designboom's guide to london’s frieze art week 2024

designboom guide to frieze london and frieze masters 2024

Frieze London is set to return for its 2024 edition from October 9 to 13, bringing with it a bold new design and a refreshed curatorial direction at Frieze Masters. Held in The Regent’s Park, both fairs will emphasize artists and the spirit of discovery. This year, Frieze London will unveil an innovative floor plan designed by A Studio Between, enhancing the visibility of its curated sections, including Artist-to-Artist and the themed section, Smoke. Visitors will also encounter two stands showcasing solo artist presentations, selected annually by the Frieze London committee, ensuring new voices gain increased visibility each year. Meanwhile, at Frieze Masters, a new artist-centered approach will debut, featuring an expanded Studio section and a refined floor plan by Annabelle Selldorf. This design encourages visitors to make connections between objects and artworks from different eras and locations.

From Yayoi Kusama to Olafur Eliasson and Es Delvin, and from Gagosian to Tate Modern and Carpenters Workshop Gallery, designboom is rounding up a curated selection of the most anticipated artists, galleries, and exhibitions, both inside and outside the Frieze London art fair. Read on to see what this year’s edition has in store.

Yoshitomo Nara, Ennui Head, 2020 | image courtesy of Frieze

Frieze Sculpture

Frieze Sculpture (find more here) is on view at The Regent’s Park from September 18 to October 27, running alongside the Frieze London and Frieze Masters. This year’s exhibition brings together 22 prominent international artists from five continents, featuring names such as Leonora Carrington, Theaster Gates, Zanele Muholi, and Yoshitomo Nara. With a particular emphasis on the contributions of women artists, the display highlights the diverse voices shaping contemporary sculpture today.

Curated for the second time by Fatoş Üstek (find more here), the 2024 edition is marked by a bold expansion in both scale and ambition. Üstek’s vision pushes the boundaries of what sculpture can achieve in a public setting by integrating diverse elements like sound, light, performance, painting, video, and augmented reality. Featuring 27 works—18 of which are new—the exhibition is spread throughout The Regent’s Park, inviting viewers to engage with art in unexpected ways. Üstek’s experimental approach explores themes of social and environmental consciousness, conceptual thought, and spiritual practices, creating a cohesive experience that reflects the evolving nature of sculpture in the public realm.

what: Frieze Sculpture
when: 18 September – 27 October 2024
where: The Regent’s Park, London, UK

Céline Condorelli, Tools for Imagination | image courtesy of Céline Condorelli

BMW GROUP CULTURE AT FRIEZE LONDON

In conjunction with Frieze London, BMW (find more here) unveils a new mural titled Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (I am because you are by Esther Mahlangu (find more here) at the Serpentine Galleries (find more here). This year, BMW’s presence at the fair revolves around the artistic contributions of the Ndebele artist who was the first woman to create a BMW Art Car in 1991. Additionally, a new publication featuring a conversation with the artist is presented during Frieze week, ahead of its official release later this autumn. Published by Thames & Hudson and authored by Thomas Girst, Azu Nwagbogu, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the book offers unique insights into Mahlangu’s work and creative process.

Continuing their longstanding partnership, BMW and Frieze also collaborate to present Frieze Music in London. This initiative, which explores the intersection of music and the arts to foster dynamic dialogues, offers artists the opportunity to create distinctive performances. Originally launched during the first Frieze Los Angeles in 2019, Frieze Music has previously featured an eclectic mix of musicians, including Moses Sumney, Caroline Polachek, Nilüfer Yanya, and Loyle Carner. 

