Sophia Al-Maria. Courtesy of @projectnativeinformant
With the changing of the trees from green to gold, October is upon us, which means it’s that time of year again: Frieze Weekend. Even as the shadow of Brexit looms over this year’s fair, this edition is keen to prove that it will not be shaken by what is yet to come. Instead, Frieze London 2019 presents an admirable variety of work, including an invitational section, Woven, curated by Cosmin Costinas, which capitalises on the growing interest in textiles in the international art world, all the while exploring interlaced themes of weaving and the histories of colonialism. Elsewhere, long-established names such as Victoria Miro’s Yayoi Kusama and Grayson Perry Miro jostle alongside upstarts like Urara Tsuchiya, who is showing creepy glazed earthenware at Union Pacific, or Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings at Arcadia Missa. Here’s what’s on top of our list to see at this year’s fair should you find yourself in Regent’s Park this weekend.
Chitra Ganesh—Gallery Wendy Norris
Chitra Ganesh. Courtesy of @chitraganeshny
Indian-American artist Chitra Ganesh is exhibiting as part of this year’s Woven section with Gallery WendI Norris. Already there has been a lot of buzz around the Brooklyn-based artist’s presentation, Unearthly Delights—a selection of embroidered works on linen depicting wild, colourful, apocalyptic scenes, incorporating paint, ink, glitter and found objects.
Joy Labinjo—Tiwani Contemporary
Joy Labinjo. Courtesy of @joylabinjo.
With a new exhibition about to open at Baltic later this month, London painter Joy Labinjo is quickly becoming one to watch. Labinjo’s large-scale scenes of domestic life radiate a sense of intimacy and character. At Frieze, the British-Nigerian artist will be exhibiting previously unseen paintings at her gallery, Tiwani Contemporary’s booth.
Sophia Al-Maria—Project Native Informant
With her exhibition, Beast Type Song, showing concurrently at Tate Britain, you’re not going to want to miss Qatari artist Sophia Al-Maria’s showcase at Project Native Informant. Here, Al-Maria—whose work looks at questions of personal heritage and trauma—will be exhibiting supplementary photographs and prints that relate to her Tate exhibition as well paintings and video pieces.
Sol Calero—ChertLüdde
Sol Calero. Courtesy of @chertludde.
As part of Frieze London’s Focus, Berlin-based Venezualan artist Sol Calero will be exhibiting alongside Patrizio Di Massimo and Petrit Halilaj at their Berlin gallery’s booth ChertLüdde. Calero is known for her expressively colourful installations that draw on her Latin American identity. Here, she will be exhibiting works from her recent exhibition at ChertLüdde, dedicated to her late grandmother Luisa Hernandez.
Sophie Jung
Sophie Jung, The Bigger Sleep, view of installation and performance, Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart, 2018-2019. Copyright Julian Salinas, courtesy the artist and Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart.
On Saturday, multidisciplinary artist Sophie Jung, who is based between London and Basel, will present a live performance of Taxpayer’s Money. Jung’s work rages against neoliberalism and capitalism, and through absurdist approach she seeks to reveal alternative ways of existing.
Himali Singh Soin—Frieze Artist Award
Himali Singh Soin, we are opposite like that, single-channel video, 2019. Courtesy of Frieze.
You would be a fool to miss Himali Singh Soin at this year’s fair. The London-Delhi-based artist is the recipient of this year’s Frieze Artist Award with her video work that explores the idea of a place that no longer has an indigenous community, told from the innovative perspective of melting ice. Through this inventive work, Soin brings questions of identity, decolonisation and of course, climate change into play.
Frieze London runs through to 6 October.