Frieze Masters was founded in 2012 by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover. Nathan Clements-Gillespie is the Director of Frieze Masters.
Frieze Masters offers a unique contemporary perspective on thousands of years of art history, from collectible objects to significant masterpieces from the ancient era and Old Masters to the late 20th century. The 2024 edition of the fair will showcase over 130 of the most significant galleries from around the world.
The fair takes place in The Regent's Park in the heart of London, in an elegant, contemporary environment designed by renowned architect Annabelle Selldorf, benefiting from natural light and avoiding the atmosphere of a trade show. World-leading independent curators advise on feature sections for 20th-century art and focussed presentations of historical art and objects. The relationship between historical art and contemporary practice is further explored through the acclaimed Frieze Masters Talks programme, which was curated in 2021 by Nicholas Cullinan (Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London).
This year, Frieze Masters will see the return of Studio, again curated by Sheena Wagstaff, invoking a place of making in which an artist’s sense of the historical past lights a spark of invention, which manifests as an object for the future. The celebrated Spotlight section will also return. Dedicated to pioneers of avant-garde art from across the world, Spotlight will feature solo presentations of work by overlooked figures and rarely seen practices by modern masters.
Frieze Masters coincides with and is within walking distance of its sister fair, Frieze London, in The Regent’s Park. Frieze London focuses on contemporary art and living artists, showing work created mainly post-2000 whereas Frieze Masters presents work made before the year 2000. Connecting Frieze Masters and Frieze London, Frieze Sculpture is a free display of major outdoor works located in The Regent’s Park’s English Gardens at the south end of The Broadwalk.
Each year, we have over 60,000 visitors to Frieze Masters and Frieze London combined. These visitors include those with an interest in the art world, such as curators, artists, collectors, gallerists and critics, as well as the general public. Some visit as first-time collectors of art whilst others view the fair more as an exhibition, enjoying the experience as a cultural day out.