what: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (I am because you are) by Esther Mahlangu
when: 9 – 13 October 2024
where: Serpentine North Gallery, Hyde Park, London

what: Frieze Music London 2024
when: 10 October 2024
where: The Regent’s Park, London, UK

image courtesy of BMW Group

Serpentine Galleries presents Lauren Halsey: emajendat

Serpentine Galleries (find more here) hosts the first UK exhibition of Lauren Halsey, titled emajndat. Halsey, an artist from South Central Los Angeles, creates sculptures, installations, and environments that reflect the vibrant community and cultural heritage of her hometown. Her work uniquely blends elements such as funk music, Afrofuturism, and ancient Egyptian motifs, engaging with both intellectual histories and the contemporary Black experience. In this exhibition, Halsey expands upon her recent large-scale architectural forms developed for the Met’s Roof Garden and the Venice Biennale. The Serpentine exhibition transforms the gallery space into what the institution describes as an ‘immersive funk garden,’ responding to its location and offering a rich, layered aesthetic experience.

what: Lauren Halsey: emajndat
when: 11 October 2024 – 2 March 2025
where: Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens

Lauren Halsey, land of the sunshine wherever we go II (detail), 2021. courtesy Lauren Halsey | image courtesy of Frieze

Mike Kelley major exhibition at Tate Modern

During Frieze London, Tate Modern (find more here) presents the first major UK exhibition of American artist Mike Kelley (find more here). Spanning his career from the late 1970s to 2012, the exhibition highlights Kelley’s diverse body of work, which includes drawing, collage, performance, found objects, and video. It features some of his most iconic pieces, such as his ‘craft’ sculptures made from textiles and plush toys, as well as complex multimedia installations like Day Is Done. Drawing on references from popular and underground culture, literature, and philosophy, Kelley explores how the roles we play in society are entangled with historical facts and imaginary characters from the films and images we consume. 

what: Mike Kelley – Ghost and Spirit
when: 3 October 2024 – 9 March 2025
where: Tate Modern, Bankside, London, UK

image courtesy of Tate Modern

Mire Lee: Open Wound takes over tate’s Turbine Hall

Tate Modern (find more here) also unveils a new large-scale sculptural installation by artist Mire Lee (find more here), transforming the Turbine Hall into a surreal, body-like space that resembles an eerie factory. The installation combines Lee’s fascination with mechanical systems and organic forms, reflecting the building’s industrial past while exploring themes of fragility and decay in contemporary life. This is Lee’s first major UK exhibition and the ninth annual Hyundai Commission, made possible through the partnership between Tate and Hyundai Motor (find more here).

Titled Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound, the installation reimagines the Turbine Hall as a construction site, featuring fabric sculptures resembling membranes or ‘skins’ suspended from the ceiling by 54 metal chains. At the eastern end of the hall, a seven-meter-long turbine hangs from one of the building’s original cranes, which has been specially recommissioned for this project. This motorized device evokes the coal and oil-fired turbines that once powered the Bankside Power Station, Tate Modern’s former identity. By removing parts of the Turbine Hall bridge to reveal its internal structure, Lee draws attention to the building’s industrial heritage, breathing new life into its history.

what: Mire Lee: Open Wound
when: 9 October 2024 – 16 March 2025

where: Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, Bankside, London, UK

Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound, installation View | image © Tate (Lucy Green)

Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at The National Gallery

The National Gallery (find more here) presents the exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, which marks a significant celebration for the institution as it commemorates its 200th birthday and the centenary of its acquisition of Van Gogh’s iconic works, Sunflowers and Van Gogh’s Chair. The show features some of Van Gogh’s most celebrated pieces from the final two years of his life, including loans from private and public collections, such as The Yellow House (1888) and The Bedroom (1889). This is a rare opportunity to experience these masterpieces in person, highlighting Van Gogh’s extraordinary use of paint. 

what: Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers
when: 14 September 2024 – 19 January 2025

where: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, UK

Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, 1889. Oil on canvas, 73.6 × 92.3 cm. © The Art Institute of Chicago | image courtesy of Frieze

Gagosian presents Anna Weyant’s first London exhibition

Gagosian (find more here) will present Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves?, the first London exhibition by Anna Weyant (find more here) opening on October 8, 2024, at the Davies Street gallery. In this new series, Weyant blends autobiographical elements with the symbolic humor and refined technique that characterized her earlier exhibitions in New York and Paris.

