When the Daily Telegraph titled an article “Frieze Has Lost their Cool” it signaled more than anything an era of change in the contemporary art market. The subject of the piece was that 40 dealers less than the previous year had been accepted. After the article went to press the fair tried to have it retracted disputing the number and threatening the journalist. Five years ago the same writer chronicled the exploding success of the fair by quoting the owners to the effect the hardest work they had remaining at that stage was to decide whom not to invite.
Frieze prided itself on who wouldn’t be let in to what amounted to yet another exclusive, private London club and in the process seemed to become quite self-satisfied. But they managed to alienate more than a few in the process. Such heavy-handed schoolyard politics have gone a long way to contributing to boost FIAC in Paris as the next up and coming fair.
The fair speaks of new initiatives to showcase younger art, mostly from fading Zoo, but it’s more like the dearth of booth takers instigated the initiatives.
It’s the democratic forces of a deep recession transforming despots into benevolent dictators. Besides reaching out to new emerging art structures at Frieze, perhaps they should take heed of the fact that the Tate is free and so should Frieze.
The glamour is still there though, and many jostled for invites-I am sure the total number of viewers will hold steady or even increase this year. It is still a wonderful way to see the vitality of a cross-section of recent art under a single roof. This is especially so in London where it so complicated and time consuming traveling between galleries. However, rather than buyers tripping over themselves to consume art like there is no tomorrow; nowadays will see caution, restraint and lots more tire kickers.
For sure the volume and values of Frieze and the upcoming auctions will be down, but there is no better place for a quick fix to take the temperature of the art world. It’s also a good opportunity to see what the kids are up to these days. Recent strong results of Chinese art and design art auctions have found their footing at lower levels and are holding their own and even slightly improving. With unprecedented uncertainly in markets art is a rational place to park some assets. Like Hirst always says, there are a lot more collectors than people think, they’ll just be buying a lot this time around at Frieze. But the point is that even with diminished sales, the art world is bigger and more global than ever.
In the financial markets money makes money but then art morphed into another way to arbitrage cash into more cash. Art divorced from aesthetics is never a good thing and thankfully no longer a viable approach to collecting. There is, by default, a return to appreciation and connoisseurship rather than trading art like corn. In world terms, the enthusiasm is stronger and broader than ever. Also, there is a sense of community in the art world, evident in fairs like Frieze, among artists, collectors, art world professionals and the public that will far outlast 75% of the art on view.
When I first moved to London I used to intercept the Frieze preview invitation addressed to the former occupant of the house. Today it seems more people clamor for them than ever, and for the first time, I was sent one. With my past of not publicly seeing eye to eye with fairs, it shows just how serious the recession really is.
Kenny Schachter