Frieze Magazine – Issue 261

frieze is the definitive voice on contemporary art and culture — covering international artists, exhibitions and visual culture worldwide since 1991.

Contemporary Art and Culture, No. 261 – September 2026

Profile: JJJJJerome Ellis

‘Ellis is an artist who does not accept the degradations that characterize the American approach to life.’ Sasha Frere-Jones considers how time and nature are thoughtfully handled in JJJJJerome Ellis’s expansive oeuvre, ahead of the artist’s new exhibition at the Vienna Secession and Index, Stockholm.

1,500 Words: Like a Caress

‘How do I create something using a familiar subject or genre when it can seem like everything has already been said and done?’ Louis Fratino grapples with the enduring question of what gives a painting its vitality, ahead of his forthcoming solo show at David Zwirner, London.

Also featuring

Ahead of artist Lubna Chowdhary’s forthcoming show at Corvi-Mora, London, and her inclusion in British Art Show 10, she speaks with Amrita Dhallu about the role of diasporic memory, chromophobia and connecting to inherited identity in her work. A thematic essay by Cassie Packard spotlights contemporary artists exploring the philosophy of space science. Plus, a dossier dedicated to four galleries to watch in Seoul.

Columns: Detritus

Emily LaBarge on sculptor Liz Larner ahead of her first major institutional UK show at Camden Art Centre. Kari Rittenbach on Nandi Loaf; Lydia Kallipoliti on urban waste; Xenia Benivolski on Aki Onda; Ahmad Azizy traces the supply chains of US military waste in Aziz Hazara’s Coming Home (2021–ongoing) at SculptureCenter, New York. Peter Brock responds to Brice Marden’s 4 (Bone) (1987–88), and Cassie Packard pens a postcard from Santa Fe.