Art.
Eddie Martinez, Island I (2014),via Timothy Taylor
Hajra Waheed, Our Naufrage (2014), via Experimenter
One particularly striking event on the week’s calendar is a special 32-hour Extinction Marathon at The Serpentine Galleries in Hyde Park.  Culling together a group of artists, scientists, lecturers and performers including Korakrit Arunanondchai, Herman Chong, Tacita Dean and many more, the event will offer a nuanced, creative perspective on the current state of the environment and world affairs.
Joyce Pensato, Them Eyes (2014), via Lisson
Katherine Bernhardt, Black acid wash jeans + cigarettes (2014), via Canada
The fair will also see the commencement of the fall auction season, as Phillips, Sotheby’s and Christie’s all bring forward strong selections of works (including a collection of pieces from the renowned Essl Collection in Germany at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s), which will add to the week’s proceedings.  Art Observed will have a preview tomorrow on the auction sales.  Sotheby’s is also hosting a long-awaited exhibition of new work by Duane Hanson, who has not shown publicly in over a decade.
The fair events will begin with fair previews tomorrow. Â Art Observed will be on site over the course of the week, and encourage readers to follow us on our Twitter and Instagram.
Anselm Kiefer at Royal Academy of Arts (Installation View) via Art Observed
Cornelia Parker, Untitled, via Serpentine
Mario Merz at Pace, via Art Observed
Kevin Beasley, Untitled (bloat/leg) (2014),via Casey Kaplan
Klara Kristalova, Nature Study 3 (2014), via Lehmann Maupin
Matthew Brannon, Transatlantic Flight (2014), via David Kordansky
Meschac Gaba, Bankivi: BOAD Bank (2014), via Tanya Bonakdar
Neil Beloufa, Vintage Series: Coke Bottles (2014), via François Ghebaly
Nicolas Robbio, Memoria Tecnica (2014), via Vermelho
Pierre Huyghe, Â Timekeeper (Drill Core) (2014), via Esther Schipper
Richard Tuttle, Looking for the Map 3 (2013-14), via Pace
Shinro Otake, OPIUM POPPY Â 13/Street Memory 1 (2011), via Take Ninagawa
— D. Creahan
Frieze Art Fair [Fair Site]
“What Now?” at The Serpentine [Exhibition Site]
“Collectors Get Big Playground at $2.2 Billion Frieze Week” [Bloomberg]
“Frieze Week Descends on London” [NYT]
“Fukushima vegetable soup on menu at Frieze London art fair” [The Guardian]
“Frieze London springs to life” [FT]
“Why Frieze London Works” [The Guardian]
