Last weekend the art world came together in London for the 13th edition of Frieze, one of the most important art fairs of the year. 164 galleries from 27 countries participated, among them four Belgians. We’ve collected their impressions and give you a glimpse of what they showed at the fair.
1. Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp
Benedicte Goesaert, gallery assistant at Antwerp’s Zeno X: “We’ve been participating in Frieze almost since its very start. I really appreciate its international audience, and many museum directors, curators and good collectors attend the fair. Every fair has its own network of people visiting. London is a significant and dynamic city and an important platform for our artists. Frieze is a large fair, so it s a good way to meet new curators and collectors. In London we always put a strong focus on emerging artist as well as those who have an active program at the time. This year this is especially the case for Pietro Roccasalva, Mircea Suciu and Grace Schwindt. We also always show one major work of a more established artist. This year it is Michael Borremans. Jack Whitten is being represented with works from the 90s, which is interesting for visitors because our colleagues at Frieze Masters are showing his works on paper from the 70s. What I like most about art fairs is being able to work on the relationships with museums and bring artworks closer to them. The biggest drawback: the air conditioning is almost always too strong!”
2. Office Baroque, Brussels
“Fairs provide unique opportunities for galleries everywhere to come together and introduce their program to collectors, curators, gallerists, critics and the larger public. When it comes to visual art, nothing beats firsthand viewings”, says Office Baroque’s Louis-Philippe Van Eeckhoutte. Founded in Antwerp in 2007, Office Baroque moved to Brussels two years ago, where it even opened up a second space in September. At Frieze, the gallery decided to present the works of only two artists: Anke Weyer from Germany and the young South African-born sculptor Catharine Ahearn, who was selected by Artsy as one of the 30 artists to watch at the fair. While Catharine showed her surreal cast iron sculptures, Weyer impressed with her expressionist, energetic paintings.
3. Greta Meert, Brussels
Brussels gallery Greta Meert showcased an exciting mix of 11 Belgian and international artists at Frieze: Carla Accardi, John Baldessari, Edith Dekyndt, Stef Driesen, Suzan Frecon, Shirley Jaffe, Valerie Krause, Jean-Luc Moulène, Anne Neukamp, Michael Venezia, and Pieter Vermeersch. The gallery has a penchant for minimal and conceptual art as well as the Italian Arte Povera movement.
4. Dépendance, Brussels
Brussels gallery Dépendance presented, among other artists, the outlandish, wondrous sculptures of South Korean Haegue Yang, who got featured on Artnet’s 14 artists to watch at Frieze. Her creations are often made out of standard household objects from electric fans to shoe racks: “There is a mysteriousness and spirituality in the most banal things”, she says. Also on show: German artist Peter Wächtler.