Hot tickets: what to see at Frieze London and other unmissable art events in October 2017
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FRIEZE LONDON
It all started 15 years ago with an idea of a small art fair. Today, Frieze London is arguably the leading annual art fair in the world, with more than 30 countries taking part and featuring more than 160 of the world’s leading galleries offering the work of at least 1,000 highly rated artists.
Even for those who think they have only a vague interest in art, it’s a fun event running from October 5 to 8 in Regent’s Park: fun to rubberneck the often bizarre outfits worn by the art world; fun to wonder whether you’d ever be seriously interested in some of the more challenging works on show and for sale.
For hardcore art-world insiders, of course, this is serious business with the chance to meet with collectors from across the world. The fair alone brings more than £75 million in revenue to London’s hotels, cab drivers, restaurants and shops.
This year, it’s all about sex. There’s a new section on the female artists from the Seventies and Eighties, who were excluded from major exhibitions at the time. Organised by the radical feminist curator Alison Gingeras, it’s bound to be a major talking point, and the theme of sex seems to run through many of the shows in the capital.
Outside of Frieze, take a look at Victoria Miro gallery’s show, Sexshops, of paintings of those working in the sex industry by artist Tal R, as well as the performance art, Private Collection: Unperformed Objects in Tate Tanks at Tate Modern by Delfina Foundation with the South Korean artist Geumhyung Jeong, which incorporates, yes, sex toys.
Three Frieze shows not to miss:
- Check out Hauser & Wirth, where TV historian Mary Beard brings the Bronze Age to Frieze by creating a fantasy museum, with some of the bronzes borrowed from regional museums, alongside works by Henry Moore and bronzes bought off eBay. It’s sure to be a talking point.
- If you’re fed up post-Brexit, be sure to see Lucy and Jorge Orta’s project where you can become a permanent passport holder in Antarctica, the name of their show.
- Stop by Waddington Custot and see a re-creation of Peter Blake’s studio; the studio he’s created is an artwork in itself.
ALL IN A GOOD CAUSE
Make A Wish is a charity that helps children with life-threatening illnesses. Leading artists (such as Gillian Wearing and Michael Landy) have been asked to create works inspired by the wishes of these seriously ill children as part of a project called The Art of Wishes.
Check out Tracey Emin’s piece, inspired by Grace’s holiday wish. All works will be on view at the Serpentine Gallery on October 1, and can be bid for through an auction on the Artsy website.
The charity has a few places for Homes & Property readers to attend the private view. Please pre-register via email at theartofwishes@makeawish.org.uk.
The Art for Grenfell sale at Sotheby’s on October 16 will also have work by contemporary artists (Rachel Whiteread and Yinka Shonibare among them) to help raise £1 million for 158 surviving families of the fire.
FRANK COHEN’S BACK AT FORTNUM’S
More than a quarter of a million people flocked to Fortnum & Mason last year, to see some of noted art collector Frank Cohen’s personal collection.
This year, Cohen has decided to put on a solo show of works by John Bellany, whose work he had admired for years.
As he notes: “When everyone was making abstracts and Pop paintings Bellany was creating amazing images — revealing, ambitious and tough, distilling raw emotion onto the canvas. His great hero was Courbet, and he shares Courbet’s realism and sense of human sympathy.”
And don’t miss the portrait of the artist with David Bowie, also a longtime collector of Bellany’s work; the portrait is on view for the first time in 20 years.
ZAP TO DOVER STREET
Art lovers should make a beeline for ZAP in Dover Street. It’s the very last week of this pop-up store, curated by the Zabludowicz Collection, the Camden-based gallery that focuses on contemporary art.
With five other institutions across the UK the collection has cherry-picked a selection of great art buys, with works by both newcomers and Turner prize winners.
There’s everything from tea towels and prints, to jewellery and ceramics, with prices starting from £4. Not to be missed.