19 October, 2021

Last week, the London (and international) art scene was delighted to be able to once again visit Frieze London and Frieze Masters after the pandemic had forced its doors to close. In general, art lovers roamed through a generally quieter fair than they may have experienced in the past, perhaps a sign of ongoing hesitance at venturing out as restrictions slowly ease or a consequence of the strictly timed ticketing system. Despite this slower pace, the fair delivered some interesting indications regarding future trends in the art market. We’ve gathered a few below. 

Collectors are turning to Korea

Do Ho Suh, Hub-2, Breakfast Corner, 260-7, Sungbook-dong, Sungboo-Ku, Seoul, Korea, 2018.

The rise of Korean art was a dominant theme across Frieze with Korean artists and K-Pop-inspired works observed across many stalls, mainly Lehmann Maupin’s stand. One such example is London-based Do Ho Suh, who is particularly successful with American collectors, and whose pink Korean breakfast nook installation stole the show at the fair. Works by Korean painters, including Park Seo-Bo and Ha Chong-Hyun, were also quickly sold on the stand of New York gallery Tina Kim. 

The renowned Italian Mazzoleni gallery also officially partnered with Kukje Gallery for Frieze Masters, where they portrayed the ‘aesthetics of difference’ of both Dansaekhwa artists in Korea and the abstract artists in Europe. Supported by the news that Frieze is preparing to open a Seoul art fair, could Hong Kong be losing its crown to Seoul?

Colour is ‘in’ and neon is making a comeback

Strolling from stand to stand, one thing that was inescapable was the sheer amount of colour on display. From the moment they walked into the fair, visitors were welcomed by a series of bright, remarkable works by Jennifer Guidi, presented at the Gagosian’s stand. It seemed to set the tone for the rest of the fair, with many choosing optimism and hope post-pandemic.

Colours charge us externally and internally. I translate these colors into works every day. On an intuitive level, I am guided by the colors in nature. —Jennifer Guidi (Gagosian)

In addition, the many whimsical neon works scattered about Frieze London could not go unnoticed. They added an element of humour to some stands but also assumedly helped to further establish a reassuring and uplifting mood to soothe the minds of any visitors still feeling uneasy at visiting the fair. 



In search of more colour, we also later attended Hauser & Wirth’s latest exhibition, ‘George Condo: Ideals of the Unfound Truth’. Condo’s large paintings of fragmented psyches burst in bright hues, reflecting a range of piercing emotions. The exhibition was a perfect epiloge to some of the pieces we saw at the fair. 

George Condo, ‘The Day I Stopped Drinking', 2021, Hauser & Wirth.

African art continues to be a favourite

Yinka Shonibare, ‘The African Library Collection: Musicians’, 2020, Goodman Gallery Stand.

It is undeniable that contemporary African art has increasingly gained popularity in recent years, repeatedly seen in exhibitions by notable galleries across London, and this was no different at Frieze, in particular, because the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair has coincided with Frieze since 2013. Indeed, the fair boasted some very strong pieces by established and emerging African artists. Our particular favourite was Yinka Shonibare’s ‘The African Library Collection: Musicians’, which was featured at the Goodman Gallery stand. 

Beyond Frieze, we also visited David Zwirner’s exhibition of African American artist and co-founder of the Underground Museum, a Black-owned-and-operated art space, Noah Davis’s works at their Mayfair gallery. His sensual figurative paintings are impressive to say the least, juxtaposing a sense of pure tenderness and loneliness and a sense of rigour in their composition. It is a must-visit. 

Blue-Chip artists continue to sell the quickest

It is clear that serious collectors, especially those who attended the preview and reserved works ahead of the opening, continue to attend Frieze to seek out works of the highest value and reputation. These collectors were the first to leave the fair with multimillion-dollar sales. David Zwirner, for example, sold impressive works by Josef Albers, Paul Klee and Yayoi Kusama, ranging from $500,000 to $1.1 million (Artnet). In short, such masterpieces by ‘brand names’ continue to be deemed the most ‘secure’ investments. This was also echoed in recent auctions of contemporary art, where records continue to be broken for blue-chip artists. For instance, at Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction, Banksy’s ‘Love in the Bin’ went under the hammer for an astonishing £18,582,000, whilst Alighiero Boetti’s ‘Mappa’ sold for just over £3 million. 

Undeniably, attending this year’s Frieze London and Frieze Masters brought about much emotion. Being back amongst the plentitude of stands after a tumultuous couple of years was a strange feeling, but one that fills us with hope for the year ahead as we joyfully witness the recovery of the physical art market. 

Sources:

Vivienne Chow, Frieze Masters Debuts in London With a Focus on Korean Art and a Slower-Than-Usual Pace (But There Were Still Multimillion-Dollar Sales), Artnet, October 2021, https://news.artnet.com/market/frieze-masters-report-2021-2019895

Gagosian, ‘Jennifer Guidi’, https://gagosian.com/artists/jennifer-guidi/