The unmissable highlights of Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024

London’s art world came to life once again during Frieze week. The Big Smoke is glowing with new shows, receptions and VIP dinners and along with thousands of others, I went to pray at the feet of art and commerce at Frieze London 2024. The usual buzz of excitement bordered on anxiety this year as a depressed art market and an expanded Art Basel Paris (expected to start in a few days) invited talk about London’s rivalry with the City of Lights. Could this be the beginning of the fight for Brexit to take the crown of European art from London’s hands? Frieze director Eva Langret, presenting a vibrant and varied London arts scene, seemed to successfully argue why not.

“Frieze was never just a trade fair,” Langret told The Art Newspaper this week, but also an opportunity for “the many conversations you can anchor around galleries and the many ways they work for artists.” In fact, I discovered many things to enjoy – especially, as is always the case with art fairs, the opportunity to discover interesting artists and galleries I had never heard of before. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that if Frieze truly wants to be more than a trade fair, they will need to consider adjusting ticket prices to encourage wider participation.

A redesigned floor plan by A Studio Between prioritized new and emerging galleries in the Focus section, which, instead of sulking somewhere near the back of the tent, were able to greet visitors immediately. Just like last year, they impressed with innovative stands. The Focus section is known for being experimental – the galleries in this section are looking to make a name for themselves. Placed along a central corridor, we were able to interact with them repeatedly as we navigated the fair. I was particularly excited to see Xxijra Hii steal the spotlight with Hannah Morgan’s alabaster sculptures, steelwork, pewter molds, frog clay, and soundscape. I had previously seen a very small exhibition in the boxy garage space of Xxijra Hii in Deptford. Its strong showing at Frieze is a testament to the breadth and depth of London’s art scene, even in a struggling art market and amid ubiquitous funding cuts.

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Other highlights in the Focus section included Eva Gold’s sensitive text-based work on Rose Easton (You were disgusting and that’s why I followed you2024), ironic illustrations by Sands Murray-Wassink in Diez (Culture is not a competition2024) and camping insecticide sculptures by Nils Alix-Tabeling in the Public Gallery. Later in the fair, top-tier galleries presented solid, predictable stands showcasing big names – Georg Baselitz held down the fort at White Cube and Chris Ofili at David Zwirner.

Despite all the talk about Paris and London, Mumbai and New Delhi were the cities that occupied my mind most this Frieze London. Indian galleries took pride of place at this year’s fair and showcased breathtaking exhibitions. New Delhi’s Vadehra Art Gallery displayed an incredible cabinet of curiosity and banality by Atul Dodiya (Image: Disclosure)Cabinet VI and Cabinet VIII)including pipes, photographs and vaguely animistic figurines. Jhaveri Contemporary showcased the textile work of Sayan Chanda (Dwarapalika II2024) and Gidree Bawlee (Kaal (Pala) 2023), which merged into a sublimely sensorial and textural experience.

Outside of the tent, there have been major improvements to the sculpture park this year. Captivating, thoughtful pieces expertly responded to their surroundings, working with organic forms and pagan imagery to transform a blissfully sunny Regent’s Park into an otherworldly spectacle. Visitors were greeted by the bronze sculpture of Leonora Carrington The dancer (2011) upon entering, the figure (half bird, half man) melted into the bucolic environment. Carrington’s Dancer was quickly followed by two bronze pillars by Theaster Gates, The duet (2023). The works in the park were so well integrated into the terrain that the trees that covered the lawn looked like sculptures, blurring the line between natural and artificial; a work was hanging from a tree. By far my favorite was Albany Hernandez Shadow (2024). This was a shadow painted under a tree in the park using water-Grass-based grass paint. The paint marked the tree’s shadow at 10:30 am; when I arrived around 3pm, the tree had two delicate shadows.

At the other end of the sculpture park, Frieze Masters opened with a beautiful juxtaposition of the natural and the mechanical. Gagosian’s elegant booth with metal sculptures by John Chamberlain and furniture by Marc Newson was next to a wooden booth with much softer work at Hauser & Wirth, with wide-ranging paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, including Philip Guston and Édouard Manet . In typical showman fashion, David Aaron accompanied last year’s towering T-Rex “Chomper” with an enormous Egyptian sarcophagus from the 7th century BC. Karma’s Thaddeus Mosley in the ‘Studio’ section – which featured solo shows by living artists and considered their studio practice – felt like an anchor point at the fair. This is due to the central location of the stand, but also its visual impact. The stand was vast and impressive; Mosley’s sturdy wooden towers, inspired by modernist abstraction and African sculpture, made an imposing statement.

A prominent theme with Masters was the rediscovery of important female artists, with long biographies gaining wide space in numerous galleries: Eva Švankmajerová was highlighted by The Gallery of Everything, Feliza Bursztyn at The Mayor Gallery, and Alice Baber at Luxembourg + Co.

Overall, the Frieze fairs were good this year – fun even. Frieze London celebrated the contemporary art scene in London while showcasing talent from around the world, especially works by Indian stars. Frieze Masters has returned to its rightful place as Frieze London’s dull older sister, whilst also reintroducing some previously unknown talent. The sculpture park, for once, stood its ground and felt like a destination in its own right. The bright October sun shone down on an overexcited city, and London, it seemed, was well and truly alive.