OMR in Frieze London 2021

OMR is pleased to return to Frieze London 2021 with a curated selection of works by Atelier Van Lieshout, Pia Camil, Jose Dávila, Ana Montiel, Gabriel Rico, SUPERFLEX, Troika and presenting: Ana Montiel. 

t seems the human world has begun a new chapter, one that has learned to re-organize and cope with the pandemic, one that perhaps too quickly, re-assumes its habits: Humanity eager to participate in its primary instinct to socialize and make up for lost time.

Among catastrophic circumstances, the pandemic, for many, was also a gift. A gift of time. Time to reflect, time to re-organize, time with loved ones. Enough time to reconsider how we spend our present and future time. Time for meaning. Time with purpose. For the lucky, the pandemic, allowed time to re-connect with that which is essential.

As the human world begins anew a spiral which will quickly and surely have us chase our tails once again, we consider that one change we can make that will perhaps alter at least our own minds, is to imbue whatever we pretend to do with meaning that reflects on our current condition and existence. 

Who better to begin with than Atelier Van Lieshout, whose sculptures on recurrent themes of systems of power and repression, life, sex, death, and the human individual became the starting points and red thread for our presentation. Occupying center stage, a dystopian future offers Salvation in the form of faith, extremism and fetish. Contrasting as a backdrop, newcomer to our program, Ana Montiel, offers hope and light at the end of the tunnel, exploring a sublime and spiritual human experience through unrepresentative and richly layered color field portals. At the opposite end, high above Van Lieshout’s preachers, a word to the wise, a phrase we all know too well but refuse to act upon: THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. SUPERFLEX’s brightly lit sign, subtitles the space with a stark warning that goes beyond our own scale and existence, challenging us to face and own the hard truth of what we should all be accountable for: our planet’s health. As a reminder of this fact, Troika take the digital to the analog, by humanizing computer processed images of evermore occurring hurricanes into pixelated classical paintings of an again, dystopian and un-functional relationship with our favorite friend: technology.

Last but not least, Pia Camil, offers solace and truth in her painting. The ultimate cycle of our mortality; From Life to Death to Life to Death.

Seems appropriate for where we are today.

Frieze London
October 13-17, 2021