Come October, London bursts to life with a wave of art shows and fairs that draw collectors and creatives from across continents. Among its most anticipated is Frieze, which runs from 15 to 19 October in Regent’s Park. Now in its 23rd edition, the show will unite 168 galleries from 43 countries.
Of the common threads running through the ambitious solo and duo presentations, artist-to-artist selections and curated sections, specific attention is paid to identity: the search for it and celebration of it. Artists continue to probe notions of self, belonging and expression with materials as diverse as furniture and driftwood, metal, resin and acrylic. If you’re in town and keen to navigate, we’ve gathered a few standouts here.
Solo shows
Modern Art unveils 15 new stoneware sculptures by Sanya Kantarovsky, a striking suite of freestanding and wall-based works rendered in glazes laced with copper carbonate, cobalt oxide and manganese dioxide. At Gagosian, Los Angeles-based Lauren Halsey presents new installations and sculptures aligned with an Afrofuturism and funk aesthetic, with expressions of community, identity and civic pride. Meanwhile, Portas Vilaseca spotlights Guatemalan Maya-Tz’utujil artist Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, whose textiles, sculpture and videos weave ancestral traditions into a contemporary language.
Focus
Dedicated to emerging galleries, the Focus section continues the spirit of discovery at Frieze. This year, 35 exhibitors from over 20 countries capture the restless energy of contemporary practice. Among the highlights: Christelle Oyiri, at Gathering gallery, stages an immersive installation where acid-green visuals examine the enduring impact of chlordecone on the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Eunjo Lee (at Niru Ratnam) unveils a deeply cinematic trilogy that, through the medium of gaming software, expands the language of digital storytelling. Alina Rentsch transforms Petrine’s modest corner booth into an illusionary interior. And Alex Margo Arden, at Ginny on Frederick, reimagines an Accident Reporting Board.
Artist-to-Artist
Now in its third edition, the Artist-to-Artist initiative returns with six established names. Among the standouts: Ana Segovia, who invokes Spain’s golden age of cinema through a series of vivid paintings and scenographic installations at Kurimanzutto; interdisciplinary artist Katherine Hubbard (at Company Gallery), who, with with her mother Antonette Berger, photographs their Philadelphia home as an intimate performance space; and T Venkanna, whose bold, large-format works in ink, brush and egg tempera unfold in striking three-colour compositions at Gallery Maskara.
Echoes in the Present
Curated by Dr Jareh Das, the Echoes series traces resonances between artists from Brazil, Africa and their diasporas, mapping shared histories and cultural exchanges through the intertwined lenses of land, material and memory. Among the unmissable presentations are new paintings and sculpture from Diambe (at Simões de Assis) that merge figuration and abstraction in lush, organic landscapes populated by fantastical beings. Tadáskía, an artist with Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, explores the concept of the ‘shell’ through painting, sculpture, drawing and text as a poetic convergence of metamorphosis, fantasy and Afro-diasporic and Indigenous narratives. And Alberto Pitta, at Nara Roesler, unveils new works from his long-running Mariwô series, inspired by the sacred Mariwô leaf used in Candomblé houses.
