The Eight Best Booths at Frieze London 2025

Recently bought by L.A. entertainment mogul Ari Emanuel, the Frieze franchise is back in full swing in Regent’s Park and off-fair across the city. Alas, in this year’s Frieze London, art seems to come second to pseudo-VIP, ego-pleasing decorum and champagne bars in all shapes and sizes, art reduced to decorative prompts for staged wealth peppered across a highly uneven selection of gallerists and artists. Confession: I’ve never spent so little time strolling an art fair before. It was boring for the most part, due to too many shoehorned brand collabs and not enough curatorial vision lifting disparate parts into somewhat of something. Art served the brands, rather than the reverse—it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it ought to be more subtle maybe—and I naively hope that Frieze can step up next year to justify its veneer of exclusivity and pretentious operation. The good news is that out of more than 150 presenting galleries, there was still room for some art.