Frieze 2018:Unmissable Nine

Understated isn’t a word which comes to mind when describing Frieze. Each year the stands become more adventurous, the artwork all encompassing, a circus of frenzied activity until one retires to the reserved comfort of the Masters tent. Yet, with the same visual dynamism (and visitor numbers) as years before, we see less installation and more white cube display (with some exceptions including Jim Shaw, whose grotesque wallpaper of a melted Trump could entertain for hours). The result is a rested overall hang where each artwork is given copious breathing room. The return to established museological techniques is a surprise, but a welcome one; the familiar parameters allowing us a conversation built upon more than astonishment, the safety perhaps a nod to the uncertainty of the quite frankly mind numbing sociopolitical climate. That said, safe is still made exciting …after all, it wouldn’t quite be Frieze without a gigantic carrot hanging from the ceiling, courtesy of John Baldessari.