Frieze Masters weaves a century of queer art through the fair

Queer artists helped shape Modern art. That story will run across the floor at Frieze Masters in London this week.

The fair for art made before 2000 opens at The Regent's Park on 14 to 18 October 2026. Its new curated thread — a linked selection chosen by a specialist — is titled 'Queering Modernism: Visual Languages of the 20th Century', according to Frieze.

The thread is organised by German curator Anke Kempkes. It will debut at this year's fair.

It is not contained in one room. The selection is spread across the fair, with participating galleries presenting work under the shared theme, as reported by The Art Newspaper.

The timeline is long. It traces queer experience and LGBTQ+ representation from the early 20th century through to a Postmodern queer art scene that emerged in the 1980s.

Two presentations show the range. Ab-Anbar Gallery will show paintings, collages, bronze sculptures and other works by Bahman Mohassess. Frieze said that presentation was developed after an invitation and in-depth conversation with Kempkes.

Galerie Albrecht will present work by Ruth Bernhard. Both artists feature in a wider visual history of how LGBTQ+ artists contributed to Modern art, a term broadly used for art from the 1900s to the 1970s.

What makes this stand out for visitors is the hunt. You find the story stand by stand, not in a single display.