Frieze Masters 2014: a step forward into quality
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- “The Collector”, installation view, Helly Nahmad Gallery.
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- “The Collector”, installation view, Helly Nahmad Gallery.
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- Marlborough Gallery, installation view.
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- Sandro Botticelli (studio of), Madonna with the Child and Goldfinch, XV cent. Moretti Fine Art.
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- Christ on the cold stone, 1490. Sam Fogg.
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- A prayer mill made for Henry the VIII or a member of his court, 1520. Sam Fogg.
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- Gocal Peris, Pietà, 1430-1440. Richard L. Feigen and Co.
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- Francois Quesnel, Jeanne de Bourdeille… , 1593. The Weiss Gallery.
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- Jacob de Litemont (attributed), Luois XI King of France, 1470. The Weiss Gallery.
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- Pablo Picasso, Nature morte au chandelier, 1937. Acquavella Galleries.
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- Pablo Picasso, Le peintre au travail. 1964. Dickinson Gallery.
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- Theodore Gericault, Head of a shipwrecked man. Dickinson Gallery.
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- Eugene Delacroix, portrait of Charles de Verninac, 1826. Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd.
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- Giovanni Boldini, a reclining nude on a day-bad, Jean-Luc Baroni.
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- Paul Gauguin, Jeune tahitienne assise, 1891. Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd.
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- Virgin in majesty, Spain, XII cent. Brimo de Larousshile.
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- Sigmar Polke, Lapland journey II, 1984. David Zwirner.
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- Alighiero Boetti, Aellegiaccaieerreobioetitii, 1973. Ben Brown Fine Arts.
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- Alighiero Boetti, Manifesto, 1967. Ben Brown Fine Arts.
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- Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely, La vitesse totale, 1958. Hauser and Wirth.
Frieze Masters‘ edition number 3 started last night with the VIP preview, and this morning with the opening for the general public. The first impression, when you enter the white minimalistic big tent hosting 127 of the world’s leading galleries which deal with ancient and modern art, is that the quality of the pieces has been further improved and that the Tefaf in Maastricht and the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris have now a serious competitor in London to take into consideration.
The two clear evidences of what may be now considered a matter of fact are the solo presentation dedicated to Francis Bacon by Marlborough Gallery Fine Arts, including 10 main works by the British artist plus some graphics, and the fictional Parisian apartment Helly Nahmad has set up “to question the true meaning of collecting art”. Or, in this specific case, what art means for a collector living in post war Milan and then Paris, “desperately searching to feel the agony and ecstasy of life, through the visual poetry of the greatest artists of his time”. That is to say, a sentimental journey dedicated Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Pablo Picasso, Jean Dubuffet, Joan Miró among the others.
At day one the works that have been already sold are not that many, none at Malborough and Nahmad up to now. We have counted approximately 15 of them, including the Picasso sold by Dickinson for £1.25m during the opening. You will find the ones we have spotted in our picture gallery, along with details from other works that have drawn our attention. They have been selected to make clear how the taste is changing, and how ancient and modern art are as close to each other as they have never been before – with a great convenience for the both of them.
When young art will also be added to this mix and in what way it will be done is actually hard to say. But we bet that even this problematic step in the “comprehension of what the meaning of art is” will be tried sooner or later. Perhaps the secret “new projects for the organization” on which Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slovoter – the founders of Frieze – are working on are already considering this option. In the meantime, please enjoy the occasional dialogue between the beautiful carved Madonna with child presented at Moretti Fine Arts with the canvas by Helen Frankenthaler hanging on the wall behind it at Gagosian’s booth. Isn’t it a meaningful coincidence?
July 18, 2015
