By Arts Undergrduate student Cassidy Peters, with their photos. Group visits on our programmes like BA Arts & Visual Cultures or MA Art and Visual Culture is a core part of our curriculum.
One of the things that has always drawn me to London is the incredible art scene. From small galleries to famous museums like the V&A, there are so many opportunities to see a huge variety of art. In October, I was given the chance to attend Frieze; an annual art fair that takes place in Regent’s Park. Frieze is a bit different from a typical art museum since most of the art is for sale, which changes the atmosphere from what I am used to seeing and creates an interesting variety of attendees. As I walked inside, I bumped into a friend who is also an artist. We had the chance to walk around together and appreciate the art.
There were many different art mediums such as painting and sculptures, but as a photography major, I was really drawn to the photographs that were exhibited. As I continue my work in the Photography field, I hope to do many exhibitions of my own. Being able to see how other artists have set up their artworks was very helpful and something I will keep in mind for the future. I’ve also always loved art that was a bit spooky, and several pieces really stood out to me. The paintings and sculptures below were a couple of my favorites.
Cassidy’s Gallery
I really appreciated the time and effort that must’ve gone into this ocean themed sculpture (Ref 1). The book had become crystallized, with many seashells and plants placed around it. I spent a while looking at this sculpture. Ref 2 also had such an interesting contrast between the traditional looking mask, and the snails that covered it.
Between looking at the art, we stopped at a small bar inside of the exhibition. They had a nice variety of teas, coffee, and various alcoholic drinks. This was a nice break before we made our way to the next building. After we spent time wandering around the first exhibition, my friend and I made our way to the Frieze Masters building. As someone who loves history, I was very excited at the objects that were on display. We saw many pieces from the medieval times, dinosaur bones, and artifacts ranging from Egyptian to Greek. My friend who I walked around Frieze with is a painter and sculptor, and she is especially interested in medieval era art. She took many photos in the Masters building and plans to use the inspiration in her own pieces of art.
It feels so incredible to be able to see so many things from around the world, in one room. Coming from a small town in the United States, this is something that I would not get to see if I was not living in London and that made it extremely special. Since the exhibition is so large, I doubt that we got a chance to see everything but we had a great time exploring the many halls of artworks. I would definitely recommend going to Frieze at least once while you are in London, because it is such a unique experience. If you are an artist, it could also be a great place to network and make new connections to people in the field. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to go for the day with my peers & colleagues at Richmond.
