Art guide
Yes, we know fashion week just ended, but art, much like fashion, never sleeps. It’s officially Frieze London once again and while it is a much more condensed affair compared to fashion week, it is an equally as major moment on the cultural calendar. But you don’t have to worry about which exhibitions to go to or what events you need to be seen at, we’ve got you all covered with our Frieze guide.
George Rouy’s debut solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth
Despite having only just turned 30, George Rouy has already established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary British painting. His debut solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth has opened just in time for Frieze showcasing a whole new body of work continuing Rouy’s inquiry into collective mass, multiplicity and movement.
Titled The Bleed, Part I, it is the first chapter is a dual show that will continue with Part II in Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles in February 2025.
George Rouy: The Bleed, Part I is on display at Hauser & Wirth London until December 21st
George Rouy, Formless Being, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Hannah Barry Gallery.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Now in its twelve edition, the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Somerset House for Frieze. This year’s fair features over 60 international exhibitors and over 160 established and emerging artists from the continent and its diaspora.
This edition will also be accompanied by an exciting programme, which includes a variety of special projects including a giant Zoubida chess board by Sophia Kacimi, as well as a courtyard commission by British-Nigerian artist Slawn who will take over the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court of Somerset House with an installation of two iconic life-sized London double-decker buses.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair takes place at Somerset House from the 10th to 13th of October
Oumar Ka, Untitled (Two Women with Thatched Roof House), 1959-68. Courtesy of Axis Gallery & the Oumar Ka Estate.
Mire Lee’s Hyundai Commission at the Turbine Hall
Always a major moment on London’s art calendar, the latest Turbine Hall Hyundai Commission is being officially launched on 9th October. South Korean artist Mire Lee has reimagined the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall as an industrial womb. Reflecting on the building’s former life as a power station, Lee populates the Turbine Hall with ‘skins’, fabric sculptures that hang from the ceiling on metal chains, envisioning the vast room as a living factory.
Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound is on display at the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern until March 16th
Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound , Installation View, Photo © Tate (Lucy Green)
Memories of the Future, curated by 16Arlington’s Marco Capaldo
Taking place in Frieze’s own gallery space on Cork Street, Memories of the Future is the debut curatorial effort from Marco Capaldo, better known round these parts as the creative director of 16Arlington. Featuring works from John Giorno, Andy Warhol, Jesse Pollock and Remi Ajani, Capaldo has always had one foot in the art world (for 16Arlington’s SS25 show, he commissioned sculptural works by Jesse Pollock, one of which appears in this exhibition). Now in collaboration with Thibault Geffrin of London gallery Almine Rech, Capaldo enters into the art world.
Memories of the Future runs at Frieze, No. 9 Cork Street until October 19th
Memories of the Future, an exhibition curated by Marco Capaldo. Courtesy of Almine Rech.
Mount Street Neighbourhood Arts Festival
The inaugural Mount Street Neighbourhood Arts Festival is taking place between the 7th and 12th of October. Located in the middle of Mayfair, there will be a whole host of pop-ups and talks, such as the Sarabande Foundation’s House of Bandits at 5 Carlos Place, which will include a diverse line-up of artists across fashion, jewellery, photography, painting and sculpture. It will also coincide with the launch of a new Mount Street Neighbourhood campaign, ‘Meet the Neighbours’ shot by photographer Trisha Ward.
The Mount Street Neighbourhood Arts Festival will run 7th – 12th October.
Loewe Foundation x Studio Voltaire
In celebration of their 30th Anniversary, Studio Voltaire has collaborated with Loewe just in time for Frieze. A series of limited-edition leather works by Alvaro Barrington, Anthea Hamilton, Sheila Hicks, Sanya Kantarovsky and Ron Nagle are being exhibited at Casa Loewe on New Bond Street, with proceeds from their sale going directly to Studio Voltaire.
Visit the tents!
Of course, the centrepieces of Frieze are the fairs in Regent’s Park – Frieze London and Frieze Masters. Frieze London will feature more than 160 galleries from 43 countries, from huge names like Gagosian and David Zwirner to independent galleries such as Rose Easton and Harlesden High Street. Frieze Masters, which bridges the link between the past and the present, displays works from before 2000 and serves as a separate, but linked, fair.
Tickets for the Frieze fairs are available here.
Frieze London 2023.
Photo Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.