Colour: A Tour of ‘Stand Out’ at Frieze Masters 2023

Luke Syson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and curator of Stand Out, chooses highlights from this year’s section, including a rosso antico satyr and George E. Ohr’s pioneering pottery

in Frieze Masters , Videos | 14 OCT 23

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This year, Stand Out asks a fundamental but curiously neglected question: how much does colour matter for three-dimensional art? Featuring objects from across two millennia, the section explores how the origins and exploitation of colour tell a global art history.

In this video, curator of Stand Out Luke Syson (Director & Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge) reflects on colour as lead protagonist across the ages and chooses four highlight works from the section.

A Fine Mandala of the ‘Mitra Yogin’ tradition, Tibet, 18th century, opaque pigments and gold on wood, 29 × 29 cm. Courtesy: Prahlad Bubbar — A Fine Mandala of the ‘Mitra Yogin’ tradition, Tibet, 18th century, opaque pigments and gold on wood, 29 × 29 cm. Courtesy Prahlad Bubbar

The Mandala is one of Himalayan Buddhism’s most ubiquitous and powerful symbols, created as an visual aid for meditation on the path of enlightenment. This 18th century example, presented by Prahlad Bubbar, is of the ‘Mitra Yogin’ tradition and is in an extraordinary state of preservation: the four-armed red Guhyasadhana Avalokiteshvara sits in a lotus flower at the centre with his consort, while around in mesmeric concentric circles, the natural world is represented through symbols and motifs.

Bust of a Satyr, Roman, c. late 1st Century CE, bust and pedestal from the 18th century, Rosso antico marble, 32 × 35 × 23 cm. Courtesy: Galerie Chenel — Bust of a Satyr, Roman, c. late 1st Century CE, pedestal from the 18th century. *Rosso antico* marble, 32 × 35 × 23 cm. Courtesy Galerie Chenel

The Bust of a Satyr (1st Century CE) is presented by Galerie Chenel. Formed in rosso antico marble, the young satyr’s jovial expression emerges beneath his stylized thick locks and smooth forehead, with almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones and deeply carved dimples.

The Ditchley Park Cabinet, South German or Dutch, c.1650–80, brass-mounted pietra dura, ebony and ebonised cabinet-on-stand with Florentine pietra dura panels, 222 × 157 × 60 cm. Courtesy: James Graham-Stewart — *The Ditchley Park Cabinet*, South German or Dutch, c.1650–80. Brass-mounted *pietra dura*, ebony and ebonised cabinet-on-stand with Florentine *pietra dura* panels, 222 × 157 × 60 cm. Courtesy James Graham-Stewart

The Ditchley Park Cabinet (c.1650–80), presented by James Graham-Stewart, was inventoried on the death of Henry Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield as a ‘fine large cabinet, with a curious inlaid marble front’. Made from brass-mounted pietra dura, it features Florentine pietra dura panelled drawers depicting parrots, flowers, bears, monkeys and fruits.

Unglazed earthenware by George E. Ohr. Courtesy: Guild Gallery — Unglazed earthenware by George E. Ohr. Courtesy Guild Gallery

George E. Ohr, presented by Guild Gallery, pioneered an abstract approach to pottery, demonstrating extraordinary technical prowess in his ability to control of the thinness of the pots’ bodies. Using red clay dug by hand in southern Mississippi, Ohr crimped and ruffled his unglazed works to contort them into unexpected, asymmetrical shapes.

Frieze Masters and Frieze London take place concurrently from 11–15 October 2023 in The Regent’s Park, London.

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