Highlights from Frieze London & Frieze Masters 2025

Feb 3

Each October, London becomes the center of the art world as Frieze London and Frieze Masters bring together galleries, collectors, artists, and curators from around the globe. Luckily for us, our registrar, Katie Morse, was on the front lines this past week. From hopping between the fairs and galleries to lunches at Ottolenghi and dinner at Dishoom - her visit has our entire office is daydreaming about London.

From bold new abstraction to material experimentation and reimagined figuration, narrowing it down to just nine highlights (Substack’s gallery limit really testing our restraint) was no easy task - but these are the works that stayed with her long after leaving Regent’s Park.

1. Anne Rothenstein, Pink Waves

Oil on wood panel, 52 ⅝ x 52 ⅝ in., 2025

A quiet standout. Rothenstein’s Pink Waves feels cinematic — calm at first glance, but full of emotional undercurrents. The subtle shifts of color and form create a stillness that lingers.

2. Paul Waters, Beautiful Life

Oil on cut linen collage on canvas, 46 x 60 in., 1969

A rare rediscovery from 1969, this work by Paul Waters bridges collage and abstraction with lyrical ease. Its layered surface has a rhythm that feels both spontaneous and deliberate — a time capsule of late-’60s optimism and experimentation.

3. Sam Moyer, Pony Plant

Marble, acrylic on plaster-coated canvas mounted to MDF, 49 x 36 in., 2025

Sam Moyer continues to blur the line between painting and sculpture. Pony Plant brings together raw stone and soft pigment, creating a balance between permanence and gesture. Standing before it, you feel both grounded and suspended.

4. Maryam Yousif, Habibti in Rosette Dress (Blue Dust)

Glazed stoneware, 12 ½ x 10 x 7 ½ in., 2025

Yousif’s ceramics are small in scale but full of life. This figure radiates personality — joyful, self-assured, and a little mischievous. Her work feels like a celebration of culture and individuality.

5. Mia Kokkoni, Flowers

Oil on canvas mounted on board in artist’s frame, 25 ½ x 22 ⅜ in., 2025

A tender and intimate painting that feels both timeless and fresh. Kokkoni’s brushwork captures the quiet poetry of everyday life, and her handmade frame makes the work feel complete — a perfect conversation between painting and presentation.

6. Andy Warhol, One Dollar Bill (Black)

Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 1962

A rare early example of Warhol’s fascination with money and repetition, One Dollar Bill (Black) captures the moment Pop Art began to crystallize. Stripped of color, the image feels sharper, more conceptual — a study in value, both literal and cultural. Seeing it in person is a reminder of how radical Warhol’s simplicity still feels.

7. Frank Auerbach, Another Tree in Mornington Crescent

Oil on board, c. 1980s

Few painters capture the physicality of paint like Auerbach. In Another Tree in Mornington Crescent, thick, sculptural strokes transform the familiar London street into something mythic. The work hums with energy — part observation, part memory, entirely alive.

8. Peter Beard, The Gardeners of Eden, Kenya

Photograph and collage on paper, c. 1980s

Beard’s work feels like a journal come to life — wild, layered, and deeply personal. The Gardeners of Eden, Kenya captures his lifelong fascination with the natural world, memory, and storytelling. Each mark, note, and photograph feels like a heartbeat, part of a larger narrative about art, time, and our relationship to the earth.

9. Francis Picabia, Sans titre (nu féminin)

Oil on board, early 20th century

A beautiful reminder of Picabia’s constant reinvention. This work feels timeless and modern all at once — sensuous yet restrained, experimental yet deeply human. It bridges the historical with the contemporary, a perfect note to end on.