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May I just take a moment? May we take a breath rather than rush it all out? May I take a day to reflect?  Frieze London 2023, what to make of it all? The day after the morning after the night before now and we’re still kind of processing it all. Cork Street was a bit full on last Thursday night, the Cork Street Party was very very (very) busy, lots and lots of people, lots of art, not sure about the art? Who were all those people? What have the last few days actually been about? What to make of our Thursday spent at what was ultimately a rather conservative and probably a slightly disappointing Frieze? We do look forward to Frieze, to Frieze week and all that goes with it, we know what Frieze is, we know what it stands for, they don’t hide it, there is no pretence and it is usually around about this point in our yearly review that I make some kind of cynical quip about going behind enemy lines. We have been covering Frieze for quite a few years now (this is the fair’s twentieth year), people do always asks why we do? They are right to ask, we are more about the smaller spaces, the alternatives, the artist-led shows and it does feel like going into their territory rather than remaining on our ground but this is not a time to glibly talk about going behind enemy lines, not this year, not with all that is happening to the ordinary people on all sides over in Gaza right now. Not that you’d know it in here, this really is a (sometimes very obscene) bubble, there are no wars happening in Frieze world, there is no climate crisis, cost of living? Not our problem, we’re alright jack, on with the party, let the poor people deal with the real world, am I important enough to be allowed to buy one of those rather unremarkable Damien Hirst flower paintings    

What about the actual art? Surely it is still mostly about the actual art? Well It was conservative, we said that already and yes, we also said that last year, and yes, we probably said it the year before as well. It was far more conservative this year than it was last year, it felt like everyone was playing it extra safe this time around. There was good art at Frieze (and at Cork Street afterwards), of course there was good art, how could there not be with that many artists, curators and galleries from all over the globe gathered together in that giant white enormo tent of a thing? It did feel like everyone was playing it very very safe though, this year felt far more conservative than it had ever been, far more underwhelming than last year’s rather conservative fair, it felt far more disappointing. We usually walk out of a first visit taking about the exciting pieces we’ve seen, debating the the things that really engaged, really can’t recall a Frieze as conservative and dare we say compromised as this year’s Frieze is feeling. 

But what about the art? Well Hirst being presented by Gagosian as the first thing you see when you come in via the main entry point just about sums Frieze London’s collective lack of adventure in 2023, that traditional Gagosian big dog spot by the entry usually sets the tone, last year it was Jadé Fadojutimi, back in 2019 it was those yellows and greens of Sterling Ruby, this year all we got was Damien bloody Hirst. There was good art though, to say the art was all bad would be very wrong, there was some really strong art, but the overall feeling, the one great big whole of it was kind of underwhelming and was that really it? Is that your best shot? Is that all you’ve got? And we do seem to say the same thing every year as Frieze plays it increasingly safer every time but hey, this year, well, this year it really was, on the whole, underwhelming.

And the extra salt rubbed into the wound of the week was the serious lack of any kind of artist-led alternatives happening around town, everything about the London art scene feels tiredly conservative and underwhelming at the moment. Where are the car park shows now? Where was this year’s version of 2021’s brilliant Factory Project challenge? Where’s the proper guts? Is everyone just conservatively conforming now? Is anything that exciting actually happening in London, is there anything that offers any kind of hint of a defiantly exciting alternative during Frieze week? Has the London art scene ever been this polite? Where is the energy?  

But what about the art? Well we did actually spent something like five hours in the big Frieze tent-thing last Thursday, two and half miles of walking (yeah, I’ve got a step counter as well), and then another hour or two in the bigness of Cork Street. We really did search and you do continue to think (or hope) that thing is going to be just around the next corner, that piece of art that is going to light the whole day up, that thing that’s going to ignite it all…

And so Damien Hirst’s big flower paintings were the first thing everyone encountered once we’d got through the security check (and had our water taken off us. You can’t take water in, there’s plenty inside said security woman, there wasn’t any water anywhere unless you were prepared to pay the outrageous prices in the eating areas. We did notice the water dispensers, but hey, they took our bottles away, what were we to dispense into?). So Hirst is the first thing you see in the Gagosian big dog spot by the entry and well, you just can’t trust anything he does can you?  I mean, did he paint them? Does it really matter if he did or not? Does anyone care besides the guy who lives in Dubai and wants to add some HIrst flowers to his penis sized collection of Ferraris that he never drives or the big fat kettles he never takes out of his safe? I expected more from Gagosian and that did kind of set the tone as we headed off scanning here there and everywhere looking for that one thing that would set the day off, that one piece of art, that wow, that rush of excitement that never ever actually arrived this time…

