A recap of Design week - PAD London, Frieze London & Frieze Masters
- Studio Augustine
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
As the leaves begin to change and we reach for our autumn wear, London’s Regent’s Park and Berkeley Square is transformed into the art and design world’s gathering points.
I visited PAD London on Tuesday (collectors preview) and Frieze London on Wednesday which offer a slightly quieter viewing time.
PAD London, Frieze London and its sibling Frieze Masters, draw curators, collectors, design lovers, connoisseurs with their showcase of contemporary and historical art and design pieces. For the luxury interior designer, London interior designer, or any creative professional seeking inspiration, these fairs offer feast visual culture spanning centuries.
Laffanour Galerie Downtown picking up the prize for historical design in its booth at PAD London, with a rosewood paneling by Pierre Chareau. A painting by Oskar Schlemmer ‘Dinner Party’ at Hauser & Wirth booth or print on brass panel diptych by multi-disciplinary Irish artist Ailbhe Ní Bhriain at the Kerlin Gallery booth at Frieze London.
Founded in 2003, Frieze London has established itself as important date within of the international art calendar with PAD London arrival just 4 years later. Taking place each October, usually around the second week of the month, both fairs occupies a stunning purpose built structure. A black tent in Berkeley Square across from private member’s club Annabel’s and The Regent's Park, one of London's Royal Parks are two white tents.
Frieze Masters, launched in 2012, creating a unique dialogue between old and new.
What I love about when PAD London and Frieze return, is the city’s participation. Major galleries including RA,Tate coordinate exhibition openings to coincide with the fair.
Commercial galleries, auction houses, hotels, private members club like Art’s club throughout curate special presentations bringing on fresh excitement to the city.
As a residential interior designer and commercial interior designer, the fair provides a brilliant opportunity to discover emerging artists, identify trends as well as engage directly with gallerists and makers, becoming an extension of current or future projects.
The opportunity to visit the fairs offers an encounter to discover emerging artists, experience museum quality, craftsmanship like no other, all vetted by discerning selection committees. What makes it even better, it is available for acquisition.
As an interior designer, specifying art for client projects, the ability to engage directly with gallery, discuss provenance, arrange studio visits, and negotiate terms is truly invaluable.
PAD London is also a great inspiration for mixing materials or simply fearlessness of design. A thread that runs through the booths at all fairs, is a lesson in presentation. Each booth s carefully designed to create a micro environment, spatial planning, lighting design and framing choices, all of which is a part of design narrative.
Walk through Frieze Masters and observe how dealers frame Old Master paintings, bronzes, and modernist works on paper. You'll encounter everything from gilded frames to contemporary profiles that disappear into white walls. These choices reflect a careful consideration of how the frame mediates between artwork and viewer, between object and context, how to balance impact with intimacy, how to allow each piece its moment.
PAD London, Frieze London and Frieze Masters represent far more than a marketplace, these fairs yields a forum for cultural exchange. As a residential interior designer and commercial interior designer, they are great places to source those distinctive pieces for client collections, statement works for hotels, these autumn fairs offer irreplaceable value.
As the tents descend, the lessons learnt in lighting design, spatial planning, ecosystem created continues to echo across the city.
October in London, when art, design, and inspiration converge beneath the ancient plane trees.
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