Each year, Frieze London attracts thousands of people with an interest in the art world, including curators, artists and collectors, and regular folk looking to enjoy a cultural day out. The event celebrates the most exciting contemporary art coming out of the last two decades – including both emerging and iconic talent.
This year, the international art fair will be held from Wednesday 13 October through to Sunday 17 October and focuses on the theme of ‘Elevating New Voices’. If you’re attending, don’t miss the following highlights:
1. Alberta Whittle
Alberta Whittle is the recipient of the Frieze Artist Award 2020, and this year she’s back with a solo exhibition. Alberta’s creative practice is driven by the yearning to manifest collective care and self-compassion as crucial approaches in battling anti-blackness. Her works incorporate installations, collages, performances, film and more.
2. Jesse Darling and Rindon Johnson (Arcadia Missa)
Part of the ‘Focus’ section of the fair is a joint presentation of contemporary artists Jesse Darling and Rindon Johnson. Darling’s previous work includes ‘Gravity Road’, ‘More, More, More’ and ‘A Fine Line’, featuring fascinating steel sculptures and distorted everyday objects.
As well as being an artist, Rindon Johnson is also a poet. Recent works include his virtual reality film, ‘Meat Growers: A Love Story’ and ‘Law of Large Numbers: Our Selves’, a solo exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery, London.
3. Sin Wai Kin (Blindspot Gallery)
Blindspot Gallery is showcasing new work from Canadian-born artist Sin Wai Kin (Victoria Sin), known for their performances that aim to expose gender as a social construct. The presentation for Frieze London is billed as a ‘tongue in cheek music video and various other boyband ephemera which portray an essence of queer joy.’
4. Nora Turato (Galerie Gregor Staiger)
Amsterdam-based Nora Turato explores the volatility of language; translating information from articles, advertising slogans and conversations into a wide range of productions, including visual works and virtuosic spoken word performances. A new major work from Turato will be unveiled as part of the ‘Unworldly’ section, which features artists whose practices revolve around the concept of the undoing of the world as we know it.
5. Natacha Donzé (Parliament)
A significant artwork from Swiss artist Natacha Donzé will be presented by Parliament Gallery for the ‘Unworldly’ section. Donzé’s paintings portray fragments of political, institutional and commercial systems. Past notable works have included ‘Emissions of decline’ and ‘General armor facility.’
6. Sammy Baloji
Sammy Baloji is a photographer from Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His art contributes to the memory of the Congo, retelling the country’s histories and exploring current realities. Architecture, ethnography and urbanism are among his focuses. Baloji’s work will appear in the ‘Focus’ section of the art fair.
7. Issy Wood (Carlos/Ishikawa)
Originally from North Carolina in the U.S., Issy Wood now lives and works in London. Her work includes dreamy, figurative paintings as well as installations and writings. Carlos/Ishikawa will present a solo booth of Wood’s new paintings at Frieze London.
8. Frank Bowling
The ‘Editions’ section brings together some of the world’s best galleries and offers opportunities for collectors to buy affordable art. Featured in this section is Frank Bowling, who is recognised as an original force within London’s art scene. Bowling’s work spans an incredible eight decades. His practice combines figurative, abstract and symbolic elements.
For more articles like this, browse the Journal, where we regularly review what’s going on in the world of art and culture. You may also like our Zoom Dive recording on ‘How to sell artists’ work’ – where Marine Tanguy, founder of MTArt, explains how she built her powerhouse company dedicated to empowering and supporting inspiring artists.
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