--- description: Author Anne-Celine Jaeger reports for LightBox on her eight favorite photographs from Frieze 2013 in London, one of the world's leading contemporary art fairs. title: Reporting from Frieze: Eight Exciting Discoveries at the Contemporary Art Fair image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9062619467d8e5e3/6987a7e2e53abace8e4da78b/unknown1.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Reporting from Frieze: Eight Exciting Discoveries at the Contemporary Art Fair by [Anne-Celine Jaeger](/author/anne-celine-jaeger/) ## Anne-Celine Jaeger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 23, 2013 8:00 AM CUT  Negative (California), 2013 Negative (California), 2013Anne Collier—Courtesy of Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles by [Anne-Celine Jaeger](/author/anne-celine-jaeger/) ## Anne-Celine Jaeger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 23, 2013 8:00 AM CUT _I really wasn’t sure what to expect this year of Frieze, one of the world’s leading contemporary art fairs, which takes place every October in Regents Park, London. At its inception ten years ago, the fair was a vibrant, colorful event, with lots of artists milling around – both emerging and established – as well as curators, gallery owners, collectors and art lovers. But over the years, the ticket price has increased to the point where some artists now feel reluctant to pay the entrance fee for something that, as one journalist put it, “is basically an art supermarket.”_ _Upon entering the temporary structure built by architects Carmody Groarke, and walking into the first of many gallery booths, I realized that, if this is a supermarket, it’s a high-end model._ _In fact, I was so impressed by most of the art on display that I made a call to a reluctant artist friend and said, “Even if it means you’re eating nothing but beans tomorrow, come have a look.” After three days of full immersion, I attempted to select my eight favorite photographs. In no particular order, they are:_ **_1)_** **Tacita Dean,** **_The Book End of Time_** **, 2013,** [**_Frith Street Gallery_**](http://www.frithstreetgallery.com "undefined") There is poetry in the frailty of this object, as if one gust of wind could shatter the book into a galaxy of crystal splinters. According to the gallerist, Tacita Dean immersed J.G. Ballard’s 1960 story “The Voices of Time” in a stream, on a salt plane in Utah, for several weeks to get this effect. The artist then used photography to document the outcome of her experiment, as the book was too fragile to move. To me, the book appears like a physical manifestation of the death of the printed page, made all the more apparent by gallery owners preferring to show artists’ work on iPads rather than with the help of a _catalogue raisonné_. **2)** **_Thomas Ruff, photograms, 2013,_** [**_Konrad Fischer Galerie_**](http://www.konradfischergalerie.de "undefined") “What exactly is going on here?” I wondered as I stood in front of the large-scale Thomas Ruff photographs. I have to say, even after the kind gallery assistant explained Ruff’s working practice to me for this series, I remained slightly confused as to how exactly a virtual darkroom was used to create this photographic magic. Nevertheless, it left me entranced.  John Boyega The 22 year old British actor starred in the 2011 British monster movie Attack the Block. Thomas Ruff—Courtesy of Konrad Fischer Galerie **3** **_) Wolfgang Tillmans, Karl Marseille II, 2013,_** [**_Juana de Aizpuru_**](http://www.juanadeaizpuru.es "undefined") After lots of conceptual art, it’s quite refreshing to stand staring straight into a man’s crotch. Greying sports socks on train-seat fabric has never been the most arousing of combinations but Tillmans certainly tickled my feathers with _Karl Marseille II._ **4)** **_Koji Enokura, Symptom-Lump of Lead to the Sky I, 1972,_** [**_Takaishii Gallery_**](http://www.takaishiigallery.com/en "undefined") I admit I knew nothing about the Japanese artist Enokura before seeing this photograph, but it stopped me in my tracks. The graphic elements of the image — the criss-crossing lines of the square paving stones, the vertical lines of the wall and the darker and lighter elements of the photograph — really enticed me, as well as the fact that it left me wondering, _How is this lump airborne just so?