Destinations

London Buzz: Artful Autumn

By Emily Goldfischer Oct 5, 2017 9:40am

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Today marks the opening of Frieze London, with contemporary masters and emerging talent on display, plus talks and parties kicking off the autumn art season in London. Beyond this weekend’s actives in Regent’s Park, there’s loads of exciting art on — from Jasper Johns at the Royal Academy and Basquait at the Barbican to installations in luxury hotels — here’s our pick of what’s not to miss.

Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth at the Royal Academy

A full retrospective of over 150 works by American artist Jasper Johns, famed for his his iconic images of flags, targets, numbers, maps and light bulbs, is on at the Royal Academy. See his most well-known works along side stunning new pieces; the exhibit is on until December 10.

Rachel Whiteread at the Tate Britain

The first female artist to win the prestigious Turner Prize for art, Rachel Whiteread is known for her evocative sculptures ranging from the intimate to the monumental, many in the form of everyday objects. See the famed Untitled (100 Spaces) from 1995 and Untitled (Staircase) from 2001 as well as the new concrete Chicken Shed; the exhibit is on until January 21, 2018.

Basquait: Boom for Real at the Barbican

The first-ever, large-scale exhibition in the UK of 1980s art prodigy Jean-Michel Basquiat, one the biggest young artist of his generation whose career stopped short when he died of a drug overdose at age 27. His celebrated combo of graffiti, art and poetry are on display along with collaborations with Andy Warhol and Keith Haring; the exhibit is on until January 28, 2018.

SUPERFLEX at the Tate Modern

Swing over to The Tate Modern to see how artists' collective SUPERFLEX have filled Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall with swings: an orange line of swings weaves through the Turbine Hall then crosses the gallery and emerges in the landscape to the south of the building. Each swing has been designed for three people by the Danish artist group. Swinging with two other people has more potential than swinging alone, fly over to the exhibit which is on until April 2, 2018.

For a Quick Art Fix:

You never know what emerging artists can be bagged for a bargain at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, which features 2,000-plus contemporary works, talks and tours on from October 19-22, 2017. For a quick art fix, check out the gold circular maps by Ewan David Eason in the new exhibit Mappa Mundi, on display at the Dorchester Collection's 45 Park Lane until November 26 and, in honor of Frieze London, British artist Antony Gormley has a spectacular sculpture in the lobby of Claridge’s; for those who really love Gormley's work, there’s ROOM, the architectural extension to The Beaumont hotel in Mayfair, where you literally sleep in a Gormley sculpture which is 30 feet high, clad entirely in dark, fumed oak, and furnished only with a king-size bed.