Weyant’s meticulously detailed figure paintings and portraits subtly reveal the unease beneath her subjects’ poised appearances, while her still-life compositions transform everyday objects into scenes that feel both surreal and unsettling. The six new paintings in this exhibition continue to explore themes of distance and isolation, creating a reflective and atmospheric mood.

what: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves?
when: October 8 – December 20, 2024
where: Gagosian, Davies Street, London

Anna Weyant, Girl in Window, 2024 | image courtesy of Gagosian

George Rouy solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth

George Rouy’s debut solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth London (find more here), titled The Bleed, Part I, showcases new works exploring themes of collective mass, movement, and human existence. The second chapter, The Bleed, Part II, will open at Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles in February 2025. The distinctive style of George Rouy (find more here), featuring human figures marked by desire, alienation, and crisis, addresses the emotional extremes of our time and examines identity in the modern world.

The term ‘the bleed,’ used by Rouy, describes the interaction between figures and their surrounding space, where boundaries blur and merge. His paintings reflect these tensions and harmonies, both between individuals and within groups, creating a dynamic visual narrative.

what: The Bleed, Part I
when: 7 October – 21 December 2024
where: Hauser & Wirth London, 24 Savile Row Offices

Carpenters Workshop Gallery presents Nacho Carbonell

Carpenters Workshop Gallery London (find more here) presents Escaping Forward, a solo exhibition by Spanish artist Nacho Carbonell (find more here). Known for his organic sculptures and the iconic Cocoon series, Carbonell’s work is inspired by a fascination with living organisms, often blending organic and mineral elements to create pieces that seem almost alive. This latest collection represents an evolution in his practice, featuring a refined creative approach and innovative material use. It includes experiments with mediums such as broken glass and ceramic, as well as grid-like architectural forms. ‘This is a new beginning,’ Carbonell explains, describing the exhibition as an attempt to ‘escape forward.’

what: Escaping Forward
when: 8 October 2024 – 11 January 2025
where: Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Ladbroke Hall, 79 Barlby Rd, London

Nacho Carbonell, Concrete Base Table Lamp | photo by Ronald Smits

Tracey Emin’s ‘i followed you to the end’ at white cube

Coinciding with Frieze London, White Cube (find more here) presents, ‘I followed you to the end’, a major solo exhibition by Tracey Emin. Spanning the entirety of the Bermondsey gallery, the exhibition features new paintings and a monumental bronze sculpture that journey through love and loss, mortality and rebirth. 

what: I followed you to the end
when: 19 September – 10 November 2024
where: White Cube, Bermondsey, London

image courtesy of White Cube

Es Devlin unveils congregation in St Mary Le Strand Church

Es Devlin (find more here) presents her latest installation, Congregation, featuring fifty portraits of displaced individuals who have been forced to leave their homelands due to wars and conflicts. Created in collaboration with the UK for UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the installation showcases collective drawings that reflect its title, Congregation.

The installation will be displayed inside St Mary Le Strand Church in London from October 4 to 9, 2024, coinciding with Frieze London 2024. In a conversation with designboom before the unveiling, Devlin shares insights into the project and its significance.

what: Congregation
when: 4 – 9 October 2024
where: St Mary Le Strand Church, London, UK

Yayoi Kusama infinity mirror room lands at Victoria Miro

Victoria Miro (find more here) presents the Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE exhibition, which features new paintings and sculptures by the artist, along with the debut of Infinity Mirrored Room – Beauty Described by a Spherical Heart, 2024. The work explores the interplay between two seminal elements within Kusama’s practice, the sphere and reflective immersive space.

what: Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE
when: 25 September – 2 November 2024
where: 16 Wharf Road, London

