Frieze London 2026: The Future of Art Takes Centre Stage in Regent’s Park

From leading international galleries to emerging artistic voices, Frieze London returns with an ambitious programme exploring the future of contemporary art, new collecting perspectives and the cultural forces shaping our time.

London is once again at the centre of the international art world. From 14 to 18 October 2026, Frieze London returns to Regent’s Park for its twenty fourth edition, bringing together 176 galleries from 43 countries and regions. Running alongside Frieze Masters, the fair offers an extraordinary panorama of contemporary artistic production, connecting established names, emerging practitioners and collectors in one of the most influential events on the global art calendar.

More than a marketplace, Frieze has become a platform where artistic ideas, cultural debates and new collecting directions intersect. This year’s programme places particular emphasis on experimentation, historical reassessment and the relationship between art and contemporary society. The main section brings together some of the most influential galleries in the world, presenting artists whose practices continue to redefine contemporary painting, sculpture and installation.

At Lisson, Dalton Paula explores overlooked histories and the representation of Black historical figures, using painting to recover stories that have remained outside dominant historical narratives. Gagosian will present six major new large scale paintings by Albert Oehlen, whose practice continually challenges the conventions of painting through unexpected combinations of images, gestures and forms.

At Pace Gallery, Marina Perez Simão translates the shifting colours and atmospheres of natural landscapes into abstract compositions, while Galerie Jocelyn Wolff will present an installation of 24 paintings and drawings by Miriam Cahn, whose work confronts the human body, vulnerability and violence.

Victoria Miro will feature recent paintings and sculpture by Kudzanai Violet Hwami, alongside works by Clare Woods, Khalif Tahir Thompson and Paula Rego. Hauser & Wirth will bring together artists including Frank Bowling, Sonia Boyce, Allison Katz, Christina Kimeze and Michaela Yearwood Dan, reflecting the diversity of contemporary artistic practices emerging from London and its international connections.

At Sprüth Magers, Cao Fei and Kara Walker will be presented in dialogue with artists including Anne Imhof, Mire Lee and Barbara Kruger, exploring the relationships between images, identity and contemporary culture.

Meanwhile, Sadie Coles HQ will present Princess Daffodil, a monumental sculpture by Alex Da Corte standing more than 3.5 metres tall, alongside works by Yu Nishimura, Sarah Lucas and Helen Marten.

These presentations demonstrate the breadth of the fair, where painting remains central while expanding into new conceptual, material and cultural territories. For collectors interested in discovering new artistic voices, Focus, supported by Stone Island, is one of the most compelling sections of the programme.

The 2026 edition features 35 galleries from 17 countries, each established no more than twelve years ago.

Among the participants are eastcontemporary from Milan, Chemould CoLab from Mumbai, Linseed from Shanghai and Theta from New York. Their presence highlights the growing importance of younger galleries in creating international networks and introducing artists to a wider audience.

At eastcontemporary, Anastasia Sosunova’s Preppers combines film and sculpture to investigate survival, consumer culture and contemporary capitalism.

At Wschód, Laurie Smith draws on the history of Huddersfield’s Gemini Club to explore queer spaces, surveillance and gentrification.

Maya Hewitt, presented by Theta, combines painting and ceramics in a theatrical universe shaped by memory, motherhood and fantasy.

Chemould CoLab will present Jayeeta Chatterjee, whose woodcut prints and textile based works examine the lives and labour of Bengali women.

These projects show how emerging galleries can offer ambitious presentations that challenge conventional artistic narratives while opening new perspectives for collectors.

Returning for its fourth edition, Artist to Artist introduces another distinctive approach to discovery. The section invites established artists to nominate practitioners whose work deserves greater visibility. Supported by Tiffany & Co., the 2026 programme includes seven solo presentations, creating a network of artistic exchange across generations and cultural contexts.

Jorge González Santos, nominated by Gala Porras Kim, explores Puerto Rican material culture through weaving and drawings.

Jota Mombaça, nominated by Otobong Nkanga, combines painting, ceramics and raw earth in an ongoing investigation of materiality and the environment.

Caroline Monnet, nominated by Jeffrey Gibson, brings Indigenous knowledge into dialogue with contemporary sculpture, while Paul Robas, nominated by Louise Giovanelli, presents multilayered paintings exploring memory and human experience.

By foregrounding artistic recognition rather than reputation alone, the section offers visitors a more personal way to discover emerging practices.

A major new addition to Frieze London 2026 is The Code Universe, curated by Carol Yinghua Lu. Bringing together artists working from the late 1970s to the present, the section investigates how popular culture, consumer goods, mass media and digital technologies influence contemporary life. Among the participating artists are Selma Selman, Shinro Ohtake, Carolyn Lazard and Payne Zhu. Their practices examine subjects ranging from global capitalism and medical systems to algorithmic imagery and the circulation of information online. Through sculpture, painting, archival material and digital installation, the section questions how images and objects acquire meaning in an increasingly connected world.

Alongside the contemporary fair, Frieze Masters brings together 142 galleries from 33 countries, creating a dialogue between antiquity, historical art and twentieth century practices. Highlights include Anthony van Dyck’s Portrait of a Nobleman, presented by Colnaghi, and sculptures by Lee Bontecou at Marc Selwyn Fine Art.

Galleria Continua will present ceramic sculptures by Anish Kapoor, while Vigo Gallery will show works from Ibrahim El Salahi’s early artistic period.

Frieze Masters also examines overlooked histories through Queering Modernism: Visual Languages of the 20th Century, curated by Anke Kempkes.

The exhibition explores queer experience and representation through works by artists including Claude Cahun, Judy Chicago, Alice Neel and Lotte Laserstein, reconsidering the narratives through which modern art has traditionally been understood. Beyond the exhibition halls, Frieze Sculpture transforms Regent’s Park into an open air exhibition.

Curated by Fatoş Üstek, the 2026 programme runs until 1 November, offering visitors a free opportunity to encounter contemporary sculpture within the park’s English Gardens. For collectors, Frieze London 2026 offers more than the opportunity to encounter established artists and discover new names. It provides a concentrated view of the ideas, relationships and institutional structures shaping contemporary art. Major galleries offer insight into established artistic careers, while Focus and Artist to Artist create opportunities to engage with practitioners whose international visibility is still developing. The coexistence of these different platforms reflects a broader transformation in collecting, in which artistic research, historical context and long term development can be as important as immediate market recognition.

Frieze Masters reinforces this perspective by demonstrating how art history continues to evolve through rediscovery and reinterpretation. Together, the two fairs reveal an international art world that is increasingly diverse, interconnected and open to new narratives. From ambitious paintings and experimental installations to historical reassessments and emerging galleries, Frieze London 2026 brings together different visions of what art can be and how it can shape our understanding of the world. For five days, Regent’s Park becomes a meeting point for artists, curators, gallerists and collectors, offering a unique opportunity to discover the practices and ideas that may define the next chapter of contemporary art.