Frieze London is the art fair taken to its logical, super-hyped, commodified conclusion: art fair as performance art; art fair as theatre; art fair as backdrop to social media selfies and influencer vlogs. Make no mistake, the art is secondary - you go to Frieze for the spectacle first, art second. In fact, it’s impossible to get close to some pieces of art for the number of Acne-dressed, Jacquemus bag-wearing folk snapping selfies. When a Damian Hirst canvas is merely the backdrop for an Instagram reel, what does that say about the state of the arts?
If you have to ask, why are you here?
There are no price labels on any of the art works at Frieze. Darling, if you have to ask the price, then honestly you shouldn’t be here :) Worse than this, those works that are considered “esteemed” (think Damian Hirst) are not labelled at all - no artist name, no title of work, no price. This is art snobbery taken to the edge of reason and marks out the territory of the art fair as clearly as dog piss. This is a fair for the art world, not for those of us whose idea of buying art is downloading a vintage poster from etsy. It’s a fair for trust fund art collectors, not for the likes of little old me with a passion for discovering young, up and coming artists and bagging a bargain direct from the studio. It’s the art world equivalent of fashion week: look and lust over knowing you’ll never get to own. But if you have the patience to wait your turn, at least you can stand in front of your dream painting, pout, snap a selfie and reinforce your influencer status.
As a result, gallerists make zero effort to engage with visitors. They slump over their phones drinking coffee and eye rolling at the amount of folks in their booth who clearly can’t afford to acquire even a snippet of art. I heard that all the major sales are made at the VIP reception and I can believe it. As an art collector, this was the least enjoyable fair I’ve ever visited with the marquee busier than the tube on a Saturday and no chance of standing back to enjoy a piece of work without a gaggle of fashionistas hindering my view. If I happened to have a spare million in my bag, I’d want to be offered a better experience than Frieze in order to be tempted to hand over my pounds.
So I shouldn’t go then?
What? Of course you should! As an artist, I LOVED it! I loved the people watching, I loved the buzz, I loved spotting the latest “it” bag, I loved seeing work that I’ve drooled over online, I loved noticing the clear trends in contemporary art and thinking about how my art could fit into this crazy world. It was exciting, on the edge of absurdity, over the top, and totally inspiring. It was a circus of creativity and I wanted to be in that big top! Go next year if you have the chance.
This bit is for artists who need a boost
I saw EVERY kind of art at Frieze. I saw every type of mark making and painting, from naïve sketches to detailed oil paintings; every concept, every skill level and there was no work that looked out of place or unworthy of being at the fair. Take heart in this! My biggest takeaway as an artist was confidence! Here’s what I learned that I’m taking into my studio:
It doesn’t matter how you make art or what your concept is, what matters is that you fully commit to your art and your own individual way of working.
Make it big! There were noticeably very few small pieces of art at Frieze and this is a trend I’ve seen growing over the last few years. Make your art as large as you possibly can, then a little bit larger.
Abstract art is still going strong but figurative, representational and narrative works are eating into booth space. Portraits, botanicals, women, all featured strongly in works.
Naïve painting is a strong trend. I loved seeing my first Rose Wylie piece in the flesh (pic below) and Sies + Hoke gallery filled their entire booth with Andi Fischer’s child-like drawings created with oil stick on canvas (pic below). You don’t need to paint like a fine art master to be a successful artist.
My Fav Works
The very best part of Frieze was seeing artworks by artists that I admire and being able to scrutinize them close up. I’ve been a lifetime fan of Tracey Emin and these loose, expressive drawings were added to my fantasy gallery wall:
Since I started my Seeing Me project of self-portraits (@seeingmeproject on insta) my Pinterest art board has swollen with images of work by Chantal Joffe. I was thrilled to see this huge piece at Frieze and her ice-cream shades of oil paint were just delicious:
Ethiopian artist, Selome Muleta, creates wonderful narrative works featuring the interior and exterior lives of women. I loved her colour palette and the combination of botanicals and figures (something I’m working on):
My Private View
An art & design professor once told me that if you want to make beautiful work, you have to see beautiful work. We all see glorious artwork every day now on social media but that’s not always helpful. I’d say that you have to see work in the flesh, close up, nose to paint. You have to see the way the canvas has been patched to fit the stretcher bars because the artist didn’t leave enough room around her painting. You have to see the way an artist messed up a face so collaged a piece of paper over the top and started again. You have to be able to trace your hands a few inches over the canvas as if you were painting it yourself and imagine how the artist moved. You have to be part of the performance, part of the circus, part of the art fair.
Until next time.
Great post. Let’s go together next year