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – Beauty Described by a Spherical Heart, 2024 | image c9ourtesy of Victoria Miro

Selfridges Unveils Tiffany-Inspired Facade and Window Displays

In celebration of Tiffany & Co.’s (find more here) newly redesigned London store, Selfridges (find more here) lights up its facade in a vibrant Tiffany blue. The exterior sets the stage for an equally captivating series of window installations by renowned artists Damien Hirst, Rana Begum, James Righton, and Jason Bruges. Each artist draws from Tiffany’s iconic jewelry collections and its bond with London and the brand in a series of immersive installations that highlight the legacy of craftsmanship, innovation, and creativity of the jewelry house. The artistic vitrines, set against the transformed facade, offer a fresh perspective on Tiffany’s long-standing relationship with London, inviting passersby to delve deeper into the brand’s heritage.

what: Tiffany & Co. immersive window installations
where: Selfridges, Oxford Street, London
when: 1-20 October 2024

image via @tiffanyandco and @theofficialselfridges

VIV Arts presents immersive installation by Julian Charrière

VIV Arts (find more here), an art and technology platform supporting experiential artists and collectors, will officially launch on October 8, 2024, with Controlled Burn, an immersive installation by French-Swiss artist Julian Charrière (find more here). Supported by Bank Julius Baer’s NEXT Initiative, the exhibition will be open to the public from October 9 to 12.

Founded by Carlota Dochao Naveira and Oliva Sartogo, both formerly of Superblue by Pace Gallery, VIV Arts aims to help artists in the experiential art sector by offering a platform to sell limited-edition artworks. Proceeds from these sales fund the creation of new art experiences, enabling collectors to support innovative projects while maintaining a tangible connection to the artwork.

what: Controlled Burn 
when: 9 – 12 October 2024
where: The Welsh Chapel, 136 Shaftesbury Avenue, London

Julian Charrière, Controlled Burn | image courtesy of VIV Arts

HOFA Gallery and PhilLipsx present Spaces exhibition

HOFA Gallery (find more here) and PhillipsX (find more here) launch SPACES, the inaugural selling exhibition in HOFA’s curated digital realities series at Phillips in London. The exhibition will feature 10 works by eight global artists who blend digital innovation with artistic expression, including Sougwen Chung, Emily Xie, Refik Anadol, Krista Kim, Ana María Caballero, Shirin Abedinirad, Random International, and Joseph Klibansky. SPACES explores the evolving relationship between technology and contemporary art, challenging perceptions of digital and physical creation through immersive works that integrate AI and digital techniques.

what: SPACES 
when: 3 – 10 October, 2024
where: Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, London, UK

Sougwen Chung, Spectral – Oscillation 1, 2024. Acrylic on Perspex, Created with D.O.U.G_6 Bespoke Robotic System

image courtesy of HOFA Gallery

CIRCA presents Olafur Eliasson’s Lifeworld at Piccadilly Circus

CIRCA (find more here) presents Lifeworld, a series of five site-specific works by renowned Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson (find more here), launching on October 1st, at Piccadilly Circus in London. The project is set to extend to screens in Berlin and Seoul, as well as online via WeTransfer, allowing a global audience to experience the artwork. In November, Lifeworld will take over 92 screens in New York’s Times Square for a month-long collaboration with Midnight Moment. 

Lifeworld reimagines urban environments to draw attention to our shared responsibility for the common world. Created in collaboration with both the screens and the public spaces they inhabit, the artwork blurs the boundaries of our sensory experience with its fluid colors, forms, and shapes—offering a striking contrast to the typical sharply-defined advertising imagery that dominates these landmarks.

what: Lifeworld
when: launching on 1 October, 2024
where: Piccadilly Circus, London, UK

Olafur Eliasson, Lifeworld, London, 2024. Commissioned by CIRCA | visualisation by Studio Olafur Eliasson. © 2024 Olafur Eliasson