As every year, a very rich schedule of events is waiting for the art enthusiasts who will be in London during Frieze week. Especially in the last five years, Frieze London has been considered one of the most important international contemporary art fairs. In the Galleries section featuring the some of the world’s leading galleries, highlights include Marianne Boesky, Tanya Bonakdar, Chantal Crousel, Massimo de Carlo, Eigen + Art, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lisson, Nordenhake, Pace, Esther Schipper, White Cube and David Zwirner.
The fair’s non-profit section Frieze Projects, on the other hand, stands out with the medicinal plant exhibition outside the fair and the empathy-based interactive performance by the South African artist Donna Kukama; the Antarctica project where the artist duo Lucy + Jorge Orta explore alternative models of community building and Georgina Starr’s performance Androgynous Egg, taking place in a sculptural environment.
The Focus section hosts several young and exciting galleries, including Arcadia Missa from London, Emmanuel Layr from Vienna and Night Gallery from Los Angeles, one of the former participants of Artinternational Istanbul.
In this year’s edition that gives particular importance to the subject of Feminism, one of the most highly anticipated sections is the special projects exhibition Sexwork, curated by Alison Gingeras and featuring participating galleries such as Air de Paris, Salon 94 and Regen Projects.
You may visit Frieze Masters for works dating back to a period ranging from the Ancient Era to the late 20th century. The event features more than 130 galleries and its Collections section curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal is particularly worthy of seeing with the various authentic art forms it brings into attention.
For those who enjoy art outdoors and in nature, Frieze Sculpture is an ideal option. Urs Fischer, KAWS, Michael Craig-Martin and Ugo Rondinone are only some of the 25 artists whose works will be on view in this section.
Throughout the week of Frieze, London is home to a variety of other must-see art events as well.
Among these, the fifth edition of the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair taking place in October 5-8 at the Somerset House is definitely not to be missed. The fair’s FORUM section themed The Conversationists brings into discussion the role of educational programs in building sustainable economies of information.
The Special Projects, on the other hand, stands out with the highly anticipated film program History is Not Mine, organized by the Capetown and Johannesburg-based Goodman Gallery. The films will be on view from October 6 to 8, every day from noon to 1 pm.
Another must-see exhibition was inaugurated on September 21 at The Barbican Center; Jean-Michel Basquiat: Boom for Real brings together more than a hundred of the artist’s works from museums and collections worldwide.
Another exciting event will start on October 5: the group exhibition Everything at Once, organized by Lisson Gallery and Vinyl Factory at 180 The Strand, comes with an extraordinary artist list featuring names like Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramoviç, Cory Arcangel, Dan Graham, Susan Hiller and Tatsuo Miyajima.
Katharina Grosse, South London Gallery.
South London Gallery presents This Drove my Mother up the Wall, an exhibition by Katharina Grosee featuring site-specific wall paintings. For photography enthusiasts, Whitechapel Gallery is a compulsory stop. Thomas Ruff: Photographs 1979 – 2017 is an outstanding retrospective of Ruff’s four decades of artistic practice.
Discover the world’s leading art events with Fair Calendar.