Next week will see the art world descend on the city as Frieze London kicks off once again. As the capital welcomes collectors, dealers and artists for the contemporary art fair in Regent’s Park, which together with Frieze Masters will see over 280 galleries from 42 countries exhibiting, it’s set to buzz with creativity across food, fashion and culture. From specially-designed art-meets-gastronomy menus to creative pop-ups and one-off cultural events, here’s our curation of the essential things to do and see during Frieze Week.
FASHION
Matchesfashion x Frieze
Matchesfashion is running a programme of events to coincide with Frieze London – all of them taking place at their gorgeous space on Mayfair’s Carlos Place. First off is a preview of Raf Simons’ collaboration with textile company Kvadrat; alongside the collection of bright, beautifully crafted lifestyle accessories, there’s also a four-week custom-made installation by the designer. Other events include an exclusive fine jewellery pop-up from Brazilian-Lebanese designer Nadine Ghosn; brunch and a chance to hear A Vibe Called Tech founder Charlene Prempeh and creative director, Lewis Gilbert, as they discuss art and collaboration with designer Christopher Kane and creative director Tammy Kane; and an evening of cocktails with Ruthie Rogers to celebrate the launch of The River Cafe Look Book, a cookbook for beginner chefs of all ages. Throughout the week, Michèle Lamy will be hosting breakfasts at the MICHMATCH café, with a bespoke menu created by Les Deux Café’s chef Isis Neal and special guests including artists Matt Lambert and David Hoyle.
Matches Fashion, 5 Carlos Place, Mayfair, London W1K 3AP
matchesfashion.com
POAN - The Woman Who Fell To Earth
Art, fashion and culture are forever intertwined and George Weissacher, the Creative Director of sustainable fashion brand POAN – aka Peoples Of All Nations – has teamed up with the Austrian artist Christian Eisenberger and photographer James Kelly for a fresh take on zero waste fashion. Eisenbeger has created a series of abstract works on material, which Weissacher has made into garments, with any remaining fabric used to create canvases. Kelly’s shoot captures this wearable art, focusing on movement, power, sensuality and sustainability. The limited-edition collection is available to buy in-store during Frieze Week from 6 – 10 October. A female model – the Woman Who Fell To Earth – stands at the forefront in the colourful clothes, the idea being that the men are waving the flag of sustainability in the middle ground of an industrial urban environment, controlled by the protagonist.
POAN, 37 Soho Square, Soho, London W1D 3QZ
poan.com
FOOD
An Artful Tea with Rosewood
Rosewood’s PlaceMakers is an initiative which sees the hotel group highlight the culture and community of its various locations through local PlaceMakers, curated experiences and in-depth destination guides. The latest PlaceMaker to join up is Marine Tanguy – the founder and CEO of MTArt Agency, which works with emerging visual artists – who will be bringing a trio of exhibitions to Rosewood London, to underscore the city as a dynamic cultural destination. The first exhibition – an installation by sculptor Lorenzo Quinn which sits in the hotel’s courtyard – launches for Frieze week and to mark the occasion, Marine and the hotel’s executive pastry chef have created a bespoke olive cake dessert inspired by the sculpture, as an addition to the hotel’s iconic Art Afternoon Tea menu.
Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, Holborn, London, WC1V 7EN
rosewoodhotels.com
Ruinart Food For Art with Adam Byatt
Ruinart has long had an association with contemporary art, launching their Carte Blanche initiative which invites artists to create artworks that pay homage to and echo the Champagne house’s values. One of these artists – Jeppe Hein – has joined forces with chef Adam Byatt to bring art and gastronomy together at Frieze London. The one-night-only dinner on 12 October has been inspired by Hein’s Right Here, Right Now, an installation, which incorporates the earth, water, air and sun – the four elements essential to Champagne-making. The multiple-course menu, which costs £200 per person, includes vegan caviar, a main course of whole autumn truffle encased in brioche dough with a plant-based sauce Périgord, raisins and a carpaccio of fresh ceps and a dish called Blanc de Blanc with every component pure white to depict the chalk terroirs on which the grapes for Ruinart are grown, plus, of course, plenty of Ruinart cuvee.
Park Village, One Park Village East, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 7PX
eventbrite.co.uk
The Ham Yard Hotel pop-up
Frieze Week always has pop-ups from London’s finest restaurants, cafés and bars and 2022 is no exception, with appearances from the likes of Petersham Nurseries Covent Garden, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill and Heckfield Place x Spring. This year also sees buzzy Soho favourite Ham Yard Restaurant make an appearance for the first time. The all-day brasserie-style restaurant will be serving a menu that celebrates the late summer harvest, with Firmdale Hotels Group Executive Head Chef Joe Fox serving traditional British cuisine with a contemporary twist. The bar is the ideal spot for cocktails and art chat.
Ham Yard Restaurant at Frieze Masters, The Regent’s Park (Gloucester Green Entrance), London, NW1 4HA
firmdalehotels.com
EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
Corinne Bailey Rae plays the Serpentine Pavilion
This Frieze London, Corrine Bailey Rae is set to perform for one night only on 14 October at Theaster Gates’s extraordinary Serpentine Pavilion 2022 Black Chapel, in South Kensington. At sunset, the singer-songwriter-guitarist – who has released three studio albums and one live album, will play an acoustic set, singing all the hits which have seen her win two Grammys and two MOBO Awards. The gig promises to be an intimate affair with only a select number of people attending.
Avant Arte x Tschabalala Self
Avant Arte, the digital platform for collectible arts, launches its first public arts programme this Autumn, with a commission by New York-based artist Tschabalala Self. Seated – a large bronze statue of a seated female figure – has been unveiled on the northern gateway into Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross. To mark the occasion, a pop-up space on the Viaduct Level of Coal Drops Yard is open throughout Frieze London until 17 October, giving the visitor a chance to see behind-the-scenes photographs of the making of Seated as well as a film featuring individual responses to the ideas tackled by the sculpture. The launch also coincides with a solo exhibition of new work by Self across Pilar Corrias Eastcastle Street and Pilar Corrias Savile Row, which runs until 17 December.
Unit 76, Viaduct Level, Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4DQ
avantarte.com
Damien Hirst: The Currency
Damien Hirst is no stranger to shock tactics and this Frieze London he is at it again. The artist currently has an exhibition of paintings from his first NFT collection at Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall (which runs until 30 October). The show, entitled The Currency, is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Hirst. Collectors were given the choice to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork, and if they didn’t exchange their NFT the physical artwork would be destroyed. On 11 October, Hirst will begin this process by burning his own artworks in the gallery – with the event being live-streamed. This will then be repeated at a specified time each day during the rest of the show until it ends.
Newport Street Gallery, Newport Street, London, SE11 6AJ
newportstreetgallery.com
Frieze London and Frieze Masters run from 12 to 16 October; frieze.com
