Frieze Fair is like the Ideal Home Exhibition.. Except connoisseurs buy large scale installations instead of Shiatsu Massager chairs.

   With a thick head and profusely runny nose (bad cold at the time)I was swept into the meat market that is Frieze Art Fair. With Fine Art pieces filling every physical space in the large white tents, the experience was somewhat overwhelming. There is only so much scrutinizing of contemporary art from all over the globe you can really partake in in one day, without your brain deteriorating into a mushy peas consistency.

   Funnily enough, the more “well known” artist’s works seemed to catch my eye the most (i.e. Mark Quinn’s “Shell Sculpture” and Cornelia Parker’s “30 pieces of silver with reflection”). Which made me think, did I like their work because they are renowned? Or the opposite, are they renowned because their work displayed ultimate aesthetical and conceptual finesse? Cornelia Parker was mainly located in the Frith Street Gallery section, an area I would recommend, a fulfilling and intriguing selection of works, including Tacita Dean’s, laid out and curated effectively, Cornelia’s silverware levitating spectrally in the centre of the enclosure, creating a flow of visitors around the perimeter of the installation.

Cornelia Parker "30 Pieces of Silver with Reflection", 15 pairs of silver plated objects with squashed "reflection" 

  Overall, it was interesting seeing the contrasting and differing interests and styles in each country the galleries originated from. The Americans, East Coast particularly, take a fancy to Japanese artists who take inspiration from cartoons . NY’s work was colourful, playful, grabbing inspiration from pop culture (reminiscent of the Warhol days) and apparently, childhood. Meanwhile in Europe, Spain’s styles seem so far away from the US’ and England’s, who’s correspondence in art styles is still going strong. Spain’s work seems almost quite traditional, or even commercial. I decided this when viewing Spain’s Galeria Helga De Alvear. Japan’s pieces contained massive elements of traditional motifs from the past and history of the country.

 Marc Quinn, "Shell Sculpture", 2011

   One thing that struck me about Frieze was its wonderful potential for great people watching. One particularly interesting Bob Dylan-esque bloke ambled around dressed head to toe in purple, a large green feather placed in his hat. Maybe I was so prone to desperately people watching at Frieze due to Frieze Fair’s general lack of humanness in the work portrayed. The work for me that really impressed me and really struck an emotional chord was Nan Goldin’s “Cookie Meuller (March 2 1949- November 10 1989)”. It was found on one of the outside walls of the Matthew Marks Gallery area, and it was one of the only pieces at Frieze that people seemed to really stop and look at. A small crowd congregated around the wallful of framed photographs, I slowly edged myself to the front so I could see what everyone was so engrossed in. The frame on the far left of all the other framed photographs was different. It had a written extract in, a short summary of the artist’s 13 year relationship with Cookie Meuller, a woman you could probably call Goldin’s muse, who died aged forty of an AIDs related illness. Goldin had documented their entire relationship, thinking that if he “couldn’t lose her if he photographed her enough”. These A4 cibachrome prints were simple yet effective, snaps of Cookie singing, playing with her son and dog, getting married, drinking sat at the kitchen table. I was drawn, you could really feel the closeness between artist and subject. It was beautiful, personal, sensitive, an entire life on one wall. I don’t know whether I loved this piece because of the emotion in it, or the medium of photography as a technique to record a life, or even the fact this piece had a summary next to it (something I found lacking at Frieze, there were never any descriptions next to a piece so I often felt lost to what the work actually meant), but to me personally, it was a successful work.

Nan Goldin's Cookie Meuller prints viewed sideways on. Curious visitors are reflected on the photo frames.

   Yes, there was a slight presence of creativity at Frieze Art Fair, but I do think there was room for more. But understandably, Frieze fair is an event for Art and Business. Dealers and artists trawl the white tents for the next big thing in the Art world. After all, Art is rather like fashion, trends come and go. And the greats remain timeless. Notable rising stars include Tacita Dean (who has hit her big break in the form of the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall), and Martin Creed. Who’s work is soooooo hot right now. You couldn’t swing a cat without bumping into one of his canvas painted with beams of bold acrylic.

   If I wanted to review my experience with a negative perspective, I would agree wholeheartedly with this quote: “Frieze is an overlit, overpeopled, overheated carnival of excess that has given me a couple of new images to mull over. I hold them close, to calm me down, and leave before my migraine kicks in” (Miranda Sawyer, “Frieze2011- review”, www.guardian.co.uk) . But Frieze Fair was an entirely new experience for me and I remain grateful. Even if I had lost my will to live by the time I had reached the last gallery space.