Jenny
- Oct 19, 2021

Highlights from London's Frieze Week 2021

Have you ever participated in a marathon? I never have and to be quite frank, I have no intention of ever participating in one. However, this past week was London's busiest art week and I joined the frenzy by visiting all the art fairs and some of the many gallery exhibitions that took place all across the city. At the end of the five full days of running around to see art from one fair to the next, I felt so tired as if I had just completed a marathon. Despite the depletion of energy, I am very happy I got to go to all these fabulous events because now I get to share the art with you.

London Frieze Week begins with the opening of, yes you guessed it, Frieze Art Fair. Frieze is one of the most important and exclusive international art fairs in the world showcasing art from leading blue-chip galleries to more emerging galleries. Frieze Art Fair is separated into two different sections: Frieze London which houses contemporary art and Frieze Masters which ranges from antiquities to classic 20th-century art. Both are located in Regents Park in different tents. This fair attracts everyone from serious collectors to art enthusiasts who just go to experience the event. It is due to Frieze's magnetic pull of serious buyers, that satellite fairs, such as1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair and The Other Art Fair take place during the same week.

Frieze and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair together hosted 324 galleries. The Other Art Fair hosted over 100 independent artists all selling directly to collectors. So in total, my eyes physically scanned thousands of artworks all within a week and I am here to tell you which ones stood out to me. Here, you will discover artists from all parts of the world: from Latin America to Africa and beyond. Continue reading to find out who my top picks are.

FRIEZE LONDON

José Vera Matos (b. 1981, Peru)

Hand transcription of Edouard Glissant’s book, Poetics of Relation (2021)

Stylographs on cotton paper

42 x 60 cm

Price: $7,500 USD

Gallery Representation: 80M2 Livia Benavides based in Peru

Gabriel Rico (b. 1980, Mexico)

The second cause is meant to be an explanation of the first (Páramo, The reunion I), 2020

Cotton yarn on wooden board coated with beeswax 100 × 150.2 × 5.1 cm Editions 1, 2, 3 of 5 + 1AP

This work is part of a limited edition set.

Price: $16,000 USD

Gallery Representation: OMR based in Mexico

Vanessa da Silva (b.1976, Brazil)

Boca Rasgada (2021)

Acrylic compound, polystyrene, fiberglass, pigment, soft pastel

18 x 54 x 28 cm

Price: N/A

Gallery Representation: Instituto De Visión based in Colombia

FRIEZE MASTERS

Pedro Friedeberg (b. 1936, Italy)

When We Can't Get What We Love, We Must Love What We Have (1979)

Acrylic on museum board 92 x 92 cm

Price: $34,000 USD

Gallery Representation: Maia Contemporary based in Mexico

Carmen Herrera (b. 1915, Cuba)

Untitled (Havana Series #14), (1951)

Acrylic on canvas 61 × 96.5 cm

Price: > 250,000 GBP

Gallery Representation: Dickinson based in the USA & UK

1-54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR

Giovanna Swaby (b. 1991, Bahamas)

Another Side to Me Second Chapter 3, (2021)

Cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin

71.1 × 91.4 x 2.5 cm

Price:15,000 GBP

Gallery Representation: Claire Oliver Gallery based in the USA

Daniel Onguene (b. 1995, Camerron)

Life Hunter, 2021

Acrylic and posca on canvas 130 × 110 cm

Price: €4,700

Gallery Representation: Out of Africa Gallery based in Spain

Franco Ndiba (b.1983, Cameroon)

La lessiveuse aux allures (2021)

Acrylic on canvas 254 × 254 cm

Price: N/A

Gallery Representation: Jack Bell Gallery based in London

Lerato Motaung (b. 1991, South Africa)

Dwellings of the Divine Imagination, 2021

Oil on canvas 107 × 140.5 cm

Price: €5,000–€7,500

Gallery Representation: THK Gallery based in South Africa & Germany

Zéh Palito (b. 1991, Brazil)

Me You and Big Bee (2021)

Acrylic on Canvas

158.8 × 124 cm

Price: N/A

Gallery Representation: Luce Gallery based in Italy

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga (b. 1991, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Contrecarrer 1897 (202)

Oil and acrylic on canvas

200 x 200 cm

Price for this painting: N/A

He offers limited edition prints which is a great way to have his work in your collection. The painting above can be purchased as a print for £650.00.

Gallery Representation: October Gallery based in London