More? Surely the point really has passed now? Part Five left us with those “bad” paintings of Albert Oehlen that were in the big dog booth at the back of it all (the big dog booth and all that that means) and on we go again. I imagine this is the final part of this way too long a piece and yes, we’re still keeping our Cynical Smile shirts undercover and like we already said, If you missed Part One or Two or Three or indeed Four or Part Five then may we politely suggest you go back and start by standing on that buffed floor of the tube train that was under out feet as we made our way to the Fair. We are trying to focus on the actual art here, not on the business of it all although, rather obviously that really that is what Frieze is all about, the whole sordid business of art, the absurd playground of the tasteless rich, we are still here looking the best of the art here in this giant white marquee full of endless gallery booths along endless white corridors.
This is no way to view art and most of it is very conservative art, some of it dragged down by the rest of it, it is an empty way to exhibit art, art that (most of) the artists have poured so much into. And of course it this is nowhere near as enjoyable and rewarding as visiting actual galleries and I do wonder how many of these thousands of people ever do visit galleries, well besides the big ticket superstar shows? I wonder how many of them even know where Cork Street is let alone how to get to Peckham Safehouse or that that building on the corner in Bethnal Green is Rose Easton’s place? Okay so those two are a little obscure but do any of these people who go to Frieze ever go to anything else? Enough of this, let’s go find more art. Where were we?
Well we’ve left the selfie booth that was Gagosian, we’ve considered those “bad” paintings, will we ever see them again, or for that matter even consider them again? We’ve turned to David Swirner’s booth, past the red of Lisson’s booth, on to the giant flower in the white cubed space that Sadie Coles Gallery is occupying, there’s an 11-foot-tall sculpture by Alex Da Corte (Princess Daffodil, 2026) that’s kind of fun (sometimes fun is enough isn’t it? No, you’re right, probably not, “fun” is almost as bad as “nice”). Not sure what the pop art match boxes are about? You know what, I don’t really care what the pop art matchboxes are about or who’s work they are, the gallery website doesn’t seem to want to tell us – actually they’re the work same artist as the giant daffodil, an artist born in 1980 telling us Nixon is the one; “these whimsical match boxes were created by American (Canadian-born) conceptual artist Alex Da Corte who works across visual disciplines. He explores the nuances of contemporary experience…” Yeah right! Whimsical?! I really am in need of that pint now, I mean retro pop art matchboxes and Nixon and bloody Disney kitsch and you may as well have stuck a bloody soup can in there (actually is this the first time ever there hasn’t been a Soup can in here?)
And there’s a giant photo of Iggy Pop for gawd sake and yet again we’re asking why? And more slogans and “can money buy you love?” for gawd sake again! Barbara Kruger is asking the question, or asked it in 2011, Spruth Magers Gallery (of Berlin and that beautiful London space in Grafton Street) have paid to put them on the wall, and okay yes, we all know Barbara Kruger is a highly respected conceptual artist but come in, maybe if they were from 1965 and they were in Masters then maybe? That pint really really is needed now. I mean yes we have covered her work more than once of these pages, she is highly regarded and rightly so and those relatively recent Ukrainian trains were powerful – Barbara Kruger Launches a New Installation on a Ukrainian Intercity Train… and yes she is rather respected, loved even, but come on? Okay, I know, it is all about money, this art in here isn’t here to challenge and someone is probably going to tell me I’m being disrespectful and those pieces/slogans probably made sense in whatever show they were in fifteen years ago and yes, the artist probably (almost certainly) doesn’t really want them isolated and on a wall in here but…
And what is that painting over there about (for gawd sake again). Hang on, there is that rather expansive rather instinctive Joe Bradley painting over there and there is a rather large black ball hiding over there that asks “are you above 55%?” – a Ryan Gander piece, an inflatable? A three-metre-wide black sphere inscribed with the question “Are you above 55%?” At least someone here is asking something? Maybe? who knows? What is he actually asking? There it is in the corner by the Yutaka Sona painting that’s titled Jungle, both of them via Taro Nasu gallery (Tokyo) and well, we have pretty much got to the end of it all (if this does indeed ever end?)
Yes there is so much more that could be written, a whole lot more that could be said about the whole big white hole of the whole (damn) thing, about how Frieze, however much they might claim they do, are many many miles away from defining whatever the new is (or even putting their finger on the now). It is all rather (very?) conservative, yes it is playing to a rather narrow audience and the rest of us in here really don’t matter, and yes some of it is dangerously close to being bland, some of it really is dreadful and you do at times just want to grab hold of one or two of the gallery people and ask why the hell that is hanging there?
And yes, like we already asked, what did happen to climate change? Has the problem been solved now? Did we miss the memo? When did art ever care? I really am to the pub now, off past that line of blue and white cones. There was some good art though, for everything that is so obviously wrong about it all, in amongst everything else, in amongst all the other stuff, there was actually some good art to be found… (sw)
Here’s another #43SecondFilm
Frieze London has now ended, it all happened in The Regent’s Park, London (15th to 18th October, the whole circus has moved on to Paris, our in box is full on press releases and invite, and was that the Frieze people asking if we’d like to fly out and cover Frieze Abu Dhabi in a couple of weeks? Ptobably not…
Previously
And as always, do please click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show…
