Frieze and Frieze Masters London convene top galleries, established dealers, artists of any genre, trend setters and trend seekers all under one roof. It’s a must for serious collectors and curious browsers alike. Frieze is the perfect place to find art work that matters in the contemporary scene, whilst just next door Frieze Masters offers work from modern and historical galleries.

Other galleries around the city are joining in with exciting shows and private views during Frieze week creating a special momentum like no other time in the year. A flurry of events has turned into an art festival across London putting it on the map as a key date for art professionals and enthusiasts. Apart from the standard shows at Frieze there are some special programs to have a look at this year:

Take Frieze Talks for example – over the past few years, various discussion panels and talk formats have been proven successes of the Frieze program. One of the highlights is artist Laurie Anderson’s presentation of her multimedia creations and reflections on American society. Or listen in on photographer Nan Goldin’s thoughts on the inspiration behind her famous series, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency and Thanksgiving.

Frieze Live with its 2018 programme, “Control ~”, puts performance on center stage. Control ~ takes its name from the command to reveal all formulas in a spreadsheet, so it’s no surprise that the majority of the performances here will engage with the digital sphere in some way.

Turner Prize-winner Laure Prouvost’s contribution involves an opera singer listening to deeply private conversations around the fair then repeating them at top volume – an eye-opening meditation on the deceptive nature of privacy in the 21st-Century.

Not to be missed in this context are the five public telephones that are installed as part of a work by French artist Camille Henrot being conceived as self-help hotlines for visitors seeking answers to life’s problems (of any kind).

Frieze Masters includes pieces that are created before the turn of the millennium, and the objects on display at this year’s event date back over five millennia, from archaic Arctic sculptures to 18th-Century Indian tapestries – all of which are available to purchase.

The painterly offerings are particularly strong, with museum-quality canvases by everyone from Edgar Degas to Wassily Kandinsky. Likewise there are exceptional discoveries to be made in photography as for example works by Man Ray and Dorothea Lange, who is currently the subject of a major retrospective at the Barbican Center. And why not have a look at the wonderfully recreated St. Ives garden of Barbara Hepworth – a breathteaking experience at The Dickinson Gallery’s booth.

Images: // 1 // Installation view Kamel Mennour Gallery, Paris, London, featuring work by Alicia Kwade at Frieze London 2017 // 2 // Installation view Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, featuring work by David Shrigley at Frieze London 2018.

Frieze & Frieze Masters
Regent’s Park
London
4-7 October
frieze.com

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