As the art world copes with what feels like an abbreviated summer break and a crowded fall calendar looming, Frieze announced details for its upcoming London fairs, coming up on October 9-12 in The Regent’s Park. The 2024 Frieze fair in London will feature more than 160 galleries from forty-three countries, including some of the leading spaces in London’s gallery scene, with established names like Stephen Friedman Gallery, Alison Jacques, Lisson Gallery, Victoria Miro, Modern Art, White Cube and Thomas Dane Gallery plus spaces devoted to pioneering research on the latest contemporary art expressions, including Arcadia Missa, Carlos/Ishikawa, Leopold Thun’s Emalin and Maureen Paley. Among the international galleries returning to Frieze London are Gagosian, Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Gallery Hyundai, Tina Kim Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, Pace Gallery, Perrotin, Almine Rech, Thaddaeus Ropac, Esther Schipper, Sprüth Magers and David Zwirner.
What to expect at Frieze London 2024
Frieze London’s newly announced big change is the fresh floorplan by design practice A Studio Between. The new layout will give prominence to the fair’s curated sections, placing more emphasis on artists and discoveries.
Among those sections, “Focus” will feature thirty-four solo and dual presentations from artists and galleries spanning five continents. In the list of participating galleries and artists, we find that 56 Henry (New York) showcases powerful paintings by Jo Messer; El Apartamento (Havana, Madrid) brings Julia Fuentesal; Madragoa (Lisbon) takes the work of Jaime Welsh; and Gallery Vacancy (Shanghai) the work of Korean artist Sun Woo, among others. Meant to offer a platform especially to the young gallery community, the section is presented this year in collaboration with the brand Stone Island, which will help fund the participation of these emerging galleries.
Another interesting curated selection that will return this year is “Artist-to-artist,” which mounts six solo presentations chosen by world-renowned artists. This year’s edition will feature Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom, chosen by Glenn Ligon (Champ Lacombe, Biarritz); Rob Davis, selected by Rashid Johnson (Broadway, New York); Nengi Omuku selected by Yinka Shonibare (Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London); Massinissa Selmani chosen by Zineb Sedira (Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis); Magda Stawarska chosen by Lubaina Himid (Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, London); and Peter Uka chosen by Hurvin Anderson (Mariane Ibrahim, Chicago, Paris, Mexico City).
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Finally, connecting material and some narratives that have become increasingly present in the contemporary art scene in recent years, Frieeze created a new themed section, “Smoke,” curated by Pablo José Ramírez (Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles) and dedicated to ceramic works that explore diasporic and Indigenous histories. The section draws its title from El Animal Humo (the Smoke Animal), Humberto Ak’abal’s story of an enigmatic creature made of smoke that emanates from the soil as a sublime and disturbing manifestation of nature. Featured artists include Manuel Chavajay (Pedro Cera, Madrid, Lisbon), Lucía Pizzani (Cecilia Brunson Projects, London), Christine Howard Sandoval (parrasch heijnen, Los Angeles), Ayla Tavares (Galeria Athena, Rio De Janeiro and Hatch, Paris) and Linda Vallejo (parrasch heijnen, Los Angeles), who explore counter-archaeology, the continuum of ancestry and how materials bear witness to diasporic movements.
What to expect at Frieze Masters 2024
This year’s Frieze Masters will feature 130 galleries from twenty-six countries mounting booths focusing on modern and classic masterpieces. Led by Nathan Clements-Gillespie, the fair will similarly try to be more artist-centered, with an expanded “Studio” section and a redefined floor plan designed to encourage creative connections across art history.
The fair will present long-time exhibitors such as Galerie Chenel, Richard Green, Hauser & Wirth, Lehmann Maupin, Skarstedt and Axel Vervoordt, as well as leading Korean dealers such as Arario Gallery, Gana Art, Hakgojae Gallery and Johyun Gallery. This year, there’s a solid contingent of galleries dealing in ancient Asian art on the roster including Gisèle Croës s.a, Rasti Fine Art, Carlton Rochell Asian Art, Rossi & Rossi, Tenzing Asian Art and Thomsen Gallery. First-time participants include Afridi (London), Bijl-Van Urk Masterpaintings (Alkmaar), Galatea (Salvador, São Paolo), Galerie Léage (Paris), Tilton Gallery (New York) and Trias Art Experts (Munich).
In terms of thematic sections, Frieze Masters will continue with the “Studio” section curated by British art historian and curator Sheena Wagstaff. This section focuses on practices that illuminate the interconnections between our civilization’s past and future. The line-up includes Isabella Ducrot, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Shirazeh Houshiary and Doris Salcedo
The other curated section, “Spotlight,” is curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and previously senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas. The section will focus on solo presentations by 20th-century artists, particularly overlooked artists and lesser-known works by established figures from the 1950s to the 1970s. Featured artists include Judy Chicago, Kulim Kim, Balraj Khanna, Donald Locke, Nabil Nahas, Nil Yalter and more.
Must-see Frieze Week shows
During Frieze Week in October, the vibrant London art scene will showcase a series of major institutional exhibitions that you’ll want to make sure to put on your art week itinerary. Those include: “Francis Bacon: Human Presenc” at the National Portrait Gallery; Lygia Clark and Sonia Boyce at Whitechapel Gallery; Michael Craig-Martin at the Royal Academy of Arts; “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” at the National Gallery London; “Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit” and the majestic Mire Lee’s Turbine Hall Commission at Tate Modern; Hew Locke at the British Museum and “Haegue Yang: Leap Year” at the Hayward Gallery.
A complete list of exhibitors and more information about 2024 programming can be found on the fair’s website.