Monday, Frieze week, well it was Monday, now we’re into Wednesday and the stunts that were  being pulled on Monday are already Wednesday’s fish and chip paper, The inbox is clogged with new press releases saying the same thing as the ones we never got time to read on Monday. The by-the-book new breed are already boring us with their conformity, one bunch of gate keepers replaced by another bunch of gate keepers only this time with an expensive degree in curating by numbers from some over priced establishment that once might have been a decent art school. Meanwhile East End Sunday came and went without any one really noticing, Banksy apparently hit town, the Urban Art Forums got all trainspotterish over it all –   “Rumours are circulating today of a possible New Banksy piece appearing in London.  Is it really by Banksy? What’s the message behind the piece?” The Messiah has spoken, he’s,not the Messiah though is he, he’s surely just a very naughty boy stating the bleedin’ obvious yet again. 

Rather dismayed to read that Gagosian are “presenting new paintings by Damien Hirst in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of Frieze London. In The Secret Gardens Paintings (2023), Hirst depicts thriving gardens in which different species of vibrantly colored flowers emerge from their verdant surroundings in a style that balances the designed and the natural, the harmonious and the chaotic”. No u in colour for Hirst then and with Banksy at the back there’s only one f’in’ Fulham or was that the Kings Head? What a disappointment, Gagosian usually come up with the goods, it’ll just be the price tag this year them? I guess the price tag is a good way to mark twenty years?

Meanwhile “Victoria Miro is delighted to participate in Frieze London with new and historical figurative works by Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Chantal Joffe, Chris Ofili, Celia Paul, Grayson Perry, and Paula Rego. In addition, recent works by pioneering British conceptual artist Stephen Willats will be on view ahead of a major exhibition at the gallery this November on the occasion of the artist’s 80th birthday” 

Although Stephen Friedman Gallery might just be about to come up with the goods… “Frieze London preview day, we are excited to present a solo exhibition by Ugandan artist Leilah Babirye. ⁠

Babirye’s multidisciplinary practice transforms everyday materials into objects that address issues surrounding identity, sexuality and human rights. In this body of work, the artist imagines creating a community of queer Ugandans”.⁠