I have a love/hate relationship with Frieze Art Fairs. They can be exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure. This year was no different. Part of the fun is the people watching and there were significantly fewer botoxed women in impossible stilettos which was disappointing. However (and maybe related?) there was also less loud shouty conceptual art, which is a total blessing in my view.
I am always drawn to painting in large exhibitions and fairs and there was certainly plenty of that at both Frieze London and Frieze Masters this year. Portraiture seems to be my thing at the moment and I fell in love with the beautiful , colourful and timeless paintings by Claire Tabouret which were shown at several galleries. Her work intrigues with a sense of identities masked or frozen in time. My abiding love for the paintings of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye was also satisfied by a number of her paintings around Frieze London. If you are also a fan, don’t miss her beautiful show at Corvi-Mora this autumn.
Other stands to look out for include a lovely tribute to Joyce Pensato, who died earlier this year, at Lisson Gallery.
Frieze Masters focuses on pre-contemporary art, from antiquities to modern, including the last remaining Botticelli portrait in private hands outside Italy. I particularly enjoyed the focus on Michael Craig-Martin at Cristea Roberts, and The Gallery of Everything’s display of art by artists who felt their creativity was ‘spiritual’, including Madge Gill who was led by her spirit-guide to produce meticulous drawings and textiles.
Frieze London and Frieze Masters are held at Regents Park. They are open from today until Sunday 6th October.