IT'S definitely an event to get all art lovers excited. Frieze is actually a two-part package rolled into one.
One part is mostly old, and the other is all new. The new outnumbers the old by a colossal margin, but more about that soon.
Easier to miss were two smaller fairs that packed a less ostentatious punch. At least one of them was more aligned than Frieze with the quest for art from Southeast Asia.
The StART Art Fair has been using the uniquely grand Saatchi Gallery for years. In the heart of Chelsea, this is a location that always brings to mind the swinging bits of the 60s and the Kings Road. It's still a magnet for Malaysians looking for fashion, especially the high-end offerings of Sloane Street and nearby Knightsbridge.
Post-pandemic, if we are indeed over the worst of it, the gallery presence from Malaysia has been thinned down considerably. Fortunately, other regional powerhouses have come to the rescue.
There are two galleries from Thailand and one from Singapore. At least there is still a Malaysian artist. Chang Fee Ming is a stalwart, admired as much overseas as he is at home, and once again represented in London by the Singaporean/Indonesian gallery One East Asia.
In years gone by, there were galleries from Malaysia and rather more artists from there too. Ahmad Zakii Anwar not only adorned the walls, but could also be seen striding around the art fair.
This year, it seems to be only Fee Ming who has been given a platform for his customarily rich and intricate work. With all the confusion over the United Kingdom's quarantine system, few artists from Asia are prepared to chance committing their physical presence at the fair.
One exception is a Thai artist. As Hathairat Charoenchaichana, better known as "OH+", lives in Germany, travel is less complicated for her. This engaging young person is indicative of how the art world is changing. She is more than a painter of soulful-looking women with a backdrop of tropical vegetation; she is a musical artiste of some note.
KOREAN FLAVOUR
The same applies to several well-known Korean names. This is a country that is clearly the place to be from these days. If I mention Southeast Asia, a typical reaction would be: "how close is that to Korea?"
K-Pop and other K-entertainment have made less of an impression on the UK than Malaysia, but Korean art is surging ahead.
Ceramics from the South have been doing well for years; now it's the turn of paintings and photographs. Best of all for celebrity spotters is when top performers have picked up a brush or camera, and started creating art as well as music.
At StART 2021, there is a special feature on what is called 'KPOP.art'. A large space has been turned over to the likes of Korea-based superstar Henry Lau, Ohnim and Yooyeon, better known as members of Winner.
It's hard to think of a Malaysian equivalent to this trend, except perhaps for M. Nasir, who did the reverse by starting out as a painter and becoming a performer.
LURE OF AFRICA
While Korea, in East Asia, may be mistaken for Southeast Asia in many Western imaginations, there is no such confusion with Africa. Although it is sort of a neighbour to Malaysia, across 5,000 kilometres of Indian Ocean, the links between the two land masses are limited.
On the other side of London from StART is a fair titled "1-54 Contemporary African Art". The "54" refers to the number of countries in Africa (including the Seychelles), which is a lot compared to Asean's 10.
This show was never likely to deliver the Southeast Asian goods although it does offer connections. The most apparent is batik. The biggest difference is slavery. This is a theme that is all over the place in African art while it barely registers in Southeast Asia.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Having heard so much about China trying to take over Africa by every means possible, there is a conspicuous lack of Chinese infiltration at 1-54. The country that seems to have taken over is France.
Despite the best efforts of Brexiteers, French is the language that has taken control of this corner of the international art market. The only trace of Southeast Asia in all this is some contemporary maps showing Western colonial domination in the past. Needless to say, Malaya and Borneo are pretty small on these works.
At this point, I began to look in earnest for more content from that other cultural force which I have spent a long time examining — the Islamic world.
There are almost half a billion Muslims in Africa, so they must produce plenty of art. In reality, contemporary art in that continent has as little religious input as in Europe, America or Asia. This seems to be the universal truth of 21st century art, unless it's calligraphy.
The one painting that I did at first mistake for an impressive exercise in Islamic calligraphy turned out to be something quite different.
Fathi Hassan is one of the most important artists to come out of Egypt, but being a Nubian, he has a special interest in the destruction of ancient languages and cultures.
His work uses Arabic letters, but is full of Christian imagery. It's a reminder of Africa's ancient connectedness with the wider world, as well as telling us that languages are not the exclusive property of any religion.
Follow Lucien de Guise at Instagram @crossxcultural.