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But there was good art, there was a rather radiantly red rather new Sterling Ruby painting spied early on, and almost as if they were mocking Gagosian’s Hirst let down, just beyond the Sterling Ruby painting a rather fine Jadé Fadojutimi piece, a rather big rather imposing piece called Plums Are Not Plums Until You Think About Plums And Realise There Are No Plums Here To be Seen, a big mix of acrylic, pastel, oil, oil bar on a larger than life 500x300cm canvas. Kind of liked the Ishi Glinsky piece for a moment as we walked past it – and you do a lot of just walking past, there is so much in here, it is kind of like speed dating without the time you get when you go speed dating. Did we really just past a neon piece telling us to “Be Amazing”? For gawd sake?! And a canvas covered in pop art style “Bangs!” that I might have been a little embarrassed to have presented in back in my six-form school days? It really is hit and miss in here this year.     

There are Vanessa Raw‘s pieces, a Margate-based painter presented by Carl Freedman Gallery, Vanessa’s paintings stand out, and yes, of course there’s good art in here. Timothy Taylor gallery’s presentation of Eddie Martinez‘s Studio Wall Redux holds interest, Sagarika Sundaram‘s mix of wool, silk and bamboo is a delight of a wall hanging, New Delhi’s Nature Morte Gallery always bring something different to Frieze, they are almost always one of the delights of the fair, don’t know who was responsible for their tree of eyes piece, Suhasini Kejriwal maybe?   

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Not sure what those snails crawling over someone train set scenery was about? Must admit a pile of Warhol boxes is still a thrill, oh how I want to touch that Brillo pad box. Stephen Freedman Gallery’s richly red presentation of Ugandan lesbian artist Leilah Babirye is a powerful highlight (Stephen Freedman provided the highlight last year with Jeffrey Gibson and wasn’t it the same gallery who brought us the brilliant Deborah Roberts pieces in 2021?). “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”.  

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London’s The Sunday Painter gallery space looks good again, well the sculptures do, really enjoyed Berlin-based German artist Fabian Knecht‘s rather progressive wall hanging pieces presented by Alexander Levi Gallery, now they did have a bit of a much need bite to them. There goes another Harland Miller book cover, they seem to excite some people, don’t do a lot for me but hey, spent quite a bit of time with big Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings paintings presented by London’s Acadia Missa. Joan Semmel‘s No Strings was a highlight, always good to see a Tracey Emin painting in the flesh, Celia Paul‘s Seated Painter is a beautifully confident piece (gawd, that sounds patronising of me, but there is something strong about that painting), Vivian Greven‘s wall of stylish lime flavoured paintings is refreshing for a moment and there’s a strong Cassi Namoda painting that makes me want to know more about Cassi Namoda. East London’s Emalin gallery seem a little restrained this year which kind of sums up Frieze. And there go some Boring Things On Walls and well, um…. yes.

Nicoletti’s presentation of Josèfa Ntjam seems a little muted in here compared with what the last Gallery left on Vyner Street are presenting from the same artist in their East London space right now. Someone is presenting one of those CD listening posts you’d get in places like the Virgin Megastore in the 90’s as a piece of art which really is rather tiresome. 

Where were the special presentations of previous years, the feminist wall of three or four years ago? Actually there’s quite a few of the usually exciting American galleries either not here or not making any kind of noise this year. And did we see much from the UK tat wasn’t from London this time around? And where was so and so, and was that really it? We carried on walking, searching, looking, still kind of expecting to turn a corner and see that one thing and no, we never actually did, it all kind of just petered out and left us feeling just a little, well it left us feeling just a little flat as we headed off to Cork Street…

And before we do leave it all, where was the addressing of the climate crisis this year, not even the annoying tokenism of the Gallery Climate Coalition given a bit of space this time besides a tiny logo on the gallery signs, it really isn’t enough is it!? I mean, all these galleries, all this art, all moving around the globe, flying from fair to fair like they’re not part of the problem, off to Paris next week see you in Miami. Are they hoping that maybe if they ignore the climate crisis then it will just magically go away? We know Frieze is obscene, they know Frieze is obscene, the who idea of something like Frieze is obscene, everyone knows that, they’re honest about it, they don’t hide it, they flaunt it. At least two or three years ago there was a token acknowledgement that there might just be a climate crisis and that maybe the big beasts of art should address it, a little more than an Instagram page and a little logo in the corner of a gallery sign maybe? But hey, no! Forget it, a little badge of self-congratulation on a gallery sign and let’s party while Rome burns. we left Frieze 2023 feeling rather underwhelmed and maybe just a touch more then just a little bit angry with it all.  (sw)      

As always, do click on an image to see the whoel thing or to run the slide show…