Frieze London, 2022 - first view
Frieze art fair is one of the highlights of the London and also the international art calendar.
Described as an art mall in a tent by The Art Newspaper, the event attracts an international audience from art enthusiasts, artists, media, art world professionals, collectors and institutions.
It is undeniably a huge event and if you plan to visit then allow a full day to truly take advantage of all there is to see. Also to make the most of the ticket price ( around £40-50).
I went on the VIP day and while it was wonderful to see many people I knew, we did find ourselves asking is everyone here really a very important person…
Speaking to dealers and collectors it seemed that primary sales were dominating, led by sales by women artists and Black artists.
The Gagosian booth presented a solo show of large paintings by their new recruit Jade Fadojutimi, reporting the stand had sold out before opening.
While I didn’t see the Flora Yuknovich painting that reportedly sold for £2m, upon hearing the news I did kick myself (again) for not buying her work when it was £10k at Parafin 3 years ago.
Is the fair worth visiting and the ticket price?
Yep. It definitely is. If you are an artist or emerging collector (which most of my readers are) then you will find the fair rewarding in a number of ways. One is seeing the market in operation, collectors being nurtured, and the general buzz and vibrancy of the art world x business. I also appreciate seeing new work by known artists and sometimes on the secondary market this can mean little known pieces by artists whose work we only know from the history books or museum walls. But here you get to see the smaller, domestic sized works.
This years fair was a great opportunity to see who is rising through the ranks. The high price of the booths at the fair naturally mean that the artists that a gallery will present there, are those artists they believe to be on the ascend. The Art Newspaper refers to ‘Ultra Contemporary’ as new works by those artists, typically under 40 and whose work is demand before it is even dry. Such is the appetite for some of these artists, their work appears on the secondary market sometimes too soon, which can create difficulty pricing their primary sales.
So from an artist and emerging collector perspective, the fair is a great place to see the Ultra Contemporary artists as they make strides in their ascent, and in the coming years see where this leads.
I also loved seeing work by artists whose work I had seen in public exhibitions such as Ugo Rodinone (left) at Venice Biennale, exhibiting small paintings at Freize.
Over at Frieze Masters expect to see collectible objects beyond art. These include busts, architectural features, manuscripts, textiles and dinosaur bones. The fine art in this section includes artists like Fernand Leger and Francis Bacon. Frieze Masters has a quieter atmosphere as we rever these great painters known to us through the history books in a hushed awe, and then stand stunned in front of the skull of a juvenile triceratops which is equally compelling.
