Frieze Art Fair

An enormous amount to see. Such variety. Wonderful 18th-century printed maps, for instance, in separately-framed panels that covered entire walls.

 Glorious books - illuminated manuscripts

In travelling bibles from the 1400s, the written text
could be very, very small

This one is from 1200 or so, in an original binding

The strange calligraphy is designs for horses' bridle-bits!

El Anatsui in the background, Kentridge's Ampersand, and
some earnest conversation ,,,

,,, about this collage of map-edges (no wall label)

Charcoal drawing by William Kentridge - with faint red lines
here and there, a vestigial grid. How did he keep the white areas so white?

Helio Oticia shows how satisfying simple shapes can be
... it's all about the spacing

Ivon Hitchins, a wonderful way with colour - again,
it's about the amount of each, and the placement

Terry Frost - vivid, and the interesting conjunction at the edges

 Two "basketry" works by Ruth Asawa -

 Beads and reeds from Oceania -

"Rare anthropomorphic idol stele depicting a warrior" - north Italy, 3500-2300BC -

 Lucian Freud's drawing of cactuses -

Decommissioned prison uniforms were used for this "quilt" by Hank Willis Thomas -

Heidi Bucher's Water Tower -

Summer Evening by Fausto Melotti

Guillermo Kuitca

...who did this?...

One from the 50s by Richard Hamilton

One from the 70s by Boetti - it's ALL about the thread

No wall label, but possibly by Boetti - ink marks masquerading as thread

So much amazing stuff, destined to disappear from public view. So much to see, to remember... and of course there was the people-watching and the fashion lessons. I tried to be selective about taking photos.

Two favourite moments involved children - a girl of 8 or so, long blond hair and elegant mother, carefully lining up a photo of a very colourful collection of smaller works. And the two girls, same age, seriously discussing the formal aspects of one of the paintings, then running off together at high energy. Catch 'em young!