Art Galleries to visit near Frieze
October, when Frieze takes over Regent’s Park, is the perfect month to explore London’s wider art scene. Here is a selection of galleries located walking distance from Regent’s Park. They are not officially part of the fair, but they offer the opportunity to view art in a more intimate setting, in contrast to the vast scale of Frieze.
Palmer Gallery
Established in January 2024, Palmer Gallery is located in Lisson Grove, an area with a rich industrial past. The gallery specialises in multidisciplinary, collaborative, and immersive exhibitions that integrate painting, sculpture, video, performance, and sound, providing a space for emerging artists to push the boundaries of their practice beyond traditional formats.
Opening on the same day as Frieze, ‘Ex-Voto’ will feature works by Shaan Bevan and Owen Pratt, and will explore themes of illness, healing, and the intertwined nature of life and the environment.
The Showroom
Just behind Palmer Gallery is The Showroom, another former warehouse. Its impressive façade currently features Nassim Azarzar’s mural ‘Hayat al Noujoum / La vie des étoiles’. The Showroom is a non-commercial, non-profit art space dedicated to collaborative approaches to cultural production both locally and internationally.
The exhibition currently on view, Remedies – Lullaby Nest by Sasha Huber and Petri Saarikko, explores the ancient tradition of lullabies within the context of their ongoing investigation into healing across cultures. The artists invite visitors to disconnect from the world and emphasise the significance of rest as an act of resistance and healing, while acknowledging the socio-economic privilege tied to the ability to rest.
Patrick Heide Contemporary Art
Also in Lisson Grove, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art on Church Street is a gallery dedicated to showing drawings and works on paper. The works are largely conceptual, abstract, and process-driven, presented with a sense of sophistication, visual intrigue, and sensuality. The space invites contemplation and reflection.
‘Slow Motion’ is the exhibition selected for Frieze week, which will bring together works by Pius Fox, Lizzie Munn, and Amaya Suberviola. The artists explore slow, deliberate processes of making, by reworking imagery through layered paintings and installation. ‘Slow Motion’ encourages reflection on how distinct perceptions of time influence both the creation and experience of art.
The Gallery of Everything
The Gallery of Everything is participating in Frieze Masters this year, but the gallery space in Marylebone is well worth a visit in its own right. Stepping inside feels like entering another world, one filled with artists who operate outside the mainstream. Dedicated to exhibiting self-taught, outsider, spiritualist, and vernacular art from the 19th century to the present, the gallery highlights a diverse range of creators – across race, gender, class, and neurodivergence – whose work challenges conventional norms.
During Frieze week, The Gallery of Everything will present the work of Seyni Awa Camara, an African sculptor in her eighties whose creations explore themes of motherhood, magic, and forest spirits. Raised in a family of artisans, Camara was introduced to clay sculpture by her mother. Her terracotta sculptures are held in prestigious collections, including Tate Modern, Musée du quai Branly, and the National Museum in Oslo.
Tristan Hoare Gallery
Located in Fitzroy Square, Tristan Hoare Gallery presents a broad range of contemporary and established artists, ranging from African photography and glass, to textiles, drawing, and more recently, Korean and Japanese ceramics. The gallery brings together works from different eras, combining ancient pieces with modern art in ways that resonate with both experienced collectors and newcomers alike.
In October, the gallery will present a solo show by the Korean artist Chun Kwang Young. He is known for his arrangements of small, triangular pieces wrapped in antique mulberry paper, often coloured with natural dyes. Chun’s work merges Korean heritage and his childhood memories of medicinal herbs wrapped in mulberry paper, with Western concepts, transforming paper into large-scale crystalised forms that reflect both destruction and renewal.
Alice Amati
Alice Amati’s gallery opened in Warren Street a year ago and has quickly gained attention for its selection of exhibiting artists. The gallery is committed to supporting new voices in contemporary art, and places an emphasis on research, collaboration, and diverse practices to encourage global conversations on relevant societal and artistic issues.
To coincide with the beginning of Frieze, Alice Amati will present ‘Buketan’, the first solo exhibition in the UK of the New York-based artist Miko Veldkamp. Drawing on his Surinamese heritage, time in the Netherlands, and life in New York, Veldkamp’s work examines themes of history, identity, and city life. His paintings include symbolic self-portraits, mirrors, and shadows to explore the idea of belonging in more than one place. The exhibition presents identity as layered and shifting, reflecting Veldkamp’s view of belonging beyond fixed cultural categories.
Cob Gallery
The Cob Gallery, in Royal College Street, Camden, is housed in a renovated space with a sleek, modern aesthetic. A white-cube style setting with pristine walls and uniform lighting, Cob Gallery operates as an artist-led project space with attached studios and has represented artists since 2016, taking part in international art fairs. The gallery focuses on emerging and mid-career artists, particularly in painting and drawing, and pairs UK-based with international artists, frequently giving them their London debut.
Ana Teles for London Art Walk
September 2024