frieze london: highlights from this year's monumental art event

frieze london — now in its 14th edition — is taking over regent’s park from october 6-9 with more than 100 of the world’s leading galleries. presenting ambitious solo and themed shows across the fair’s main section, the international roster of institutions present a vast scope of sculptural, installation, mixed media and live performance works from today’s most significant creative forces. hosted within an interior structure conceived by universal design studio — the architectural branch of barber & osgerby — the fair provides connoisseurs, collectors and the general public with a tableau of contemporary creativity.

the 2016 entryway for frieze london by universal design studio — the architectural branch of barber & osgerby

highlights from this year’s fair include an immersive light installation by james turrell, a vibrant sculptural piece by philippe parreno, and hauser & wirth gallery’s uncanny assembly of an artist studio. whether the theme be ‘virtual reality’ or ‘reality reconsidered’, designboom takes a look at some of the not-to-miss booths at this year’s frieze london.

a look inside the booth organization at this edition of frieze london

hauser & wirth presents ‘l’atelier d’artistes’, a tongue-in-cheek study of the museological practice of reconstructing artist studios, and the tendency to exploit creative license in the process. the tableau at frieze london brings together the work of many creatives, each work bearing the distinct mark of each artist’s practice, but unified by a muted color palette and use of raw materials. the project invites viewers to question the purpose of reconstruction and highlights the role of ‘staging’ in how art is typically viewed.

hauser & wirth presents ‘l’atelier d’artistes’, bringing together the work of numerous creatives
image courtesy of hauser & wirth gallery

‘l’atelier d’artistes’ forms a tongue-in-cheek study of the museological practice of reconstructing artist studios
image courtesy of hauser & wirth gallery

pilar corrias gallery presents a two-person installation comprising artists philippe parreno and shahzia sikander. the booth features sikander’s digitally animated ‘singing suns’ installation on the back wall, displaying a sequence of dynamic and ever-changing circular graphics. above, parreno’s ‘speech bubbles (transparent orange)’ hovers overhead, looking down on a blue carpet also selected by the artist.

‘speech bubbles (transparent orange)’ by philippe parreno & ‘singing suns’ by shahzia sikander
image courtesy of pilar corrias gallery

 

A video posted by @artnet on Oct 4, 2016 at 8:44am PDT

the digitally animated ‘singing suns’ installation by artist shahzia sikander

marianne boesky gallery presents an all-white experience by belgian artist hans op de beeck. a fictional library lined with books, bottles, fruits, flowers and eclectic ephemera is made in white plaster, appearing as an immersive and inclusive space. 

hans op de beeck’s installation for marianne boesky gallery
image by aurelie julien / @aureliejuliencollectibledesign

seventeen gallery presents a solo booth by jon rafman comprised of a large sculptural installation with a virtual reality component. visitors are invited to sit on ‘trans dimensional serpent’ — a scaly, snaking piece that weaves through the booth — as they venture on a digital journey to a magical and mythical world. wearing oculus rift headsets, fairgoers are lining up to experience the supernatural and immersive atmosphere generated by the participatory piece. 

the large sculptural installation includes a virtual reality component
photograph by linda nylind, courtesy of linda nylind/frieze

seventeen gallery presents a solo booth by jon rafman
photograph by linda nylind, courtesy of linda nylind/frieze

canada gallery is presenting a sculptural installation by los angeles-based artist samara golden, whose handmade works of domestic interiors explore what she calls the ‘sixth dimension’. golden interprets this theme at the canada gallery booth as a series of dining tables placed vertically against the wall. elaborate meals, complete with decorative cakes and colorful fruit, transport viewers to an alternate reality. 

canada gallery presents a sculptural work by samara golden
image courtesy of canada gallery

elaborate meals, complete with decorative cakes and colorful fruit, transport viewers to an alternate reality
image courtesy of canada gallery

as part of new york-based P.P.O.W gallery’s display is portia munson’s ‘pink project table’, an installation comprising thousands of pink plastic objects organized on a large table. a visual overload of items — all intended to appeal to women and girls — highlights the idea that ‘there is no aspect of women’s bodies or identities that has not been colonized’. included in the tableau are hair clips, fake fingernails, combs, cleaning products, tampon applicators, and kitchen tools, as a whole revealing the ‘mark of femininity’.

P.P.O.W gallery’s display of artist portia munson’s ‘pink project table’
photograph by linda nylind, courtesy of linda nylind/frieze

included in the tableau are hair clips, fake fingernails, combs, and cleaning products
photograph by linda nylind, courtesy of linda nylind/frieze

arcadia missa gallery presents a sculptural work by artist jesse darling titled ‘march of the valedictorians’. nine red plastic chairs have been warped and distorted beyond their normal proportions, and stand on long stilted legs that tower high above visitors to the booth. the installation is presented as part of the ‘focus’ section at frieze london, advised by jacob proctor and fabian schöneich, which features 37 galleries all under 12 years of age.

jesse darling’s ‘march of the valedictorians’ for arcadia missa gallery at frieze london

among the presentation by pace gallery are several pieces by japanese art collective teamlab. on view is ‘flowers and people – dark’ — a neither prerecorded animation nor loop. the artwork is rendered in real time by a computer program. the interaction between the viewer and the installation brings about continuous changes in the artwork, where previous visual states can never be replicated, and will never reoccur. flower buds grow and blossom before their petals begin to wither and eventually fade away — the cycle of growth and decay repeats itself endlessly. 

‘flowers and people – dark’ is presented at frieze london
see more about the project on designboom here

‘flowers and people – dark’
video courtesy of TEAMLABNET

at the booth of kayne griffin corcoran is a james turrell piece from his transitional light series. the work shifts over a two-and-a-half-hour time period, sweeping through thousands of different colors. vivid combinations of hues seep into and against each other as they slowly evolve throughout the duration of the artwork’s sequence, moving so subtly that it is barely perceptible to the eye.

a james turrell installation from his transitional light series at frieze london
image courtesy of kayne griffin corcoran gallery

in an international collaboration between limoncello gallery in london and taro nasu gallery in tokyo, artist ryan gander presents a special curatorial project entitled ‘auto-abstraction’, bringing together established and emerging artists from the galleries’ programs.

ryan gander’s curatorial project entitled ‘auto-abstraction’
image courtesy of limoncello gallery

details from the limoncello X taro nasu booth at frieze london 
image courtesy of limoncello gallery

coinciding with frieze, galleries across london are opening their doors to present monumental exhibitions and installations.

antony gormley presents the ‘fit’ exhibition in bermondsey, london, marking his 10th show for white cube gallery. configured into a labyrinth with 15 chambers, visitors will be faced with a choice of passage through different sized and uniquely lit spaces, holding dramatic encounters in each one.

designboom spoke exclusively with antony gormley at the exhibition, where he discussed the thinking behind the show, his continuing partnership with white cube gallery, and the overall themes imbued in his sculptural work.

sleeping field, 2016, © antony gormley | photograph © stephen white, london
see more about the exhibition on designboom here

bruce nauman’s landmark installation ‘natural light, blue light room’ is at blain|southern gallery in london, marking its first showing since its initial presentation in 1971. the exhibition, running from now until november 12th, 2016, serves a petri dish within which multiple gradients of two warring light sources clash, combine and confuse. a figurehead of the minimal aesthetic, the installation is representative of the gradual desertion of tangible ‘art objects’ of the time, and the journey towards conceptual art and contemporary performance art.  

bruce nauman’s ‘natural light, blue light room’ at blain|southern gallery in london 
image © bruce nauman 2016 | photo by peter mallet
see more about the installation on designboom here