Frieze London, 2019, Sterling Ruby, (Gagosian)

“wow, that really is an us and them situation, the art world is so so so strange and so disparate, so far away from the people or the people making art..Those figures are shocking and also not shocking, but just argh, what the hell indeed, awful in a rather horrific look-at-the-state-of-the-world-we-are-in kind of way, and all this celebrating how international collectors and galleries from all over the world came together, I think I’m with Kate McMillan and her protests… makes making art here seem all rather inconsequential…”, not my words, the words of another artist. For a different view on Frieze do go read the Artlyst post-Frieze piece, Artlyst tends to be a little more about the actual business of art and taking selfies of themselves with big name artists than we are here at Organ, a bit more about the big things and a little less about getting their boots dirty in the back street galleries. I can’t say we really detected the Frieze upbeatness that Artlyst talk of – “the atmosphere in London this week has been electric – Victoria Siddall.  Some of that talk and some of those figures really are obscene, not another dig at Artlyst, they’re just reporting it all, it is rather “interesting” to read or sickening to read or something sickeningly interesting on a looking at a car crash kind of way

Meanwhile North London’s Atom Gallery have invited more than 50 artists to paint, print, spray or draw on empty pizza boxes which will then be sold at prices a million miles away from the world of Frieze to raise some much needed funds for Hackney Foodbank.  There will be new and unique works by Pure Evil, Rob Ryan, Magda Archer, Supermundane, Heath Kane, Emma Harvey, Carrie Reichardt, Jessica Albarn, Ryan Callanan, Donk and many, many more – see the poster there for a dull list of artists  “Come early if you’re interested in buying one of the pieces – we expect many to sell fast! The opening party to which all are welcome, whether you’re interested in buying or just want to show your support will happen on Friday November 1st, 6pm until 9pm at  Atom Gallery, 127 Green Lanes, London, N16 9DA  Please spread the word – this is for a very deserving cause! We don’t expect many of the international collectors from Frieze will be burning up their air miles to be there but it might well be worth you buying a bus ticket or taking a ride on the Overground to Cannonbury, we don’t expect anyone from Artlyst  or any of the others will be there to cover, heaven forbid this might prompt some of them to do so though, hey, maybe the guy from Gagosian will come along and spend a tiny tiny slice of a bit of his commission on all those Sterling Ruby paintings sold on a pizza box or two?  Hell Mr G, send the cash over and I’ll hand deliver my box to Britannia Street myself… (sw) 

And yesterday the new £20 bank note was revealed…