Frieze London (6 - 9 October, 2016) The Third Line at Frieze London

Returning to Frieze London, The Third Line will be part of more than 160 international galleries who will bring together the world’s most exciting emerging and established contemporary artists. The gallery will be presenting works by four important women artists, ranging between emerging and established, and highlighting significant works from the 70s till present day. The selection explores the concept of trompe-l'oeil and the things that place perception on a precipice. Also part of Frieze programming, on October 6th, Sophia Al Maria will be in conversation with Stephanie Baily and Lawrence Lek at the fair’s Reading Room.

Monir’s works on paper carry the same principles of Islamic Geometry that can be found in her sculptures and mirror mosaics. The works presented at the fair include a selection of geometrical drawings made in the 70s, as well as more freehand and whimsical pieces made in the 1990s when she was living in New York. These offer a valuable insight into a lesser-known aspect of Monir’s oeuvre.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Untitled (D19), 1993, Felt tip marker on paper, 22.5x30cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Untitled (D36), 1993, Felt tip marker on paper, 35x42cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Variation on a Hexagon 1, 1976, Pencils on paper, 24.7x32.5cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Variation on a Hexagon 8, 1976, Pencils on paper, 30x42cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Rana’s sculptures are created through angles, planes and materials that ask the viewer's perception to be constantly renegotiating 'surface'. The works draw inspiration from urban visual stimuli, such as the abstract clashes of form and colour that can be seen in the city, and combines them with the traditional repetition of geometric form found in Islamic art.

Rana Begum, No. 671, 2016, Powder-coated mild steel and painted mild steel, 105x108x48 cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Rana Begum, No. 690, 2016, Acrylic paint on MDF, 200x258x3cm, 54 panels / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist

Sophia’s abstracted glitch-photos force the viewer to do a double-take, step back and reengage with the image. Her primary interests are based around the isolation of individuals via technology and reactionary Islam, the corrosive elements of consumerism and industry and the erasure of history and the blinding approach of a future no one is ready for.

Huda’s collages create a palimpsest-like surface, mixing the figure-ground relationship. The work excavates marginalized spaces that cross various historical and cultural contexts, mapping the politics of her engagement both as an historian and as an artist. The layered visuals, marked with elements such as plastic mannequins juxtaposed against blue skies or flat backgrounds, create surreal landscapes – suspending the idiosyncrasies and impossibilities of urbanity in unchartered space and time.

Huda Lutfi, Hands and Boxes, 2015, Photographs, acrylic and oil paint on wood panel, 40x40x3cm / Courtesy of The Third Line and the Artist