All the fun of the fair

WHEN AMANDA SHARP AND MATTHEW SLOTOVER FIRST MET, THE PAIR HAD NO IDEA THEY WOULD GO ON TO LAUNCH THE FRIEZE ART FAIR, ONE OF LONDON’S MOST INFLUENTIAL EVENTS interviews: bethan ryder portrait: tony french

AMANDA SHARP AND Matthew Slotover’s friendship started when they were undergraduates at Oxford University. In 1991, two years after graduating – aged just 22 – they started the contemporary art magazine Frieze. Just over a decade later they launched the Frieze Art Fair in London. Now in its fourth year, the fair – which is a showcase for galleries and artists – has become one of the most influential events in the art-world calendar.

Amanda Sharp, 38

“We were talking about the idea for this fair for years. It seemed so obvious there was a gap for it, that we assumed someone else would do it. When we decided that it would be us, it took about two years to make it happen. We were lucky to get Regent’s Park as a venue: it’s central and the right environment for an art fair. After that, it was convincing the galleries to participate. Our contacts forged from the magazine helped, which is why we had 135 galleries involved from the very start. Architect David Adjaye designed the first three fairs, bringing a sense of theatre and spectacle, but also a respect for what the art needed. I’m based in New York but visit London each month. It would have been hard for us if we didn’t have such good relations in the US because there’s such a strong American influence in the contemporary art world. I originally went there to get an American editor for the magazine, then we realised that it was a good opportunity for me to be based there as one of the two publishers. As a result, our income from the States increased by 400% in the first year. We work with galleries that have artists who will end up in the Tate, MoMA or big international museums. We’ve trimmed the number of galleries participating this year; less than one in three get in. Such good galleries apply that choosing is hard. The selection committee is composed of an international panel of gallerists. Art is quite fashionable. It’s a way to buy cultural capital. There have been seven-figure sales at the fair. Inevitably, there are huge generalisations about trends among nationalities: it’s been said that Belgian collectors are particularly adventurous and like tough conceptual art. Germans, who are very thorough, will study things for a long time. They might take three years to buy from a gallery, but then they’ll buy from you for the next 20-30 years. Our roles differ. I deal with galleries, collectors and sponsorship. We share strategy on the curatorial side and for new business, but are no longer involved with the magazine’s editorial in case of a conflict of interest. But we remain co-publishing directors and are very involved with the advertising side. Matthew and I have similar skills but different personalities and that’s a winning combination. He’s good at everything with no weaknesses – very solid. As for this year’s fair, there are exciting developments. The talks that we hold have been extremely popular so have been expanded to four days. There are also some films which have been commissioned that wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for the fair. The galleries participating are even better than last year. We didn’t realise at the fair’s outset that its location would be so important – it was meant to be an international art fair that just happened to be here. But London has embraced it with such vigour that it now feels like a part of London culture.”

Matthew Slotover, 37

“There are 10 staff working all year round on the fair. Of course, that stretches to hundreds when the fair is on. It costs £2.5 million to put on over a 200,000sq ft space, which is pretty good. We don’t take commissions from galleries. We sell space there at £210 per square metre; cheaper than the average exhibition cost in London, which is £350 per square metre. We keep up to date with what’s going on around the world. In the past year we’ve visited Russia, China, Brazil and Israel. We’re keen to visit India next. The fair attracts global visitors but the biggest markets are still Germany and the US. Increasingly, there’s a lot of interest from South Americans, the Japanese and Russians. The London art scene has really changed since we started the magazine 15 years ago. Then, there were only one or two artists who would be picked up by a gallery each year. And there were only six or seven galleries that really counted, whereas now it’s closer to 50. If you can make a living from selling your work, that’s success. Previously, it wasn’t an option, so artists taught in art schools. There’s much more press interest now, but the things that can really make an artist’s career are winning awards such as the Turner prize, representing the country at the Venice Biennale or having big shows at major museums. You can be a successful artist without most people knowing your name. I loved Tracey Emin’s response once, when she was on the Today programme. They said: ‘You’re a real self-publicist and you’re always in the media. You really play the game, don’t you?’ and she replied: ‘You called me. I didn’t call you!’ If someone is accessible and open, it makes it easier for people to criticise them in the press. Regarding our roles, we say that I buy and Amanda sells… she makes the money and I spend it. I’m in charge of the London logistics; building the fair, the marketing and running the office here. We haven’t had any major disagreements as we’re similar and have worked together for such a long time. Our attitudes to risk or artistic things are also similar. If we disagree, it’s because one of us has seen things in a different way, or has more information and can usually convince the other one. One of the things Amanda’s amazingly good at is telling people how it is, which I’m just stunned by. If a gallery asks her, ‘What do you think of the show?’ and she doesn’t like it, then she’ll say, ‘I don’t like it, I think it’s weak.’ I could never say that, but they’re pleased that Amanda’s honest. This year we have a new architect designing the exhibition, Jamie Fobert. He’s very playful. After all, Frieze isn’t a museum, it’s not a gallery… it’s a five-day event, which is something you can have fun with. And hopefully, visitors will too.” The Frieze Art Fair, 12-15 October 2006; Regent’s Park, London; www.friezeartfair.com