London During Frieze
Mark Leckey at Turner Contemporary
Located in a coastal town, Margate, 1h outside London, Turner Contemporary is - in my opinion - one of the most exciting contemporary art museums in the UK at the moment. Under the leadership of its new Director, Clarrie Wallis, (ex-Tate colleague), they have been punching above their weight with global quality exhibitions and impactful education programmes despite the budgetary cuts. I look forward to the opening of Mark Leckey’s show on Saturday 7th October. His multidisciplinary practice, exploring the relationship between popular culture and technology, couldn’t be more timely.
Courtesy of gallery
EAST LONDON
Traditionally Sunday is the East London day, where I am based. There are a few galleries I usually stop by, such as the Approach (conveniently located above a pub), this season showing Siân Newlove-Drew; legendary Maureen Paley, showing Eduardo Sarabia; and this year in particular, I am curious to see Gagosian’s new space - Gagosian Open - presenting early works by Christo in dialogue with a Grade II–listed Georgian house in London’s East End. Not to be missed are also a couple of museum shows: Nicole Eisenman at Whitechapel Gallery and Benoît Piéron at Chisenhale Gallery.
Courtesy of the gallery
And an absolute hidden gem in this part of town is a unique urban sculpture park - The Line - set up and led by the amazing Megan Piper. It’s a sort of initiative I love - a non-profit working closely with the government, individual patrons and corporate sponsors to commission large-scale installations and place them in the designated area of town, thus creating an artistic trail. Amongst artists currently on view are Antony Gormely, Gary Hume and more.
Courtesy of The Line
WEST & SOUTH LONDON
For Londoners, Frieze week officially begins with the unveiling of the new large-scale Turbine Hall commission, this year by El Anatsui. At Tate Modern, there is also the long-anticipated Philip Guston show. In the heart of the city, the Marina Abramovich exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts is a must. My personal favourite is a group exhibition - ‘Story, Place’ - at NO.9 Cork Street (Frieze Art Fair permanent gallery space) curated by the talented Jenn Ellis who explores notions of ancestry, land and materiality. Avery Singer at Hauser & Wirth, Julie Mehretu and Christian Marclay at White Cube, and Sheila Hicks at Alison Jacques are also on my shortlist from among numerous blue-chip gallery shows.
Courtesy of the gallery
Outset, a unique Contemporary Art Fund which, over the years, enabled several pioneering philanthropic initiatives, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. Salon ITER, an exciting new initiative bridging East and West, will be launching concurrently with the Liu Ye exhibition at David Zwirner. Their ambition is to bring together various communities and inspire international partnerships as well as business opportunities through unique cultural programmes and shared learning. Lisson Gallery - an intrinsically London entity which attracts the coolest crowd this time of the year - will host a party at Chiltern Firehouse. Much fun is to take place at the Italian Embassy too - while it's slightly under the radar, cool Italians in the city gather there and enjoy the finger food in style. Don’t miss their Parmigiano cheese, arancini balls and negronis. It’s where the old and new blend, offering a great opportunity to catch up with friends and fellow art world professionals, such as curator Flavia Friegeri, Alfredo Cramerotti from Mostyn and Andrea Lissoni from Hause der Kunst.
BUSINESS OF ART FT CONFERENCE
Location: 180 Strand, London
The week will start on a somewhat serious note, with the ‘Bussiness of Art’ FT conference addressing market shifts and future growth. Amongst several philanthropic initiatives I have helped set up or am currently involved in is the Arts Institutions of the 21st Century Foundation, where I act as a Co-Chair of Trustees. We support research on how the meaning, role and function of art institutions is changing and we’ve been invited to contribute to the panel discussion on the impact of new technologies on the art world. The building where the conference is talking place, is also home to one of the most unique (and my personal favourite) cultural centres in the UK: 180 The Strand. At its core is 180 Studios, a network of production and exhibition spaces that showcases cutting edge new media and immersive projects, such as Synchronicity.
Courtesy of 180 Strand
COLLECTING WITH PURPOSE
Location: Christie’s, King Street, London
This year, I have joined forces with Georgia and Liza from CURA Art to further develop their signature course ‘21st Century Collecting’, in partnership with Christie’s Education. Throughout the Frieze week, we will lead a group of collectors-students from Christie’s Education New York to various openings, fairs, the studio of David Batchelor and Valeria Napoleone’s house.
Courtesy of David Batchelor
Valeria is a dear friend and a seasoned collector with a pioneering vision to build a collection of works by female artists only. While this might have become a more common notion recently, she developed direct relationships with female artists and supported their studios directly from the 1990s onwards. Her taste and creativity are one of a kind, and stepping into her house is truly otherworldly. Collecting art in the 21st century encompasses much more than acquiring precious objects. The course therefore explores the art world as a complex ecosystem and within it, the multifaceted role of a collector today. Amongst many interesting topics covered in the October sessions, I’ll dive into the notion of philanthropy in relation to nuanced dynamics between the artist community, the institutions and collectors.
FRIEZE LONDON & MASTERS
Location: The Regent’s Park, London
Browsing through the contemporary art section of Frieze can be daunting so I like to compare notes with a dear friend and established art advisor, Morgan Long, former Managing Director of FAG. I’ll be curious to see works by Paulina Olowska and Yto Barrada at the Pace booth. It’s Georg Baselitz’s year on the occasion of his 85th birthday so I anticipate some good material from White Cube and Thaddeus Ropac.
Courtesy of gallery
A roster of my favourite artists will be shown by Sprueth Magers - Sylvie Fleury, Jenny Holtzer, Anne Imhof, Cao Fei, Barbara Kruger and more, so this booth is a must! The Night Gallery’s booth will feature paintings by Tahnee Lonsdale, from whom we will also hear directly as part of the ‘21st Century Collecting’ course. There are a couple of solo booths that I am curious to check out: Barbara Chase-Riboud at Hauser & Wirth, and Van Hamos at Lisson Gallery. As for emerging artists, the Frieze Tate Fund, which I managed during my time at Tate, will be acquiring works directly from the fair for the national collection and I am curious to see who they pick this year. It’s a visionary and successful philanthropic initiative, a lifeline for museums and artists in that area. While Morgan is excited about Lyndsay Ingram’s booth at Frieze Masters - a unique edition of the Jazz series by Henri Matisse (hand-cut collages and penciled notations by the artists), paired up with The Rake’s Progress by David Hockney. In terms of contemporary artists, she is looking to see Clementine Keith Roach at Ben Hunter.
