Why I’m glad I’m not attending Frieze London 2023
Graeme Mortimer Evelyn 11 October 2023
That’s quite an opening statement right? It could damage any ambitions I had as artist as art critic / essayist career? I’ll never be invited back to write about Frieze London / International etc again? Persona Non Grata at all London Blue Chip Gallery openings…
Well, put in the context that I’m actually writing this short opinion piece for Art Bible London, while sitting in my 6 week Artist in Residence studio in Charleston, South Carolina, nestled within the city’s stunning historic quarter, in an immaculately curated period home – with its own swimming pool, hot tub and beautifully tended gardens on the invitation of the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts…
You get the drift…no brainier.
However, there are other reasons too. The first article I wrote for Art Bible (Hypnotic Rhythms) as a review of Frieze London 2021, enquirer whether there was any ‘innovation’ currently in contemporary art. Prior to this visit, I hadn’t visited the fair for over 10yrs. That Frieze 2021 return prompted a return in 2022 and focused whether one noticed any spirituality and /or open displays of religion or belief? Is unapologetic faith in a belief system actually tolerated or encouraged in contemporary work at the Frieze Fair.
In brief conclusion, there were – but not what one would expect, especially if you’re looking for open spirituality/faith. Although, many modern ‘Sacred Cows’ were made abundantly available to pay homage and penance to – displayed throughout the ‘New Sanctuary’ of the Gallerists stalls and the Frieze Marketing.
My heresy need not be exposed nor published right now by identifying these secular Objects of Worship and serves very little purpose. Besides, I’m already Persona non grata from the title of this essay!
In my humble opinion, the break out star of Frieze London 2021 was Grayson Perry’s large print work , ‘Hypnotic Rhythms – The American Dream’. The star for 2022 in regards to my enquiry was undoubtedly and without question Lu Yang’s, ‘DOKU – the Self’ with Societe Gallery.
Yang’s video work cleverly manages to intertwine science, religion, psychology, neuroscience, pop culture, gaming, medicine and music. It was the only work in the fair that even attempted to address these very pertinent topics and how each now orbit our western liberal existence.
It still seems we love to see our ‘Sacred Cows’ represented on the surface, but still find it a heretical challenge to sincerely dig deeper. This has persisted since 2022 unabashed. Now, here I am, and very gratefully so, attending a very enlightening and fascinating residency. In my short time here, I have already presented artist lectures at Art Colleges, had unfiltered dialogues with gallery/museum directors about open spirituality and the role of the contemporary artist as bridge builders in the USA. These occurrences, have never been afforded to me, in all my time living and working in London or the wider UK.
So yes, I am very glad I am not attending Frieze London 2023. Opportunities for real growth and value creation beckon elsewhere.
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