LA London's Picks from PAD and Frieze
Two of the UK’s biggest cultural events come to London in October. Taking place over six days in Berkeley Square, PAD (Pavilion of Art and Design) plays host to more than 60 artists, galleries and designers. A stone’s throw to the north, Regent’s Park is the venue for the five-day Frieze London and Frieze Masters, which shine a light on some of the world’s most exciting artists and sculptors.
We’ve chosen our top picks from these two events.
1950s Armchairs by James Mont. Photo credit Filippo Pincolini, courtesy of Nilufar and PAD London
PAD London
Berkeley Square House, 8 – 13 October
Rose Uniacke
As we are collaborating with interior designer and art dealer Rose Uniacke on a current project, we were excited to see her among the exhibitors at this year’s PAD. Her elegant designs blend the old and the new, and she and her team craft beautiful and refined interiors for clients around the world.
A previous winner of PAD’s Best Stand award, Rose presents collectible pieces and furniture by designers including Felix Agostini and Marcel Breuer.
Tristan Hoare
Located in a Georgian townhouse in Fitzroy Square, the Tristan Hoare gallery was founded in 2009. It represents both emerging and established artists, who work across sculpture, painting and photography.
This year at PAD, the gallery will be exhibiting ceramic works by American artist Peter Schlesinger, one-time subject of David Hockney. Schlesinger’s exquisite vases and urns are influenced by stone, bronze, and ironwork forms found in antiquity.
Left: Untitled by Peter Schlesinger, courtesy of Tristan Hoare and PAD London
London Glassblowing
The first dedicated glass gallery to exhibit at PAD, London Glassblowing was founded by Peter Layton in 1976 and has since become a hub for artists, collectors and enthusiasts. The studio’s stand at PAD will include work by Nina Casson McGarva, whose intricate and otherworldly structures are inspired by elements from nature.
Artwork by Nina Casson McGarva. Photo by Sylvain Deleu, courtesy of Peter Layton, London Glassblowing, and PAD London
Frieze London
Regent’s Park, 9 – 13 October
Frieze 2023
Lawrence Lek
This year, artist and filmmaker Lawrence Lek received the Frieze London Artist Award, which gives an emerging artist the chance to realise a new commission at the fair.
Lek’s work combines video games, film, and electronic music, and often addresses the social and emotional impact of artificial intelligence. With past works set in digital worlds and typified by dark humour, we’re looking forward to seeing what Lek produces for this year’s Frieze.
Leonora Carrington
The free, open-air Frieze sculpture show in Regent’s Park is always a joy to explore, and this year it features two works by the British-Mexican surrealist artist Leonora Carrington.
A contemporary of Picasso, Dalí and Miró, Carrington produced an extraordinary range of work in materials including plaster, wood, concrete and bronze. The Dancer (El Bailarin), and La Inventora del Atole, both created in the last year of Carrington’s life, are on loan from Rossogranada gallery in Zurich.
Hank Willis Thomas, All Power to All People, 2017 at Frieze Sculpture 2023. Photo by Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/ Frieze.
Smoke
A new themed section at the fair, curated by Pablo José Ramírez of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Smoke features ceramic works influenced by mythology and folklore. It’s named after a story called The Smoke Animal by Humberto Ak’abal, about a creature made of smoke that emanates from the soil.
Works by artists including Manuel Chavajay, Ayla Tavares and Lucia Pizanni explore ancestry, archaeology, and the ways in which materials bear witness to the movement of people.