Each year, as the global art world descends upon Regent’s Park for Frieze London, the United Kingdom’s flagship museum network, Tate, is afforded a unique opportunity. Through a dedicated acquisition fund, the institution scours the aisles of the massive contemporary art fair to secure standout pieces for its national collection. For this year’s edition, however, Tate’s curatorial team exercised notable restraint, opting to purchase just two pieces in total: a vibrant, text-laden abstraction by rising market star Michaela Yearwood-Dan and a haunting, artifact-mimicking sculptural work by the late Colombian artist Luis Fernando Zapata.
While specific purchase prices were not disclosed by Tate, the acquisition by Yearwood-Dan, titled Peace Unknown (2026), almost certainly represented the larger financial investment of the pair. Brought to the fair by mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, the painting immediately drew attention for its explosive visual energy. The canvas features rich, saturated bursts of yellow, blue, and green, layered with tactile elements including glitter, beads, a hanging ribbon, and integrated paper. Along the bottom edge of the work, stenciled text delivers a sharp, provocative statement: "IF THEY NOT PLAYING BY THE RULES, WHY THE F K ARE WE?"
Yearwood-Dan, who is currently among the youngest artists represented on the prestigious roster of Hauser & Wirth, has experienced a meteoric rise within the contemporary art market. Her stellar trajectory is underscored by a robust auction record that currently stands at $880,000. Based in London, the artist’s profile continues to scale international heights; she is slated to open a major solo exhibition with Boesky Gallery in New York and is concurrently the subject of a celebrated institutional showcase at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, England. Neither Yearwood-Dan nor Zapata had ever been represented in Tate’s expansive permanent collection prior to these acquisitions.
By contrast, Luis Fernando Zapata comes from a profoundly different historical and art-market context. Zapata was a Colombian artist whose career was tragically cut short; he passed away from AIDS-related causes at the age of 42 in 1994. During his lifetime, his visibility largely remained confined to his home country, meaning his legacy has had to undergo a posthumous international reappraisal. Over the years, however, his evocative objects have steadily found their way into major museum collections across the United States and Europe, entering the holdings of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Museo Reina Sofía, and the Guggenheim.
Tate secured Zapata’s 1992 sculpture Barge from a joint booth presentation mounted by Galería Elvira Moreno and Alonso Garcés Galería at Frieze Masters, the sister fair held adjacent to Frieze London that is traditionally dedicated to historical art and antiquities. True to Zapata’s signature stylistic approach, Barge is constructed from papier-mâché, intentionally engineered to mimic the weathered, time-worn appearance of ancient archaeological artifacts.
Karin Hindsbo, the interim director of Tate, emphasized the thematic and material cohesion behind the museum’s twin selections in an official statement released following the acquisitions.
"The works both represent varied and complex approaches to materiality, evident in the large-scale richly layered surfaces and experimental use of natural and found materials," Hindsbo said. "I look forward to the public being able to enjoy these stunning works in Tate’s galleries and beyond."
The acquisitions by Tate formed only a portion of the broader institutional and prize-related activity unfolding across the expansive Frieze tents this year. Elsewhere at the fair, the Contemporary Art Society distributed its inaugural artist prize, awarding £30,000 (just under $40,000) to Okiki Akinfe. Akinfe’s striking work was presented by Ginny on Frederick within the fair’s dedicated Focus section, which highlights innovative programming from younger, emerging galleries. Meanwhile, fellow emerging talent Ella Fleck—whose work was exhibited in the Focus section by Ehrlich Steinberg—captured the Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Award, securing an upcoming solo institutional exhibition at the Camden art venue.
The Contemporary Art Society was also active in the acquisition market, spending a total of £100,000 ($132,500) to acquire three major works for the Whitworth Art Gallery. The purchases included a piece by Claudia Alarcón and Silént, acquired from Proyectos Ultravioleta’s booth; a work by Karimah Ashadu, who notably claimed the Silver Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, purchased from Sadie Coles HQ; and a conceptual work by Gala Porras-Kim, secured from Sprüth Magers’ booth.
Adding to the wave of institutional spending, the Arts Council England utilized its own dedicated Frieze fund to invest £90,000 ($119,300) in works by a diverse group of contemporary practitioners. These acquisitions included pieces by Armando D. Cosmos, Oliver Osborne, Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, and Laurie Smith, purchased from the booths of galleries Phillida Reid, Union Pacific, Arcadia Missa, and Wschód, respectively.
