By Nancy Durrant
For the art world, the autumnal chill creeping into the air is the sign for a sudden burst of energy. This week heralds the return of the Frieze art fairs to Regent’s Park — looking a little bit different this year, says the Frieze London director, Eva Langret.
“It’s always been one of the strong points that we erect this gorgeous tent, and that we’re privileged to work within Regent’s Park,” she says. “If you compare this to the vast majority of other fairs, which are still so often in charmless conference centres, we have a lot to work with, but there’s always room for improvement.”
One of the biggest changes will be the shifting of the fair’s Focus section, which champions young, emerging galleries — 34 this year, including several redefining the London scene — from where it used to languish at the back of the fair, right up to the entrance, so that it’s the first thing visitors see.
There’s also a return and expansion, after a successful first year, of the Artist-to-Artist presentation, for which established artists nominate emerging talents. Selectors this year include Hurvin Anderson, Lubaina Himid, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Zineb Sedira and Yinka Shonibare.
Giving some respite to the ravenous hoards of art lovers, Clerkenwell’s Sessions Arts Club joins the roster of restaurants at London (Nobu will make its Frieze debut at the Masters), and there will be more open spaces to rest and mingle (it can be a bit of a slog).
As far as I’m concerned, though, probably the most exciting change is that “for the first time we’re opening up the sides of the tent”, Langret says. “We’ll have windows, and you’ll be able to see the park when you’re inside. It’s going to be lovely, because it’s autumn and the colours are changing and it’s just such beautiful scenery.”
Frieze Masters, of course, has always been a gorgeous experience. “It’s where artists come,” says its director, Nathan Clements-Gillespie. “It draws out the different lines and currents of inspiration that are behind artists’ work. It is looking at art history, looking at creativity as a resource for their own expression.”
Fewer changes are afoot in the tent that’s everyone’s secret favourite, but after the art historian Sheena Wagstaff’s successful presentation last year of Studio, a new section that focuses on the artists’ place of making, it will make a welcome return, also expanded. This year there will be ten solo presentations of work by the likes of Shirazeh Houshiary (Lisson Gallery), Kim Yun Shin (Lehmann Maupin), Doris Salcedo (White Cube) and Adriana Varejão (Victoria Miro).
Here are some of our highlights across the fairs:
$50,000 (£38,000)
Chosen by Yinka Shonibare MBE, Nengi Omuku features in the Artist-to Artist section of Frieze London. It follows hot on the heels of her first UK institutional show, which opened at Hastings Contemporary earlier this year and is currently touring to the Arnolfini in Bristol. The title of this painting is derived from an Igbo war chant that can translate to “run over”. It is made on sanyan, an Aso-oke fabric traditionally crafted by the Yoruba people.