_ **5)** **_Raphael Hefti, Lycopodium series, 2012,_** [**_Ancient & Modern_**](http://www.ancientandmodern.org "undefined") The Swiss artist Hefti creates his photograms using photo-sensitive paper in a pitch-black underground storage facility. A modern-day alchemist, Hefti then lights the spores of the flammable plant “witches moss,” thereby achieving “color explosions” with enchanting hues.  Andy Serkis Best known for his role as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Serkis was most recently the Second unit director in the Hobbit trilogy. Raphael Hefti—Courtesy of Ancient and Modern **6)** **_Anne Collier, Negative (California), 2013,_** [**_Marc Foxx_**](http://www.markfoxx.com "undefined") According to the gallery, the photograph is a reconsideration of earlier source material from Collier’s archive. Its life-size print is alluring, drawing the viewer into the scene. The silvery sea looks like mercury or even mountain snow, adding a sense of mystery and suspense to the image. Will I drown if I follow her in?  Adam Driver The Girls actor was reported by Variety back in February to have been cast to play the villain in Episode VII. Anne Collier—Courtesy of Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles **7)** **_Shimabuku, Gift: An exhibition for monkeys, 1992,_** [**_Wilkinson Gallery_**](http://www.wilkinsongallery.com "undefined") Tucked away in the far end of one of Frieze’s long aisles was the Wilkinson Gallery. Having assessed the contents of countless booths, I felt by this stage that Shimabuku had not only created a gift for the monkeys with this image, but a gift for me, too.  Oscar Isaac Born in Guatemala and a graduate of the Juilliard School, Isaac played Prince John in the 2010 film Robin Hood. Shimabuku—Courtesy of Wilkinson Gallery **8)** **_Akram Zaatari, 60 Men Crossing Ain El Helweh Bridge, 2007,_** [**_Sfeir Semler Gallery_**](http://www.sfeir-semler.com "undefined") This is a collection of exceptional black and white images from the Hashem El Madani Archive. Hashem El Madani was a photographer working in Saida, Lebanon, between the late 1940s and ’70s. His archive is maintained by the Arab Image Foundation, of which the artist Akram Zaatari is a founding member. In these images we see men, young and old, crossing Ain El Helweh Bridge in their suits, on bikes, laughing, chatting, some walking leisurely, others in a rush. The bridge and its characters have come alive all over again, thanks to Zaatari’s fabulous archival work.  Max von Sydow The veteran Swedish actor has played countless roles over the years including that of Ming the Merciless in the 1980 rendition of Flash Gordon and the voice of Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters II Akram Zaatari—Courtesy of Gallery Sfeir-Semler, Beirut-Hamburg --- **_Anne-Celine Jaeger_** _is the author of_ [Image Makers, Image Takers](http://www.thamesandhudson.com/Image%5FMakers%5FImage%5FTakers/9780500288924 "undefined")_, published by Thames & Hudson. She previously wrote for LightBox about_ [_Jean-François Leroy_](http://lightbox.time.com/2013/08/27/25-years-of-visa-pour-limage-a-tribute-to-jean-francois-leroy/#1 "undefined")_._ --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3803406/reporting-from-frieze-eight-exciting-discoveries-at-the-contemporary-art-fair/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3803406/reporting-from-frieze-eight-exciting-discoveries-at-the-contemporary-art-fair/"},"headline":"Reporting from Frieze: Eight Exciting Discoveries at the Contemporary Art Fair","datePublished":"2013-10-23T08:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:40:38.331Z","description":"Author Anne-Celine Jaeger reports for LightBox on her eight favorite photographs from Frieze 2013 in London, one of the world's leading contemporary art fairs.","url":"https://time.com/3803406/reporting-from-frieze-eight-exciting-discoveries-at-the-contemporary-art-fair/","keywords":["LightBox","Out There"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9062619467d8e5e3/6987a7e2e53abace8e4da78b/unknown1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anne-Celine Jaeger","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/anne-celine-jaeger/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9062619467d8e5e3/6987a7e2e53abace8e4da78b/unknown1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Unknown","caption":"Negative (California), 2013","creditText":"Anne Collier—Courtesy of Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3803406/reporting-from-frieze-eight-exciting-discoveries-at-the-contemporary-art-fair/","name":"Reporting from Frieze: Eight Exciting Discoveries at the Contemporary Art Fair"}}]}] ```