‘It was a surprise for Londoners, 20 years ago, when a big tent went up in the park; just what was it?” says Thaddaeus Ropac, the leading Austrian-born international gallerist, recalling the birth of the Frieze art fair in London. “But after two years, all the taxi drivers knew what was going on and it was beginning to define the city at this time of year.”
The arrival in Regent’s Park of a marquee full of the world’s best contemporary art – along with artists, dealers and a parade of wealthy collectors – seized London by the scruff of its grimy neck in 2003. Galleries from New York, LA, Berlin, Paris, Antwerp, Moscow and Mexico City all set up stands underneath the huge temporary structure, designed by architect David Adjaye.
