Each year, against the enchanting backdrop of Regent’s Park, a rendezvous between ancient and modern takes place. Layered with dark earthy tones and bounded by ornate gold frames, the antique pieces donning the walls at Frieze Masters are rare, intact vestiges of the bygone era. They might be mere objects, but they are teeming with character; whispering tales of the past to those who observe them. Across the lawn, at Frieze London, the collection of artworks on display speak to the value of the contemporary: art doesn’t always have to be conventionally “beautiful” to be appreciated and adored. Here, the art is as imaginative, experimental and unapologetically whimsical as ever. Whether you’re drawn to the contemporary, the antique, or are an avid enthusiast of both, London’s Frieze Art Fair is the quintessential art event to attend this fall.

London’s Edition of the annual Frieze Art Fair is set to take place this October. Second only to Art Basel Switzerland, it maintains its reputation as one of the world’s leading contemporary art events. The event attracts 60,000 attendees each year, consisting of critics, collectors and celebrities alike. Notable attendees over the years include names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Princess Eugenie and Valentino Garavani. Frieze London is set to feature mainly post-2000 works from both the iconic and up and coming artists. It is the most international of Frieze’s fairs, with over 35 countries being represented by the 160 galleries present there. Frieze Masters, which runs in tandem with Frieze London, is just a 15-minute walk away. The more elegant affair of the two, Frieze Masters is centred on what came before – the pre-2000 masterpieces.

Frieze was founded in 1991 by visionaries Amanda Sharp, Matthew Slotover and Tom Gidley. While originally established as frieze magazine, a media platform dedicated to curating high-quality content related to contemporary art and culture, Frieze has since extended itself with the launch of four international art events: Frieze London, Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York and Frieze Masters.  Frieze’s firstborn art fair, Frieze London, has been making its mark in Regent’s Park since 2003. Frieze New York and Frieze Masters followed suit in 2012, and Frieze Los Angeles entered the scene in 2019.

At Frieze London, as you wind between the passageways of the marquee, ears are filled with the murmur of conversation among discerning observers, while eyes dart to and from each spectacular art piece adorning the maze of booths. Frieze London is made up of a main section, which features commercial galleries representing international artists and a Focus section, featuring smaller galleries which represent emerging artists. Operating as a trade fair, visitors are able to browse and buy at the event. Some of the biggest sales at the 2019 event included Mark Bradford’s A Molded Pool of Stories (2019) for $3.4 million and Kerry James Marshall’s Car Girl 2 (2019) for $3.8 million.

The majority of attendees, however, choose just to observe and peruse, enjoying the cultural experience and being mesmerized by the art that surrounds them. The works have been created using several different mediums, including paintings, photographs, ceramics, tapestries, sculptures and immersive installations.

Such an example was offered by Viviane Sassen, an Amsterdam-born fashion photographer, who was selected to display Venus and Mercury (2019) in the Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Lounges at the 2019 event. Based on a project she conducted at Versailles, the series encompasses photographs of a few of the palace’s broken sculptures and artefacts awaiting restoration – a hand missing here and there, a couple with no heads. The photographs of the sculptures also appear as if they have been splashed with bright paint, each one partially covered in either a red, yellow, turquoise or light pink pigment. A particularly interesting addition to the project was Leϊla, a French-Sengalese teen that Sassen photographed on the grounds of Versailles, along with some of her friends. Seen dressed in denim and snapping selfies on their mobile phones, the modern young women were perfectly juxtaposed against the historic site.

Leaving the post-2000 world of contemporary and abstract behind, a stroll across the lawns of Regent’s Park will bring you to Frieze Masters. Essentially a “fair within a fair”, Frieze Masters highlights 130 historical galleries, housing paintings, sculptures, archaeological charms and photographs spanning from the Ancient Era, Old Masters and 20^th Century. One may find still life paintings of the 17^th century, or feminist photography from the 1980s.

Frieze Masters transports its attendees back in time, allowing them to reflect on the history of iconic artworks which have served as the foundations and influential models of the (now contemporary) art space. A portrait of Michele Marullo Tarchaniota (1497) by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli was the talk of the town at the 2019 Edition of Frieze Masters, given that it was the most expensive artwork to grace its walls, with an asking price of $30 million.

Accompanying its art exhibition, the Frieze Art Fair hosts a variety of additional programmes, including the Frieze Artist Award, Frieze Talks, and Frieze Film. The Frieze Artist Award is bestowed upon an emerging international artist a couple of months prior to the event, offering them the chance to debut a commission. The 2020 Edition Frieze Artist Award recipient was Glasgow-based artist, Alberta Whittle, who presented her moving-image work RESET at Frieze London’s online viewing room. The Fair’s Frieze Talks programme features informative keynote lectures and panel discussions by internationally acclaimed artists and curators, while Frieze Film emphasises special screenings and premiers.

While a buffet of world-class art at every turn may satiate one’s hunger for soul-enriching cultural stimulation, a real appetite is sure to be worked up in lieu of such an experience. The Frieze Art Fair offers impressive pop-up dining from some of London’s most superb restaurants, cafés and bars. Former instalments of the Frieze London event have starred the likes of Frenchie, Petersham Nurseries, Moro and Ahi Poke, to name a few. Or, if one chooses to dine with the greats, Frieze Masters also offers a range of options, including Gail’s Artisan Bakery, Locanda Locatelli, Xu and Michelin-starred Umu.

London’s Frieze Art Fair is a must-see for any devoted lover of the arts. Although Frieze London and Frieze Masters are two separate fairs which just so happen to run alongside each other, you cannot help but notice the ways in which they are connected. There is a marrying of ancient and modern. Where Frieze London focuses on works created by the living, Frieze Masters acknowledges works by those long since passed. And yet, in an interesting and unique way, Frieze Masters looks back on these works from a contemporary lens, fostering fresh perspectives and new ways of understanding the historical art space.