Frieze Masters 2019: ‘More Spectacular Than Ever‘

Frieze Masters closed its 2019 edition on Sunday 6 October in Regent's Park, having attracted record museum attendance and exceptional sales.

Welcoming new expertise in Asian and 20th-century art, highlights included major works by Cy Twombly, Indian paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries, the last work by Sandro Botticelli (1445 – 1510) in private hands, rare Chinese antiquities and a 4.5 billion-year- old meteorite.

The atmosphere in London this week has been electric and visitors from all over the world have really seen it at its best – from the great works shown at Frieze London and Frieze Masters to the fantastic exhibitions and events at museums and galleries across the city - Victoria Siddall, Frieze Fairs

Here's what the press had to say about Frieze Masters 2019

Many of the most memorable presentations at the fair are of works that have long been underestimated or overlooked by the mainstream art world – Artnet

Calling it "classical" is a bit inadequate for the unique mix of ancient and non-European cultures in the crossover with Old Masters and Classics or re-discoveries of post-war art - Kunst und Auktionen

Frieze Masters delights with the diversity of its proposals and approaches -Beaux Arts

Curated sections: Collections and Spotlight

This year Frieze Masters included two curated sections, Collections and Spotlight respectively dedicated to unique visions from Eastern and Western cultures and pioneering artists of the 20th century.

The fair has changed and evolved. Now, the Spotlight section of Frieze Masters is showing artists that our panel would consider to be contemporary - Maria Belshaw, Director at Tate told artnet. The Tate has in fact acquired a work by Jagoda Buić from Richard Saltoun Gallery in Spotlight, part of the Frieze Tate Fund. 

Frieze Talks

Insightful talks with Mark Bradford, Elizabeth Peyton, Ai Weiwei, Edmund de Waal and Michael Craig-Martin also attrached large crowds at the Frieze Masters Auditorium. Curated by The Royal Academy's Tim Marlow, Frieze Masters Talks brought pioneering contemporary artists on the stage to discuss their practice and relationship with historical art.

Watch conversations with Ai Weiwei here and Mark Bradford here.

Exhibited as a single-piece presentation by Trinty Fine Art, a painting by Sandro Botticelli was the subject of widespread interest for its rarety and price point. 

Carlo Orsi (Trinity Fine Art) says the work was brought to London because “it’s the center of the art market,” and that there would be particular interest at Frieze because of the broader collecting tastes of buyers, who are not interested only in Modern and contemporary art. - artnet 

Here's what the exhibitors at Frieze Masters 2019 said about their experience:

We have always done well but feel that the level of interest this year has been even greater. We have had multiple interests in every work we brought to the fair and have sold four paintings, all to brand new buyers which is extraordinary. Two of these works were bought by young collectors, which is very encouraging to see young interest in old masters at the fair - Johnny van Haeften, Founder, Johnny van Haeften

I have found the visitors this year to be even more enthusiastic, showing more interest in the work. I have met a lot of new clients here, plenty from China and Japan, which is of particular interest to me as a dealer of Asian antiquities - Gisèle Croës, Director, Gisèle Croës: Arts d'Extrême-Orient

We've been happily surprised that even as a mature gallery, we've met new people and made new clients and while of course there are overlaps with serious clients who attend other fairs, we felt the audience was different - Mary Sabbatino, Vice President, Galerie Lelong & Co. 

Our presentation at Masters has been very well received, which has been reflected in the sales made. I think this might be the most international Frieze we've ever participated in, in terms of galleries and collectors visiting from around the world - James Green, Director, David Zwirner

We are long-time Frieze exhibitors but this is our first year exhibiting at Frieze Masters. It has been an excellent experience. Sales have been good, and the quality of the collectors is high – there are noticeably high levels of connoisseurship. Among exhibitors too, the quality of the booths is very high and the layout of the fair works well. It is exactly what we hoped for - Nick Olney, Managing Director, Kasmin

Frieze Masters will return from 8-11 October 2020. See you next year!

To stay up to date with the fair's latest news, sign up to our newsletter and follow @friezeartfair on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.