ART FAIRS:Frieze London 2015

Established in 2003 by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, Frieze London is one of the world’s leading art fairs and takes place each October in The Regent’s Park, London. In 2012 Frieze established two further Art Fairs, Frieze New York and Frieze Masters, which coincides with Frieze London and is dedicated to art from ancient to modern.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Frieze London Archive

For the 13th edition of Frieze London, 164 Galleries from 27 countries present the work of some of today’s most significant contemporary artists. This year the Art Fair takes place in MLondon’s Regent’s Park from 14–17/10/15. The Art Fair is divided in the Main section with solo presentations that include artists like: Camille Henrot, Chris Martin, Ken Okiishi, Xu Qu, Mary Weatherford, Valerie Snobeck, Toby Ziegler and Heimo Zobering. Other notable presentations include new works made by artists in dialogue with architect Luis Barragán’s iconic House and Studio in Mexico City and a stand dedicated to Abraham Cruzvillegas and Jimmie Durham, both of whom will have significant exhibitions at London institutions during the fair. The Focus section offers a chance to discover exciting emerging talents. Solo stands include an historic installation by recently rediscovered Polish artist Maria Pininska-Beres, a new film installation by Amie Siegel, developing the themes of her 2014 presentation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and a floor-based ‘water relief ’ by Samara Scott. The Live section develops from its critically acclaimed debut to encompass varied formats, including: portrait sittings with a humorous outcome by Ken Kagami, an auditorium-based choreography by Edward Thomasson & Lucy Beech, a rare work by Tunga and an intimate, installation- based encounter by Amalia Ulman. The Frieze Sculpture Park 2015 comprises 16 new and historical works, set in the English Gardens between Frieze Masters and Frieze London. With free public access, the Frieze Sculpture Park gives visitors a rare opportunity to encounter exceptional sculpture and installation art by international artists in the open air. Works for 2015 include: Lock, a major installation by Richard Serra, together with live performances originally commissioned for the 12th Havana Biennial, Seung-Taek Lee’s monumental balloon model of the earth. Frieze Talks is a series of daily conversations, lectures and panel discussions taking place in the Auditorium at Frieze London. On Wednesday 14th, Frieze Talks 2015 kicks off with Cuban artist and activist Tania Bruguera giving her first public address in the UK since her detention by Cuban authorities. Frieze London’s non-profit curated programme, Frieze Projects with commissions which draw visitors into temporary, mobile and evolving environments which transform, subvert and interact with the social, structural and cultural dynamics of the fair. The Auditorium will see premieres of four commissions for Frieze Film from: Charles Atlas, Xavier Cha, Gery Georgieva and Thirteen Black Cats. Frieze Music returns in 2015 for one night only with a large-scale audio-visual installation and performance by the collaborative project 18. The winner of the second Frieze Artist Award, which invites an artist to create a site-specific artwork at Frieze London under the auspices of Frieze Projects, is Rachel Rose. Based in New York, Rose created a scale-model of the fair structure, in which lighting and sound design simulate the sonic and visual sense frequencies of animals inhabiting. Frieze Sounds activates the fair visitor’s experience through sound. The £10,000 Stand Prize is awarded to the most innovative gallery stand at the fair. This year the winner is Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London for its two-artist presentation of Mark Flood and Yngve Holen, praising the ‘impact’ of the stand and the ‘intellectual and formal dialogue between the two artists’ which it generated. Five further galleries received Special Commendations from the jury for their presentations: The Approach –London, Experimenter – Kolkata, Galerija Gregor Podnar – Berlin, Casas Riegner – Bogotá and Jessica Silverman Gallery – San Francisco.

Info: Frieze Art Fair, Regent’s Park, London, Duration: 15-17/10/15, Hours: 12:00 – 19:00, http://friezelondon.com