How to get the most out of Frieze Week London: 2021

The arrival of two colossal white tents in Regent’s Park – one housing Frieze London, the other Frieze Masters – usually hails the start of a frenzied autumn art season in the capital. Last year, the coronavirus crisis forced the fairs’ organisers to cancel the physical editions, replacing them instead with the Frieze Viewing Room.

This year the fairs are back with a bang. As in previous years, there will be a brilliant Frieze Week programme of online and live exhibitions and events. Annual highlights include Frieze Sculpture, its temporary outdoor sculpture park in Regent’s Park; Frieze Talks and Frieze LIVE.

FRIEZE HIGHLIGHTS: SHOWCASING NEW VOICES

This year's Frieze mission is to bring everybody back and celebrate art. Reflecting on the past year, Frieze has been focusing on what it means as a platform and how it can contribute to showcasing new voices. With this in mind, Frieze has worked with three exciting curators from the younger generation and opened new sections.

Focus: Alongside the main section of the fair, Focus is dedicated to supporting young galleries established in the last 12 years and provides a platform for today’s most exciting emerging artists

Unworlding is a new section curated by Cédric Fauq (Chief Curator, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux). It will feature a selection of international artists whose practices are centred around the idea of the undoing of the world as we know it. Work by Nora Turato, a video installation by Ndayé Kouagou and a monumental piece by Natacha Donzé will feature.

Editions is another new section that will be opening up the world of collecting to new audiences and offering the opportunity to buy works by leading international artists at affordable prices. The section will feature the world’s leading publishers and galleries presenting editioned works and multiples by today’s most renowned contemporary artists, such as Paula Rego, Yinka Shonibare, Georg Baselitz and Fiona Tan.

Frieze Viewing Room was upgraded last year and features handy tools, such as live chat and social media sharing, as well as the popular ‘sign the book’ and augmented reality (AR) capabilities. All the talks and programming as well as the Galleries works will be available online.

In addition Solos section is dedicated to solo presentations of pioneering artists.

Highlights of the Frieze Week Programme

Frieze Sculpture (until Sunday 31 October)

Frieze Sculpture returns to the English Gardens in Regent's Park with a roll-call of exciting names and some truly monumental offerings. Works by the likes of Ibrahim El-Salahi, Isamu Noguchi, Sumayya Vally, Solange Pessoa and Rose Wylie are nestled among the trees, surprising joggers and art enthusiasts alike.

Anthony Caro, Palanquin, 1985-1991

Frieze Talks

Overseen by independent curator Jeppe Ugelvig, the Frieze Talks programme includes panel discussions, conversations and keynote lectures that will focus on artistic collaboration and economies of exchange.

The programme taps into new and long-time relationships between artists and creatives to reflect on art within and across disciplines. Talks will take place both online and in-person at No.9 Cork Street, Frieze’s new gallery space in Mayfair.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, returns to curate the Frieze Masters Talks 2021 programme, which brings together contemporary artists, writers and curators to explore the connections between historical art and contemporary practice. Talks are hosted in the Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Lounge at Frieze Masters and are free for visitors to attend. A limited number of seats will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Frieze LIVE

This year’s LIVE programme is curated by Languid Hands, a London-based artistic and curatorial collaboration between Rabz Lansiquot, filmmaker, programmer and DJ, and  Imani Robinson, interdisciplinary writer, editor and live artist. The duo have been curatorial fellows at Cubitt Artists since January 2020, presenting No Real Closure, a platform for experimentation and development of black artistic practice across exhibitions, moving image, text, performance and public programming.

Frieze LIVE

Their LIVE programme extends this method of inquiry and will be available to view online, with performances by Ebun Sodipo, Rebecca Bellantoni & Ashley Holmes. The performance programme will be hosted online on frieze.com from Thursday 14 October.

Beyond Frieze: What to see and do

During Frieze Week many of London’s best-loved museums and galleries also stage exhibitions and events to entice the influx of art-loving enthusiasts off the streets and through their doors. The choice can be dizzying, however. To prevent overload, make a beeline for our curated highlights below.

Es Devlin Blueshhwhite at 180 The Strand

A monumental new artwork by artist and designer Es Devlin, BLUESKYWHITE, will be unveiled at 180 The Strand, as part of a new immersive group show: LUX: New Wave of Contemporary Art featuring works by Refik Anadol, Carsten Nicolai, Hito Steyerl, Random International and Universal Everything.

Noah Davis, David Zwirner Gallery, until17 November

Following the gallery's much talked about exhibition in New York, this is the first presentation of Noah Davis' brief but expansive career in the UK. The exhibition highlights both parts of Davis’s oeuvre through a group of his most enduring paintings as well as models, artworks, and archival materials that tell the story of the Underground Museum.

Noah Davis Mary Jane 2008 (detail)

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

African art fair 1-54 returns to Somerset House for its 2021 London edition (Thursday 14-Sunday 17 October), and will present 48 international galleries representing a selection of the most cutting-edge African artists working today. The fair will be accompanied by 1-54 Forum, an extensive programme of artist talks, panels, screenings, performances and readings that will be curated by Dr Omar Kholeif, director of collections and senior curator at Sharjah Art Foundation, and will take place both online and at Somerset House.

Social Works II

Gagosian presents Social Works II, the sequel to the American chapter that was on view at the gallery in New York. Curated by Antwaun Sargent, Social Works II foregrounds artists from the African diaspora and their insights into the relationship between space – personal, public, institutional, and psychic – and social and artistic practice.

The Factory Project

The Factory Project is an independent exhibition that has been scheduled to take place during London’s Frieze week. It has been initiated to support emerging artists and curators and is presented as a multi-disciplinary survey project. This exhibition will showcase more than 80 artists in 67,000 square feet of space.

Mark Rothko at Pace Gallery, until Saturday 13 November

For the opening of its new London gallery located on Hanover Square, Pace is presenting two pivotal works by Mark Rothko: his paintings on paper from the late 1960s are displayed across two gallery spaces.

Hervé Télémaque: A hopscotch of the mind at the Serpentine Gallery

Since the late 1950s, Hervé Télémaque has created an expansive body of work with a unique and playful visual vocabulary, featuring abstract gestures, cartoon-like imagery, and mixed media compositions. Through paintings, drawings, collages, objects and assemblages, he brings together striking combinations of historical and literary references with those of consumer and popular culture.

And also

MatchesFashion continues its partnership with global art fair Frieze, with a series of installations throughout Frieze London and Frieze Masters featuring sculptures by floral artist Wagner alongside a video, stills and mannequins celebrating the collaborative worlds of art and fashion. Some inspiring talks will be taking place at 5 Carlos Place and you can reserve your seat here.
On our radar, Phoebe Saatchi Yates and Arthur Yates and artist Benjamin Spiers for lunch and conversation to learn from the experts on how to start an art collection.