What’s New at Masterpiece London 2019? Here Are 3 Special Installations You Won’t Want to Miss

A colossal pom-pom sculpture by Phyllida Barlow is just one of this year's unique features.

Zheng Lu, Water in Dripping: Chao (2016). Courtesy of Sundaram Tagore Gallery.

London is the hotbed of art-world goings-on right now, with its major summer contemporary auctions drawing the art market’s attention—but that’s not all. The art-meets-design Masterpiece London Art Fair is bringing more than 150 exhibitors to the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea into next week. Now in its tenth year, Masterpiece isn’t resting on its laurels. Here are a few special installations to look out for this year.

 

1. The Pom-Pom Pizzazz of Phyllida Barlow’s Oversize Installation 

Phyllida Barlow for Masterpiece Presents at Masterpiece London 2019. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Alex Delfanne.

Phyllida Barlow for Masterpiece Presents at Masterpiece London 2019. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Alex Delfanne.

As part of Masterpiece Presents, each year a contemporary artist is given the chance to transform the fair entryway into an immersive artwork. This year, British sculptor Phyllida Barlow has created a supersize version of the “pom-pom” works she first developed in the 1990s. Playful and colorful and definitely Instagram-worthy, it’s a can’t-miss highlight of this year’s fair.

 

2. A New Sculpture Series That Will Keep You On the Lookout 

Susie MacMurray, Medusa (2014–15). Courtesy of Pangolin London.

Susie MacMurray, Medusa (2014–15). Courtesy of Pangolin London.

Scavenger hunt aficionados, take note! Masterpiece has introduced Sculpture Series, a new program that will place eye-catching Modern and contemporary sculptures throughout the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The inaugural edition is curated by Jo Baring, director of the Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art, who has selected work by Tony Cragg and Gary Hume, among others. Be sure not to keep a eye out for Susie MacMurray’s beguiling handmade chainmail Medusa and Bryan Kneale’s towering Pendulum (Monumental) (Psst…this one’s outside!).

 

3. Contemporary Inuit Art 

Shuvinai Ashoona and John Noestheden, Untitled Collaboration (2008). Courtesy of the Artists and Royal Bank of Canada.

Shuvinai Ashoona and John Noestheden, Untitled Collaboration (2008). Courtesy of the Artists and Royal Bank of Canada.

The Inuit’s 3,000-year-old culture has witnessed an artistic resurgence in the past few decades, with a number of young, contemporary Inuit artists creating works the meld traditional methods and motifs with contemporary experiences. In fact, Isuma, an Inuit artist group, is currently representing Canada at the Venice Biennale. Now at Masterpiece’s Royal Bank of Canada Lounge, a selection of works drawn from the RBC Art Collection will present a curated look at this artistic community with drawings by artists from Kinngait Studios (Cape Dorset) Inuit art community and works by Shuvinai Ashoona, Annie Pootoogook, and Tim Pitsiulak, among others.

Masterpiece London 2019, sponsored by Royal Bank of Canada, takes place June 27 to July 3, 2019, at Royal Hospital Chelsea, London. 


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