Staff Writer Mina Yasar reviews the free Frieze Sculpture art exhibition, showing at Regent’s Park’s English Gardens until 29 October.
Have you ever been to the free public art exhibition Frieze Sculpture before? If not, you should visit it until 29 October. So, there are still a few days left to visit one of London’s most attractive outdoor exhibitions. Let’s have a look at the stunning exhibition together.
Frieze Sculpture is an outdoor exhibition in Regent’s Park’s English Gardens. It is one of the most fascinating outdoor exhibitions held annually in the United Kingdom. It gives the audience an engaging multi-sensory experience with its 20 artworks from various mediums. This year’s curator is Fatoş Üstek, an independent writer and curator.
I think this year’s Frieze Sculpture is one of the most interesting exhibitions which held by Frieze until now. The Frieze Sculpture which held on 2017 was my favorite with including sculptures and installations of artists John Chamberlain (visible underneath), Alicia Kwade, KAWS, Ugo Rondinone and many other artists. However, I think this year’s exhibition is really exciting.
Frieze Sculpture is an unique art experience when compared to the art galleries and fairs we are used to. It is a public art exhibition in an outdoor setting – the park. I am very interested in visiting art exhibitions in public settings since artworks located in unconventional locations have multiple meanings while connecting with the outdoor space in which they are located. Also, holding an exhibition in an outdoor space could attract more visitors, especially ones who don’t have much time to visit art galleries or fairs.
Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind/ Frieze.
What’s more, when artworks are displayed in a public space, I think that they become a bigger part of daily life as opposed to conventional art settings, which most of the time are visited by people who frequent art galleries. Frieze Sculpture shows us that art is not separate from our daily schedule and that we must create a special time for it. Instead of planning a special art day, you could explore interesting artworks while walking in the park or chatting with your friends or family.
In the last few months, there has been a rise in the public art installations and exhibitions in London and different cities of Europe and many of them attracted a large number of visitors. Claire Luxton’s large sculpture Cornucopia in Leicester Square and La Cinquième Saison exhibition in Jardin Des Tuileries Paris were some of the other interesting outdoor exhibitions in the recent days. However, Frieze Sculpture was one of my favorites. Let’s look at some of the artworks from the exhibition together.
Moss Column
Ayşe Erkmen‘s ‘Moss Column‘ presented by Dirimart is a noteworthy artwork from the exhibition. It is a five-meter stone column, covered by moss, which is higher than most of the trees in Regent’s Park. On top of the artwork is a copper water tube to feed the moss. In the video on the Frieze website, the artist Erkmen states: “The work is disappearing in the garden with the other trees.” This drew my attention, too – Moss Column stays in harmony with other trees in the garden. Erkmen also indicates in the same video that she found the moss “in-between animal and plant and [was] fascinated by this”. I liked how she created something in-between and her original idea. It is wonderful to see an alive artwork in a natural setting.
The Mothership Connection
‘The Mothership Connection’ by Zak Ové, which was presented by Gallery 1957, also drew the attention of many visitors. When you see the colorful, long totem in the park, your attention directly goes to the artwork. In the short video posted on Frieze’s Instagram account, the artist Ové tells of his long-standing interest in Afro-Futurism; he indicates that he uses this theme a lot in his artworks and states that the use of light is essential in this artwork. Ové shares with the audience that he wanted to create an artwork which speaks about the African diaspora. Different architectural styles are visible in the different parts of his long artwork. As he explains in the video, he wanted to show the invisible stories of people from the African diaspora who worked in the architectural masterpieces of the Western part of the world. The color combinations were very interesting, as well as the way he combines ancient and modern. I think it is one of the best artworks in the exhibition.
Fat Man With Flowers
Another two exciting artworks that drew the visitors’ attention are Catharine Czudej‘s ‘Fat Man With Flowers‘ and ‘Man Kneeling With Flowers’, presented by Josh Liley. Even the names of the artworks made me want to see this because, at first, I really couldn’t understand what the artist even meant by those names. The artworks are silhouette figures kneeling and standing in the park holding flowers. In the video from The Frieze website, the artist shares with the audience that “they are inviting someone in but there is a sadness about them… they are asking you to engage.” When I first saw the flowers in their hands, I felt this feeling of engagement, but there is, as the artist also mentioned, something that makes you feel melancholic about this and that makes the artwork so captivating at the same time.
Of course, the exhibition has more to share with the visitors, with 20 artworks displayed in the Regent’s Park. Some of the featured artists are Sanford Biggers, Gülsün Karamustafa, Tony Matelli, Amy Stephens, and many more.
There are interesting artworks for you to explore. If you have time, it is an enjoyable outdoor exhibition experience for those interested in contemporary art or who want to learn about contemporary art. For someone who builds an interest in contemporary art, Frieze Sculpture and Frieze London are essential milestones and their websites provide in-depth explorations of the artworks.
If you don’t have enough time to visit the exhibition face to face, you could still explore all of the artworks on Frieze’s website. But if you do, hurry up before the exhibition closes on 29 October and head to Regent’s Park today!
Staff Writer
