Sometimes simplicity wins in the midst of the general chaos and overcrowding at art fairs—something that The Sunday Painter have adhered to wholeheartedly. A single work by the young London-based artist Samara Scott sits diagonally in the booth, regularly surrounded by a cooing crowd.
Scott is an expert in delicious and ultra contemporary visuals. Bright and pastel tones meet in her work in perfect harmony. Solids, liquids and flesh tessellate and spill onto one another. Even her 2-D works hold a depth of surface that looks as though it could suck you in. For Frieze, a shallow and perfectly rectangular puddle of glitz sits on the floor of The Sunday Painter’s booth; twigs, coloured bags and plastic cups floating in a thick soup of disco debris. Elephant felt awfully tempted to pull on some hologram swimming trunks and dive in.
But, there is a revolting side too, trash and treasure being so intrinsically linked in Scott’s work. These items float as scum and waste might on top of a pond, there is an in-cohesiveness of object that looks as though it could have been plundered from the shelves of a pound shop, no rhyme or reason as to why these pieces might have found themselves swimming together in this beautiful mess. The appeal and the waste of modern consumerism is summed up in one jellied block.
Scott has herself spoken about the ‘sewer’ aspect of these works, existing as some kind of aftermath or collecting of rubbish. Amongst a plethora of spectacularly glimmering works, you wonder if this is perhaps the gutter of the fair, washing away the surrounding excess.
The Sunday Painter can be found at booth H13 at Frieze London until 18 October
