Top 5 highlights from Frieze Week 2016

Two of the world’s leading art fairs, Frieze London and Frieze Masters, took place in the British capital this week (October 6-9) with hundreds of international galleries exhibiting works of art from some of the most famous, cutting edge and revered artists around the globe. With Art Basel Miami just around the corner, we’ve rounded up the highlights from Frieze week to give you a little inspiration for displaying fine art on board your superyacht.

The Nineties

One of this year’s greatest draws to the contemporary art focused Frieze London was a new exhibition space dedicated to the Nineties. 14 galleries took part in the showcase with each lovingly recreating one of the decade’s landmark shows with works by the likes of Michael Landy and Karen Hilimnik. The undisputed highlight, however, was Daniel Buchholz’s faithful restaging of Wolfgang Tillman’s 1993 portrait exhibition (pictured) which had attendees buzzing about the Tate Modern’s major retrospective which opens later this year.

The major names in the gallery world were out in force at Frieze London with Gagosian, Sadie Coles and Victoria Miro all in attendance. Perhaps the most entertaining stand, however, came courtesy of Hauser & Wirth. The Swiss-founded gallery recreated a chaotic artist’s studio where works by the likes of Martin Creed, Henry Moore, Mark Wallinger and Louise Bourgeois were packed tightly together and mixed with the detritus of everyday life sending potential buyers on an enticing rummage in search of artistic gold.

Even if you missed the action at the main fairs during Frieze Week you can still get a taste of what was on offer with the Frieze Sculpture Park in Regent’s Park which will remain open until January 2017. Curated by Clare Lilley of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, this public exhibition offers free access to works by 19 major artists including Lynn Chadwick, Ed Herring, Conrad Shawcross and Claus Oldenburg.

Now in its fifth year Frieze Masters, the portion of Frieze which concentrates on antiquities and fine art produced before 2000, saw 18 international galleries partner up to collaboratively showcase their most creative and thought-provoking pieces. Salon 94 and Bernard de Grunne exhibited Judy Chicago’s figurative works alongside African and Oceanic sculptures in a stand designed by David Adjaye while Sebastian Izzard Asian Art and London Gallery joined forces to present works spanning over 1,000 years of Japanese history.

The stand-out piece, however, came from newcomers Sies + Höke and Kicken Berlin who exhibited a recently discovered 1925 Man Ray rayograph and accompanying wall-sized enlargement believed to be the artist’s largest surviving work from the period.

For all the new and undiscovered artists on offer at Frieze London it is still the big names that prove ever popular at Frieze Masters. With 134 leading galleries putting their best foot forward this year, Frieze Masters is making its name as the place to go for your next Picasso or Degas. 2016’s headline artists included the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marlene Dumas, Lucian Freud, Barbara Hepworth, Willem de Kooning, Paul Klee, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol among others.