NOWNESS at Frieze, Day Three

Bentleys bumper to bumper on Marylebone Road, inboxes overflowing with invitations to private views, and galleries stockpiling champagne—yes, the madness of the Frieze Art Fair has taken over London. Gallerists, collectors, artists and celebrities vied for one of the coveted VIP preview passes that granted access to the tents in Regent’s Park on Wednesday, before the official opening yesterday. At the event the major power players of the industry come to eyeball artworks totaling $375m in value, ranging from The True Artist Helps the World By Revealing Mystic Truths (a spectacular wall of fish by Damien Hirst that sold immediately for $5.6m) to the freshest offerings from up-and-coming talent. Strolling through the aisles, NOWNESS spotted White Cube dealer Jay Jopling chatting to hotelier Andre Balazs, Hauser & Wirth’s Iwan Wirth dashing from booth to booth, artists Wolfgang Tillmans and Grayson Perry demonstrating characteristic sartorial flair, musicians Nick Rhodes and Ronnie Woods, and a whole host of fashion types including the IHT’s Suzy Menkes, designer Raf Simons and model Claudia Schiffer. We asked lauded photographer Frederike Helwig, who has shot for The New York Times, Vanity Fair and Vogue among others, to capture the unfolding scene as poses were perfected and deals struck.