Frieze Sculpture: Must-see artworks in the free outdoor gallery
Frieze’s annual outdoor sculpture programme transforms Regent’s Park into a free, living gallery, inviting visitors to wander among works that respond to the park’s ecology and the city’s pulse. Curator Üstek frames the show as a dialogue between the factual, the virtual and the imaginary, insisting that sculpture should be an accessible, adaptive language for all.
One of the most striking pieces is Elena Nemkova’s Agony in the Garden. Forged from scarred metal, the work resembles a bear claw clasped in prayer, evoking both biblical loss and a desperate hope for survival amid heat‑driven drought. Its brutal texture speaks to violence and resilience, turning the green space into a sanctuary of reflection.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran offers a double‑sided Warrior Figure that fuses ancient idolry with futuristic form. Cast in bronze after an initial clay model, the sculpture presents a painted, patinated face on one side and a polished surface on the other, underscoring the confluence of Hindu, Buddhist and Christian iconography and the interdependence of cultures.
Tarini Sethi’s four‑panelled Silver Gate imagines a utopian future where humans, animals and symbols merge into a single harmonious whole. The intricate drawings across the gate act as a sacred threshold, inviting viewers to step through and leave behind negativity in favor of collective peace.
At seven metres tall, Douglas White’s Black Palm dominates the park with a trunk of tyre rubber and steel sourced from Ghana and Istanbul. The material’s transformation from inert tyre to organic‑looking tree creates a dystopian yet alive presence that reshapes the familiar park landscape.
Carolina Aguirre’s Held appears at first glance as a simple tree trunk, but a split bronze form reveals a white quartz core taken from her Uruguayan family home. The piece suggests that ancestral heritage sits at the heart of identity, holding together disparate parts with tenderness.
After dark, the exhibition takes on a new mood. Guided tours led by Üstek, torch in hand, open the park on the autumn equinox for a clandestine, star‑lit experience that reveals how light and shadow alter each sculpture’s character, offering a fresh perspective on the season’s change.