Frieze London 2017: in pictures

Almine Rech Gallery presented works by Xu Qu, Günther Förg, and Ha Chong-Hyun. Courtesy of Almine Rech Gallery.

(Image credit: Raphael Fanelli)

last updated 21 October 2022

With so much uncertainty in the world, are collectors turning to safe bets? It was the question in the air at Frieze where quirky conceptual works were notable for their absence. Instead, galleries rolled out painting and sculpture with comprehensible narratives, and the shouty, supermarket-aisle atmosphere of previous editions gave way to something calmer and more considered.

Standout solo shows include sculpture by African American artist Melvin Edwards at Stephen Friedman and 24 ‘negatives’ based around dance by German artist Thomas Ruff at Rüdiger Schöttle, while Timothy Taylor gallery gave 81-year-old Mexican artist Eduardo Terrazas free reign to curate its booth (below). The result is a striking grid system among which 23 new works are placed.

Eduardo Terrazas presented new works and a unique booth design at Timothy Taylor. © The artist. Courtesy of Timothy Taylor, London/New York.

Hauser & Wirth looked to the provinces for inspiration. Its recreation of a dusty regional museum, complete with wooden swing doors, yellowing walls and a desk selling cheap souvenirs is a trip down memory lane to anyone raised in the UK. In the faux fusty space, 2,000-year-old bronze daggers and eBay finds sit alongside contemporary works from the likes of David Smith, Martin Creed and Phyllida Barlow, who cast her paint sticks in bronze especially for the show. Its curator, Cambridge classicist Mary Beard says: ‘It’s a slightly satirical take on an institution we know and love, but putting a 2,000-year-old untitled bronze next to modern work changes the way you think. You concentrate on the single medium and start to look at the material rather than thinking ‘oh this a great work by so and so.’

At Frieze Masters, where gallerists have access to rich back catalogues, there’s no shortage of imaginative booths. Luxembourg & Dayan who work with estate of the late Italian artist Enrique Baj, borrowed furniture and cushions from his eclectic home near Milan to recreate his ‘living room’. Waddington Custot called on designer Robin Brown and producer Anna Pank to recreate the London studio of British pop artist Peter Blake. Among the piles of postcards, toy, models and wooden galleons are 41 seminal works, while the intermittent sounds of a record player and a toy train humming around a track capture not just Blake’s workspace, but also his soul.

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Fictional Bronze Age presentation from a forgotten museum — Hauser & Wirth took a trip through time, recreating a fictional Bronze Age presentation from a forgotten museum. Hauser & Wirth recreates a fictional Bronze Age presentation from a forgotten museum. Realised in collaboration with Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, the booth, titled ‘BRONZE AGE c. 3500 BC – AD 2017’, focused solely on works made of bronze. *Courtesy of the artists/estates and Hauser & Wirth.*

Quirky conceptual works were notable — These include artefacts on loan from international museums and private collections nationwide, sculptures by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Henry Moore and Fausto Melotti, and miscellaneous bronze objects purchased from eBay, masquerading as archaeological finds. *Courtesy of the artists/estates and Hauser & Wirth.*

Timothy Taylor gallery gave 81-year-old Mexican artist Eduardo Terrazas free reign to curate its booth. © The artist. Courtesy of Timothy Taylor, London/New York.

Galerie Perrotin dedicated its entire booth to Brooklyn-based artist Kaws, *Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin*

*Untitled*, 2017, and *Untitled*, 2017, both by Kaws, at the Galerie Perrotin stand ,Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Pace Gallery’s stand featured works by Song Dong and Julian Schnabel, among others. © 2017 Pace Gallery.

Pastel graphite works — Left, installation view of Loie Hollowell’s pastel and graphite works at Pace Gallery’s booth. *Photography: Damian Griffiths*. Right, *Point of Entry (lingam between teal circles)*, 2017, by Loie Hollowell. *© The artist. Courtesy of Pace Gallery.*

For the new Sex Work section curated by Alison Gingeras, Richard Saltoun Gallery presented a solo stand of recent and historical works by Austrian feminist artist Renate Bertlmann, *Courtesy of Frieze*

Chinese gallery Shanghart focused on a solo presentation by 72-year-old conceptual artist Liang Shaoji, who has been using silkworms in his sculpture and video work for nearly three decades. A hermit who lives the remote Tiantai County, he started breeding silkworms in 1989, and incorporating them in metal and glass works.

Chains,The Unbearable Lightness of Being — *Chains:The Unbearable Lightness of Being/Nature Series No.79, 2003-2007*, by Liang Shaoji, at Shanghart.

For the fourth consecutive year, Universal Design Studio returned as the architects of Frieze London, creating a revamped entryway installation (pictured) and a series of new restaurant interior concepts

Frieze Art Fair — Over at Frieze Masters, Waddington Custot enlisted designer Robin Brown and producer Anna Pank to recreate the London studio of British pop artist Peter Blake,*Courtesy of Waddington Custot*

Among the piles of postcards, toy, models and wooden galleons are 41 seminal works. — Among the piles of postcards, toy, models and wooden galleons are 41 seminal works,*Courtesy of Waddington Custot*

‘At Work with Peter Blake’ brings to the life the artist’s private, creative environment,*Courtesy of Waddington Custot*

Frieze London — Luxembourg & Dayan borrowed furniture and cushions from the late Italian artist Enrique Baj’s eclectic Lombardy abode, recreate elements of his home at its Frieze Masters booth. *© Archivio Baj, Vergiate, 2017.*

Inspired by the unique hanging style and sensibility that Baj maintained in his home the presentation included paintings from his *Mountains* series (1957-1959); *Modifications* series (1957-1959), thrift-store paintings of pastoral landscapes and voluptuous nudes as backdrops for his own garish figures, figments of science-fiction; *Furniture* paintings (1960-1961), incorporating collaged scraps of furniture that mimic period design pieces; and the iconic *Generals and Ladies* series (1959-1980). *© Archivio Baj, Vergiate, 2017.*

Newly rediscovered work from the estate of Gutai artist Minoru Onoda was shown outside of Japan for the first time at Frieze Masters, courtesy of Basel’s Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie. The solo display of paintings from the 1960s to the 1980s was drawn exclusively from his family estate.

Left, Nr. 7938, 2016, by Thomas Ruff, at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle. *© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017,Courtesy of Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich*. Right, *Tribute to dom Thierry Ruinart*, 2016, by Jaume Plensa, at Frieze Sculpture 2017,*Courtesy of Frieze*

Frieze London 2017 — *Untitled*, and *Untitled,* both 2016, by Takuro Kuwata, presented by Alison Jacques Gallery and Salon 94 at Frieze Sculpture 2017, *Courtesy of Frieze*

Left, *Der Bote*, 1984, by Georg Baselitz, at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac’s Frieze Master booth. *Courtesy of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac*. Right, *Summer Moon*, 2011, by Ugo Rondinone, presented by Sadie Coles at Frieze Sculpture 2017. *Photography: Stephen White. Courtesy of Frieze*

Mexico City gallery Kurimanzutto brought works by Damián Ortega, Jimmie Durham, Roman Ondak, and Abraham Cruzvillegas.

INFORMATION

Frieze London runs from 5-8 October. For more information, visit the Frieze website

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Emma O'Kelly is a freelance journalist and author based in London. Her books include Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat and she is currently working on a UK guide to wild saunas, due to be published in 2025.