Preview: C&TH’s Highlights of Frieze Week 2016

Fortunately, we’ve put together a guide to Frieze 2016, running you through some news, highlights and curators’ picks to help you make the most of all aspects of Frieze, including Frieze London, Frieze Masters, and Frieze Sculpture Park.

N.B For more detailed information to get the most out of the week, don’t forget to swing by the Koenig Books pop-up to pick up a copy of frieze: A to Z of Contemporary Art (£29.95); a celebratory publication of some of the magazine’s finest articles from the extensive archive, marking its 25th anniversary. Published by Phaidon 6 Oct 2016.

Frieze London:

This year sees the 14th edition of Frieze London, and the highly anticipated annual fair sees more than 160 leading and emerging national and international art dealers present their contemporary work.

This year sees an emphasis on an intergenerational mix of artists, representing numerous nationalities.

Don’t miss:

-The joint presentation of Bracha L Ettinger and Lee Relvas prioritises feminist practices and reference Ettinger’s own published writings which will prove a really ambitious gesture for the gallery.
-Shadi Habib Allah’s solo presentation. Having been born a Palestinian in Jerusalem, this artist brings a sense of the entrenched relationship between history, mythology and politics in the region where he grew up, but puts that in dialogue with contemporary developments in technology. His new installation – which features uninterrupted audio of conversations between Bedouins – is set to be extremely evocative.

Live:

Live, a pioneering section for performance and participatory art returns this year, with new commissions and historical projects.

Don’t miss:

-The installation of ground-breaking Berlin-bases artist Christine Sun Kim. The first installation of its kind at the fair, Sun Kim, who has been deaf since birth, will explore the materiality of sound through drawing, painting, and performance, opening up new fields of perception to hearing and non-hearing audiences alike.
-Martha Araújo’s Para um corpo nas suas possibilidades (‘For a Body in its Impossibilities’, 1985) has never before been seen outside of Brazil. Araújo’s works position the body in space, raising questions about identity and ‘otherness’, and notions of the individual and the social. Para um corpo is a participatory installation in which the viewer is invited to wear a sculptural bodysuit made with fabric and Velcro, and to interact with a carpeted ramp.

The Nineties:

This year Nicholas Trembley has treated us to a special section at Frieze London dedicated to the seminal exhibitions of the 1990s. He has invited 14 galleries to participate in this display, with the aim of taking an objective, although not nostalgic, look at a decade when ‘artists were in a very liberated position’.

Don’t miss:

Pierre Joseph’s ‘Characters to be Reactivated’ – a series created between 1991 and 1995, where a ‘living sculpture’ would appear in the gallery on one day and then be replaced by a photograph thereafter. The person buying the photograph was granted the right to ‘reactivate’ the character.

Frieze Masters:

Now in its fifth year, Frieze Masters sees the participation of leading international curators.

The Collections section offers a series of intimate presentations of De Stijl furniture, Russian Constructivist ceramics and other highly-collectible, museum-quality works selected by acclaimed curator Sir Norman Rosenthal. Also featuring Spotlight which focuses on the undersung work of the 20th century, Frieze Masters is layered with a strong feminist presence, with artists including Nancy Grossman and Joan Semmel.

Don’t miss:

-Daniel Crouch’s Rare Books presents 200 Images of London Charting 600 Years of the City. Celebrating London then and London now, Daniel Crouch Rare Books’ collection of London prints has something for every occasion.
-Paul Feiler (1918-2013) at the gallery of Jessica Carlisle. An artist often associated with the St Ives School, Feiler’s particular form of artistic abstraction, pushed and refined to its very limit over decades of indefatigable experiment, strikes a very contemporary cord. Presenting works from the 1970s to the 2000s it will be exciting to see Feiler’s eloquent and timeless work resonate with a new generation.

Frieze Sculpture Gallery:

Free admission to all from 5 October to 8 January, 2017, the Frieze Sculpture Park in Regent’s Park will feature 19 major artists including Conrad Shawcross, Claus Oldenburg and Lynn Chadwick, all carefully selected by Clare Lilley of Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Historically only showing during the days of the art fair, this year’s planning application confirms the Frieze Sculpture Part as a new fixture on London’s cultural calendar. The perfect place to spend Autumnal afternoons, be sure not to miss the opportunity to see the extended display of some stunning and thought-provoking works – and make the most of the trip by downloading the Frieze Sculpture Guide audio app, available from 5 October.

Don’t miss:

-Lynn Chadwick’s Stranger III, 1996. One of only a few public commissions undertaken by Chadwick, this monumental work commemorates the double crossing of the Atlantic by the Airship R34 in July 1919.

Frieze Talks:

If even this peak into the week’s itinerary is tiring on the eyes, take a break from looking with the Frieze Talks, with Masters talks curated by Jennifer Higgie of Frieze Masters magazines, and Tim Marlow of the RA.

Don’t miss:

-Nicholas Trembley’s panel discussion that looks back on the art of the 1990s.

Interested in starting or expanding your own collection? Look no further than Frieze Bespoke, a personalised tour service created and curated with your interests and background in mind.