On 14 October, the global art world turned its attention to London for Frieze Week, the annual contemporary art fair, attracting artists, collectors, curators and gallery owners from around the world. This year, Frieze brought together over 170 galleries from around 40 countries. Across central London, more than eight fairs, hundreds of exhibitions and contemporary art auctions totalling £226.9m, up 29.4 per cent on the previous year, cemented Frieze’s position as a major international art event.
At the heart of the week was Frieze London in Regent’s Park, showcasing painting, photography, sculpture, and experimental installations. Highlights included Wolfgang Tillmans, Zanele Muholi, and Tracey Emin, alongside artists such as Jayeeta Chatterjee, whose woodcut prints on recycled saris combine everyday life with traditional Bengali embroidery, and Ken Nwadiogbu, whose vivid paintings explore identity and cultural heritage. But Frieze is as much a social and commercial event as an artistic one.
With collectors, celebrities, designers, and fashion-conscious visitors moving between the booths, the people looking at the art can sometimes attract as much attention as the art itself. The Guardian described Frieze London as “the Selfridges of art,” suggesting its endless gallery booths can feel more like a luxury department store than an inspiring artistic space.
Across Regent’s Park, Frieze Masters offers a contrasting experience, combining historical works with established artists. Japanese printmaker Shiko Munakata’s expressive woodblock prints blend Buddhist symbolism with everyday life, while René Magritte’s L’Idée fixe (c.1928-29) transforms similar imagery into something strange and unsettling.
Frieze undoubtedly encourages artistic discovery and international exchange. But behind the outfits, spectacle and multimillion-pound sales lies a bigger question: are visitors there primarily to experience art, to buy it, or to be seen alongside it? As The Guardian suggests, the critic John Berger, who viewed commodified art as “playthings of western capitalism,” might have looked at Frieze and simply said: “Told you so.”
Photo by Salman Sidheek on Unsplash
