BLOG: A Look Back at Frieze London 2014
Ask most of London’s art scene what they think of the 11-year-old Frieze London art fair and they will likely grit their teeth: too brash, too market-obvious, too self-absorbed. And yet, art-world Londoners flock in droves to the tented Regent’s Park artopolis, as do a seemingly increasing number of culturally curious members of the general public. Like it or not, Frieze London is an institution. But unlike most institutions, it is nimble enough to reinvent itself. Frieze Live, a new segment of performance pieces (undertaken, in most cases, by galleries with little or no background in the genre) seemed to up this year’s ante, as did a palpable push for exhibitors to evolve beyond the ersatz white-cube format and curate spaces that could thoroughly épater la bourgeoisie, without necessarily getting under art-world mavens’ skin.
