FRIEZE LONDON - TOP DESTINATIONS

Celebrating its 12th year, Frieze Art Fair London reopens 15th October at Regent’s Park with a roster of 162 galleries from across the globe. Too many galleries and not enough time? At quick glance, here’s my top destinations not to miss!

 

Gagosian Gallery

This originally 80’s LA favourite that once exhibited a young Jean-Michel Basquiat and Eric Fischl now has three galleries in NYC and several internationally. Regardless of the legendary legal squabbles, Larry Gagosian is still an art world tour de force. You will find here anything from Anselm Kiefer to Giacometti and Carsten Holler.

Carsten Holler - Dice

Gallery 303

Two words - Stephen Shore. This talented self-taught photographer is best known for his pioneering use of colour and turning ordinary commonplace scenes into captivating images. Initially a street photographer praised by Edward Steichen (one of my major influences) Shore wandered into Warhol’s Factory at the age of 17 and…the rest is history, as they say.

Blum & Poe

This LA gallery represents prosopagnosic photorealist Chuck Close, as well as the irreverent UK Post-punk feminist “Linder” Sterling.

Tanya Bonakdar

Boasting 30 internationally acclaimed artists, this Chelsea Manhattan gallery represents Danish artist, Olafur Eliasson.  You may remember him for creating those four man-made waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge some years back.

Sadie Coles HQ

Any Brits remember that 70’s club with fish tanks on the ceiling? No? The bald guy with the Rolls? Mick Jagger, Hendrix or The Four Tops? Sex, drugs, prostitution? Joan Collins under pink lighting doing the Hustle? I know, you can’t un-see that. Many incarnations later ‘La Valbonne’ now houses Sadie Coles HQ. Since the late 90’s Sadie Coles has had a reputation for exhibiting some of the best of the Young British Artists including Sarah Lucas. Her roster now includes Rhode Island School of Design’s Ryan Sullivan and several other internationally known American artists; definitely add this one to your list.

"La Valbonne"

                    

Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin

Known for its tumultuous art scene of late, at least with regards to the establishment of a “city-run” arts festival, Berlin continues to be a popular relocation point for international galleries, as well as a hub for post 60’s era art. This gallery represents some major names – from the humble Julian “I’m the closest thing to Picasso you’ll see in this f*****g life” Schnabel… to our own punk rock cover king, Raymond Pettibon.

"Exile" 1980 - Julian Schnabel

"Station to Station - Raymond Pettibon

Massimo De Carlo’s

roster includes the Swiss Fluxus performance artist, John Armleder, although I intend he will deny my use of the “label.”  Of additional note is the controversial American performance/installation artist, Chris Burden.  No one can make recklessness seem as much fun as Chris! (I know he won’t deny that statement).

Carl Freedman Gallery

Put this one on your agenda.  Located in Shoreditch – Already infamous for Stewart Home (the district not the gallery) now famous for former garage punk musician/poet Billy Childish’s 2013 solo show.  Don’t underestimate this small gallery – Freedman has a long history of curating some remarkable exhibits long before this gallery existed.

Annet Gelink Gallery

Dutch street photographer and filmmaker Ed Van Der Elsken, who worked under Henri Cartier-Bresson is represented at this contemporary art gem.

Marian Goodman Gallery

So much here to see.  Conceptual art-appropriator, John Baldessari…Arte Povera’s Giovanni Anselmo…experimental filmmaker Chantal Akerman…French sculptor/filmmaker Christian Boltanski and China’s premiere cinematographer, Yang Fudong are just a few of the artists represented.


“I remember the years just after the war, when anti-Semitism was still strong in France, ‘feeling… different from the others’. I fell into such a state of withdrawal that at age eleven I not only had no friends and felt useless, but I quit school, too”. – Christian Boltanski

 Monument Odessa - Christian Boltanski

Alison Jacques Gallery

exhibits the work of surrealist Dorothea Tanning (wife of fellow surrealist, Max Ernst) as well as photographers Dan Fischer and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Lehmann Maupin

Metro Pictures director David Maupin opened this NY gallery with Rachel Lehmann back in the 90’s and is noted for first NYC solo exhibits for such artists as Tracey Emin, Turkish filmmaker, Kutlug Ataman and Korean installation artist Do-ho Suh.

Mai 36 Galerie

From John Baldessari to master photographers Luigi Ghirri and Peter Hujar, to Lawrence Weiner – one of the founders of conceptual art, there's lots of great art at this Swiss gallery. Also of note, Raul Cordero’s filmic paintings.

"David Wojnarowicz" - Photo by Peter Hujar

Pace Gallery

If you are not familiar with the Pace galleries, why are you reading my blog!

Timothy Taylor Gallery

If you see nothing else, don’t miss the brilliantly tragic Diane Arbus’ work at this gallery.

White Cube  

If you are not familiar with White Cube, why are you reading my blog!

David Zwirner 

Their roster includes Jeff Koons (and I assume all subordinate Koons’) and if you’re a fan of minimalism, Donald Judd.  No doubt David has an eye for great art but his philanthropic activities including “Artists for Haiti,” as well as benefits for AIDS research and  9/11 victims are especially commendable.

Sprueth Magers

With dual galleries in London and Berlin, Sprueth Magers represents a range of talent from these female art world giants – Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman to YBA’s Gary Hume, to Kenneth Anger, Ed Ruscha and 70’s German synthpop artists Kraftwerk.  Also notice the very strange and wonderful drawings of Marcel Van Eeden.

Photograph by Cindy Sherman

Last but not least, at the forefront of the 80’s-90’s Young British Artists collaborative and before there was White Cube, American-born gallery owner and arts patron, Maureen Paley opened her Bethnal Green gallery in 1984.  As a leading female figure in the contemporary art world for over 30 years, when asked why so many women have been successful in contemporary art dealing she replied,

“Art is one of the last unregulated markets.  There are no male gatekeepers and you are not confined to traditional alpha-male values.  That makes it very attractive to a certain type of woman with a strong personality who wouldn’t fit into a cookie-cutter working environment, like investment banking.”

Frieze London only lasts 4 days and at up to  £50 for just one of those days, the tickets aren’t cheap. Hey, I’m not pandering to the rich – besides, I’m into ‘figurative’ noir – I just had to find some way to make use of all those years of ‘Art in America’ subscriptions!  Anyways – don’t take my word for it…go see things for yourself!
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You cannot create experience, you must undergo it. – Albert Camus

Albert Camus - Photograph by Henri Cartier Bresson