The VIP preview of Frieze London kicked off with major early acquisitions for UK institutions and a promised solo museum exhibition for an emerging artist.
Four works were acquired by the Tate, thanks to the Frieze Tate Fund, supported for the third year by the sports and media agency Endeavor. The pieces, selected by a team of Tate and international curators with a budget of £150,000, include Sonia Boyce’s 1997 photopiece The Audition (Apalazzo Gallery) from Frieze London’s Social Work section and Giorgio Griffa’s Rosa e grigio (1969; Galleria Lorcan O’Neill). The other works are by two artists new to the Tate: Johanna Unzueta (April, May 2016 NY, 2016; Proyectos Ultravioleta) and Claudette Johnson (Standing Figure with African Masks, 2018; Hollybush Gardens).
The Contemporary Art Society’s Collections Fund acquired works by two North American artists for The Box, a new arts centre due to open in Plymouth in 2020. Kehinde Wiley’s first film installation, Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools) (2017), a three-screen digital film projection, was bought from Stephen Friedman Gallery, along with two pieces by the young Korean-Canadian Zadie Xa from her solo presentation in the Focus section with Union Pacific gallery.
This year also sees the inauguration of the Camden Arts Centre Emerging Artist Prize, which goes to the Hong Kong artist Wong Ping, who will receive a solo exhibition at the centre in the next 18 months.
