in News | 10 OCT 16

A fair like no other

Frieze Masters 2016 - 'Akin to visiting a multitude of museums spanning the cultural history of the world'

in News | 10 OCT 16

'This was the fifth edition of Frieze Masters and it felt truly established, with galleries bringing masterpieces to the fair spanning all categories, from ancient sculpture to modern painting. I was delighted to see the reception these received from leading curators and collectors from all over the world and the sales that were made, both to institutions and private collectors.’ - Victoria Siddall, Director of Frieze Fairs

Frieze Masters closed on Sunday 9 October, with its lively atmosphere and unique crossover in audiences resulting in significant sales throughout the week. Growing global awareness of the fair's unrivalled quality and range of artwork attracted unprecedented museum group attendance, which grew by almost 20% this year. 

Here's what media, curators and galleries had to say about this year's fair:

Hauser & Wirth and Moretti Fine Art, Frieze Masters 2016

Media
‘More than ever this year, Frieze Masters is akin to visiting a multitude of museums which span the cultural history of the world.' -Telegraph

'That tone of disrupted elegance and historical questioning, kick-started by the launch of Frieze Masters in 2012, is a shared aesthetic of both fairs, which feel grown-up, considered, pristine...' -Financial Times

‘Something like the future model of the art fair. With its consistently eclectic concept, Frieze Masters has become remarkably successful in a few years. The audience, which it attracts in droves, is strikingly young.’ -Süddeutsche Zeitung

Frank Stella; Dominique Lévy, Sprüth Magers, and Marianne Boesky at Frieze Masters 2016

Museum Curators & Directors
‘From a mini-retrospective of Daniel Buren to an installation of Judy Chicago and ancient African clay goddess figurines, from medieval manuscripts to a bronze table from Pompeii, Frieze Masters galleries made an art fair into an opportunity for discovery, historic thinking and thoughtful creativity.’ -Anne Pasternak, Director Brooklyn Museum

‘The calibre of artworks, galleries and visitors makes Frieze Masters a fair like no other. It feels like an intensive museum experience rather than a fundamentally commercial one.’ -Tim Marlow, Artistic Director, Royal Academy of Arts

‘Frieze Masters this year reaffirmed its position as a catalyst not only to facilitate a dialogue between the historic and contemporary, but also between curators, collectors and gallerists. A thought-provoking series of talks and juxtapositions of ancient and modern made it possible for both new discoveries to be made and links to be forged.’ Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery and participant in the new Art Fund Curators Programme which brought together leading international experts and UK regional museum curators.

Pablo Picasso, Helly Nahmad Gallery, Frieze Masters 2016

Galleries

‘The thing that characterises Frieze Masters is its quality, and we feel that the people who have been here have really appreciated this. We have had compliments from scholars about the excellent condition of the works presented. The fair has had a strong attendance and we have made good sales.’ -Jean-Luc Baroni, from Paris 

'It’s was a great Frieze, as always and probably the best Frieze Masters yet… Frieze Masters always draws a wonderful international crowd who come to look, this year they also came to buy.’ -Marc Glimcher, Pace Gallery

‘We love this Fair. During the Preview day all the people we wanted to see came to the fair. On the weekend, we sold a painting by Jacob van Ruisdael to an American contemporary art collector who is stepping into the Old Master world for the first time.’ -Johnny Van Haeften, Managing Director of Johnny Van Haeften Ltd

‘We have had a thoroughly enjoyable week at Frieze! The fair’s vivacious spirit and forward-looking attitude encourages us to be more playful with our presentations and to offer something a bit different for collectors – this year with our eccentric ‘L’atelier d’artistes’ and Luis Laplace’s beautifully designed booth at Masters. This approach paid off in spades; we placed numerous important works and experienced consistent sales throughout the week, several in excess of a million dollars, by artists including Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly, Alexander Calder, Francis Picabia, Dieter Roth, Takesada Matsutani and Fausto Melotti, in addition to having built relationships with collectors new to the gallery.’ -Iwan Wirth, President and co-founder of Hauser & Wirth

‘This has been the best edition of Frieze since its inception. The quality and variety of work is extraordinary, and we are thrilled to be on our fifth year. Our sales have been strong, and the quality of collectors and curators has been exceptional.’ -Bruce Silverstein, Founder of  Bruce Silverstein Gallery

‘At Masters we have seen a quality of collectors that we have not seen before, an even better and bigger number of galleries is evident. It’s really established London as the centre of the art world in Europe.’ -Daniella Luxembourg of Luxembourg & Dayan

‘We have seen a younger crowd at the fair this year. The opening day was amazing – the clientele was high profile and very interesting. It is a fantastic fair with a mix of very good works. We have had a successful fair selling works by Egon Schiele, Günter Brus, Oskar Kokoschka and Arnulf Rainer.’ -Alois M. Wienerroither, Co-Founder of Wienerroither & Kohlbacher

‘Frieze Masters is the most exciting fair, and the only fair that we participate in that attracts a different audience. There are people who come here that don’t come to any other fair that we do, and there have definitely been more American and Continental visitors this year. People come here wanting to learn.’ -Rupert Wace Ancient Art

Sebastian Izzard Asian Art & London Gallery, Frieze Masters 2016

‘On the Preview day we made some important sales totalling over £1 million, including one to a UK National Museum.’ -Marlborough Fine Art

‘The fair is going exceptionally well and it has been commercially successful. Frieze is a fair that works particularly well for us. It has a great vibrancy and dynamic, and the crossover of works attract an interesting clientele. There is a very positive atmosphere and the people are very tuned into the exhibits.’ -Ariadne Galleries

‘This is my gallery’s first time exhibiting at Frieze Masters and it’s been a terrific experience. The vetting process that ensures the high quality of the fair makes it very special. I was presenting ‘“Nancy Grossman - The 1960s” in the solo-artist booth section called Spotlight and introduced Nancy’s art to a new audience of significant collectors. I sold drawings and sculpture and museum curators discovered Nancy Grossman’s art and will include her in forthcoming exhibitions.’ -Michael Rosenfeld, New York

‘The fair has an incredible mix of works, which is good for visitors to look at pieces in categories where they don’t usually collect. It was our first UK fair, and we have seen international visitors and have met a lot of people we haven’t seen before, which doesn’t happen in other fairs. We have had a lot of interest in our De Stijl furniture, and sold two chairs in the region of 100,000 EUR.’ -Ulrich Fiedler, who took part in the Collections section.

René Magritte; Dickinson Gallery at Frieze Masters 2016

Frieze Masters will return to The Regent's Park in October 2017. Follow @friezeartfair on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up with our latest news.

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