Tate plunders its Outset fund to get Frieze off to a successful start

11 October 2007, The Independent

By Arifa Akbar

Tate Modern was among the more prominent British buyers as Frieze art fair opened in London’s Regent Park for sales to art market insiders yesterday. The gallery used its “Outset” fund of £150,000 to buy works four works to be shown at the former power station on London’s South Bank next month.

The works are a large installation by the Polish artist Pawel Althamer; a series of grainy photographs of urban scenes by Mauro Restiffe, a three-metre high windmill sculpture called Moulin Rouge by the German Andreas Slominski and Armando Andrade Tudela’s Altered House, a slide projection featuring a palimpsest of architectural exteriors and interiors. Neither Slominski nor Restiffe were in the Tate’s existing collection.

Nicholas Serota, the Tate’s director, said the gallery had set out to buy works by Eastern European and Latin American artists, and that that the fair provided a chance to view the best works by young unknown artists.
“We went in wanting another installation by Althamer but we came across the Slominski which felt exactly right for our collection. We don’t come to Frieze to buy works by artists that are already established. The purpose is to concentrate on emerging and international artists and I’m certain that someone like Althamer is one of the most important artist of this coming decade.”

Frieze organisers predict that more than, 63,000 people could come to the park’s pavilions over the weekend to view the sculpture, paintings and installations from more than 28 countries. Prices range from £500 to £500,000.
Despite worries about the effect of the global credit squeeze, most items at the stands of the biggest dealers were sold within the first few hours yesterday. And most pieces from the David Zwirner gallery in New York sold within minutes.