Frieze London and Frieze Masters

Just like last year, painting is in abundance at Frieze London, while sculptural and three-dimensional works seem to have taken a step back, retreating closer to the comfort of the walls. That said, the painted works reveal an expansion of scope, with widespread use of fabric, tiles, mirrors, embroidered beads, and cloths, as objects are absorbed into and blending with painted surfaces. Traditional paintings are prevalent, but there is also a noticeable preoccupation with renewing tradition. For example, in the Focus section, Tania Ximena’s work makes use of tempera, with landscape themes, on circular linen canvases, revisiting Western painting traditions but with a gesture to the contemporary. Overall, there is a return to questions of identity, preservation, and the environment, with climate change threading its way repeatedly into the Frieze discourse.

The Smoke section stood out with its installation of translucent fabric, dividing the space and creating a ‘smoky’ atmosphere. It featured international artists who work in clay and explore pre-colonial traditions, presenting ceramics as a powerful contemporary art form. The Focus section offered a platform for younger galleries: Ginny on Frederick present Charlotte Edey’s ‘Thin Places’ exploring how spaces – mental and physical – merge without clear boundaries, and Harlesden High Street steal attention from their neighbours with large, gestural paintings.

Maria Trabulo’s ‘The Spared Museum’ at Towards documents artifacts lost in World War II, reflecting on absence and memory.

Beyond the walls on which the paintings are hung, some other works broke through the boundaries of the separate booths: for example, Philippe Parreno’s helium-filled fuchsia balloons, Benedikte Bjerre’s inflatable penguins, and Billy Childish’s live painting performance. Childish’s work typically tackles themes of protest and addiction, but here he turns to personal landscapes – depicting scenes from South-East England, family portraits, and dreamscapes.

In the Artist-to-Artist section, Yinka Shonibare has selected Nengi Omuku, who uses sanyan fabric instead of canvas. Omuku’s suspended paintings can be viewed from all sides, merging the painterly with the artisanal, and allowing viewers to experience both the visual and tactile layers of the work simultaneously. The textured sanyan, integral to Nigerian culture, anchors Omuku’s ethereal landscapes within her heritage.

Those familiar with the London art scene might already have seen many of the works on display in previous exhibitions.  Now, however, brought together and viewed in proximity to other artists, from the same or from other galleries, an unintentional cross-contamination occurs, where works begin to interact with each other in new ways, altering the experience of each. One good example is Hales Gallery, which exhibits pieces by Martyn Cross, Anwar Jalal Shemza, and Hew Locke, creating a new perspective on each artist’s work.

After the visual overload at Frieze London, and a brief walk through the London drizzle, arriving at the Frieze Masters pavilion feels like entering a calmer, more familiar world. Amidst an eclectic array of objects, including rare books, Greek pottery, Japanese ceramics, tapestries, Egyptian sarcophagi, classical sculptures, Dutch paintings of the Golden Age, and works of modern art, the environment nonetheless offers a strong sense of established reputations.

Here there are works by the icons of twentieth century painting – Warhol, Richter, Twombly, and Picasso – and the emphasis is clearly on the strengths of past traditions. However, the Studio section includes contemporary artists whose practices engage with historical art, and there is also a spotlight on lesser-known figures from the 1950s–70s. For example, Nilima Sheikh explores the relationship between word and image, drawing on poetry, journalism, and legend to reflect environmental and political realities.

Whether new or old, traditional or innovative, loud or subtle, the works gathered in the two Frieze pavilions repeatedly speak to the twin engagements of contemporary art: to question the past and inherited traditions, while speaking to the urgent concerns of the contemporary world.

Ana Teles for London Art Walk
October 2024