“Must Do, Must See”
The Press on Frieze Masters and Frieze London
Since
its founding in 2003, Frieze London has grown to become what is
probably the most important fair for contemporary art worldwide.
Deutsche Bank has cooperated with the London fair since 2004. To mark
its 10th anniversary, the art fair is now on a mission to expand:
Following Frieze New York, it is currently launching Frieze Masters,
which shows art from antiquity to the 20th century from a contemporary
perspective. The press was enthusiastic about the premiere of the new
fair.
“Among the sort of people who know their Richters from
their Rauschenbergs, you rarely hear the word “October” mentioned any
more. For them the calendar runs “August, September, Frieze, November”
in salute to the world’s hottest contemporary art fair which, in
mid-October each year, pitches its pavilion in Regent’s Park in
London.“ This is how the London Times sums up the status of the Frieze
in the international art scene. It is an art fair which, in the words
of the FAZ, “in the tenth year of its existence hasn’t lost any of its
original dynamism.” The Frieze “has been a nonnegotiable must-do,
must-see for art world insiders since it opened in 2003,” writes the
New York Times. “But a decade on, it still seems to have a coolness
cachet that is all its own.”
In addition to the 10th
anniversary, the press reports focused on the premiere of Frieze
Masters: “a promising debut” (Artinfo), “excellent fair of old and new
art” (Guardian), “the presence of old art ennobles the more recent”
(Monopol), “an intriguing juxtaposition of styles and aesthetics” (New
York Times), “the finest non-contemporary art fair you'll find in the
country” (Arts Desk), “from Alaskan dance masks to Zurbaran, the range
is dizzying” (The Independent) – the media response to the Frieze
Masters was extremely positive. In a preliminary report in the New York
Times, Victoria Siddall, the director of the Frieze Masters, explains
the fair’s concept: “Frieze has always been known for the most
contemporary of the contemporary, but we now want to bring that modern
feel to the world of the historic art fair.”
In the view of
the FAZ, Frieze Masters lives up to this claim completely: “The
exciting thing about this trade fair (…) is how the participants met
this challenge: both in the selection of goods tailored to a modern
view and in the presentation.” In addition, the newspaper praises “the
confidently restrained tent that the New York architect Annabelle
Selldorf designed for some one hundred international exhibitors.” For
taz, the atmosphere is reminiscent of the “spacious apartment of a cool
Parisian collector couple.” Welt am Sonntag describes it as “elegantly
designed tent architecture.” “Art created before the year 2000 can
breath and unfold here,” is the assessment of Art. Artinfo has a
similar opinion: “The fair is so spacious, one could drive a Rolls
Royce down the widely proportioned, naturally lit aisles.”
Like
many other newspapers, Handelsblatt was particularly enthusiastic about
the booth of Helly Nahmad, who showed Calder Mobiles and Miro paintings
accompanied by a cool jazz soundtrack. “The London gallery owner and
scion achieved a feat that only few have managed: presenting
masterpieces in an outstanding solo exhibition and isolate them from
the bustle of the fair.” The San Francisco Chronicle reported that on
the very first day Pablo Picasso’s Homme et Femme au Bouquet (1970)
sold for 8.5 million dollars. “Dealers and visitors agree,” writes
Tagesspiegel, “that with its calm and wide hallways Frieze Masters is
the best new trade fair for years and has made the London autumn more
exciting than ever before.” And Artlyst declares: “It was a stroke of
brilliance to extend the fair into the lucrative masters market, as it
has now clearly put London back on the map as the leading centre of the
art-world.” Frieze Masters and Frieze London welcomed in the region of
83,000 international visitors.
In contrast to the dignified
atmosphere of Frieze Masters, Frieze London, as the fair for
contemporary art is now called, was even more turbulent than it had
been in the last nine years: “Never was the onslaught on the senses as
great,” writes Handelsblatt. “Never was the fair tent with its 170
booths so lively. Never were the aisles so crowded, the art hung so
densely and colorfully. The walk through the entrance tunnel with a
psychedelic slipper pattern created by Thomas Bayrle is a
claustrophobic experience.” Due to the omnipresence of the Frankfurt
artist, who provided one of the most spectacular contributions to this
year’s documenta and who is represented with numerous works in the
Deutsche Bank Collection, the Welt describes the Frieze as a “Thomas
Bayrle festival.”
At “London’s hippest art fair” (ORF), “works
are being sold as though there was no worldwide financial crisis”
(Art). Artlyst reports that “The fair recorded record attendance
figures with people queuing for up to two hours to get a last peek at
London's biggest and best art fair.” In the tents, the New York Times
discovered “few showoff behemoth installations in favor of paintings,
prints and sculptures on a more domestic scale.” And the Telegraph
writes: “Bombast is out, and art on a domestic, thoughtful scale is
in.” The Huffington Post registered an “upbeat mood,” and Artinfo saw
“booths of a remarkable quality.” The FAZ sums up its impressions of
the fair as follows: “With a keen sense of the zeitgeist and of clever
packaging (…) the organizers shave succeeded in offering Frieze Art
Fairs as one big performance in which everyone who is anyone in the art
scene wants to participate and which provides fresh impetus going far
beyond Regent’s Park.”
|
|
