Frieze London 2025: A Tapestry of Provocation, Elegance, and Artistic Reckoning
Installation view, Frieze London, Sadie Coles HQ
Frieze London 2025 returned to Regent’s Park with a pulse—curatorial, political, and deeply personal. Across 160 galleries from 43 countries, the fair reaffirmed its role as a global stage for contemporary art, where textile traditions, digital provocations, and sculptural storytelling converged in a dialogue that felt both urgent and timeless.
This year’s edition was marked by a bold curatorial stance: a celebration of painting and craft, yes, but also a reckoning with history, identity, and the politics of representation. Eva Langret, Director of Frieze EMEA, described the fair as “foregrounding practices that challenge, inspire, and expand how we think about art today”. That ethos was palpable in every corner from the immersive installations of the Focus section to the rediscovered gems at Frieze Masters.
Vito Schnabel Gallery at Frieze Masters 2025 For the first time, among them Vito Schnabel Gallery which explored the influence of Man Ray, Giorgio de Chirico, and Francis Picabia on later 20th-century figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, and Francesco Clemente
Among the most talked-about presentations was Galerie Atiss Dakar’s showcase of Serigne Mbaye Camara, whose intricate textile works and biro drawings offered a poetic lens into Senegalese daily life. His sculptures, crafted from organic forms and found objects, echoed animist traditions while speaking to contemporary ecological concerns.
Tommaso Corvi-Mora’s booth was a masterclass in material storytelling, pairing Sam Bakewell’s ceramics with Tomoaki Suzuki’s miniature sculptures and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s portraits. The result was a seamless blend of craft and contemporary form, where each piece felt like a whisper from a parallel world.
David AAron Gallery
'A Goddess by the Greywacke Master', dated to the reign of Amasis II (570–526 B.C.E.).
British artist Sarah Ball’s haunting portraits at Stephen Friedman Gallery drew comparisons to Otto Dix, yet carried a quiet modernity. Her work “Petros,” recently acquired by the Arts Council Collection, stood out for its psychological depth and painterly restraint.
Gillian Wearing’s unexpected pivot to painting at Maureen Paley was another revelation. Her piece “Pink Lady,” featuring socialite-style women in berry-hued gowns, initially reads as a departure from her photographic self-portraits until viewers realize every face is her own. It’s a clever meditation on identity, performance, and the gaze.
Curated by Dr. Jareh Das, the Artist-to-Artist section was a standout, offering intimate insights into mentorship and artistic lineage. René Treviño’s “Regalia, Moscas Brillantes (Rojo)” a red-feathered sculpture fusing Aztec and European aesthetics was selected by Amy Sherald and spoke to queer resistance and colonial histories.
Jan Gatewood, Smoke Signals, 2025. Velvet, Cotton, Walnut birthing chair by Snyder Depass, GHK-Cu Peptides by Centre Research, 127 x 82 x 60 cm 50 x 32¼x 23⅝in (JG028).
Courtesy the artist and Rose Easton, London
Elsewhere, Alex Margo Arden’s eerie installation of rescued museum mannequins, encircled by tug-of-war rope, explored symbolic damage and the staging of history. Arden’s work, presented by Ginny on Frederick, won the inaugural Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation Prize and was acquired by the Arts Council Collection.
Eunjo Lee’s video trilogy “The Hesapia Trilogy,” presented by Niru Ratnam, offered a rare moment of digital immersion. Blending gaming graphics with mythic storytelling, Lee’s post-human landscapes explored ecological interconnectedness and the blurred boundaries between man and machine.
Sarah Ball at Stephen Friedman Gallery, FRIEZE LONDON 2025 Stephen Friedman Gallery
Sophia Al-Maria, winner of the 2025 Frieze Artist Award, debuted “Wall-Based Work,” a live stand-up comedy piece that drew crowds and challenged the conventions of performance art. Her irreverent approach underscored the fair’s embrace of genre-defying practices.
Frieze London 2025 wasn’t confined to Regent’s Park. Across the city, exhibitions like Kerry James Marshall’s “The Histories” at the Royal Academy and Eva Helene Pade’s electric debut at Thaddaeus Ropac added depth to the week’s offerings. Meanwhile, The Art Newspaper and L’Officiel’s pop-up at Shreeji in Marylebone offered a stylish respite, blending art, fashion, and editorial flair.
Frieze London 2025 was more than an art fair—it was a mirror held up to the world, reflecting its fractures, its beauty, and its potential for transformation. From textile traditions to digital provocations, the fair invited viewers to linger, question, and feel. In a year marked by global tensions and cultural shifts, Frieze reminded us that art remains a vital force—provocative, healing, and gloriously alive.
GILLIAN WEARING Pink Lady, 2025 at MAUREEN PALEY, FRIEZE LONDON 2025 DAMIAN GRIFFITHS