What’s on This October at Frieze No.9 Cork Street

October sees two compelling solo exhibitions at Frieze’s gallery space, alongside a timely overview of eight contemporary artists form the Caucasus and Central Asia, a region that is enjoying huge interest at the moment.

Vadehra Art Gallery | Zaam Arif: ‘Deewaar’ | 10 – 25 October 2025

Vadehra Art Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition by Houston-based artist Zaam Arif. Curated by London-based curator Ben Broome, the exhibition is titled ‘Deewaar’ (Hindi for ‘the wall’). Arif’s work features includes portraits, still lifes and surrealist interiors that draw on a wealth of cinematic and literary influences. Arif’s figures often reflect a deep introspection and analysis of the human condition: internal narrative moments that probe the perplexities of memory, presence and identity – a construction of the self in time.

Artwin Gallery | ‘To everything spurn, spurn, spurn’ | 10 – 25 October 2025

Curated by Slavs and Tatars & Asya Yaghmurian, this exhibition presents works by eight artists exploring notions of disdain and contempt. Revisiting the Pete Seeger song ‘Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)’, made famous by The Byrds in 1965, these newly commissioned paintings, watercolours and sculptures ask what it means to kick back, whether at a lover or an epoch. All the artists – Javkhlan Ariunbold, Akhmat Bikanov, Bakhyt Bubikanova, Saule Dyussenbina, Nuriia Nurgalieva, Yuma Radne, Shamil Shaaev, Slavs and Tatars, and Alexander Volkov – hail from Central Asia and the Caucasus – a region that is currently in the cultural spotlight with the debut of the Bukhara Biennial and the opening of new institutions the Almaty Museum of Art and the Tselinny Center for Contemporary Culture. 

Hafez Gallery | Ibrahim El Dessouki, ‘Testimony of the Soil’ | 10 – 25 October 2025

‘Testimony of the Soil’ is a solo exhibition by renowned Egyptian painter Ibrahim El Dessouki. Curated by Dr Sara Raza, it explores the complex relationship between the land, power and labour through new and recent paintings inspired by Egypt’s socio-political history, cinema and literature. Debuting a new series of cotton-flower paintings, El Dessouki draws upon Ottoman and British colonial history, loosely inspired by a pivotal scene set in a cotton field from Youssef Chahine’s acclaimed film Al Ard (1969). Alongside these paintings, El Dessouki presents three other bodies of work featuring cacti, olive trees and earth paintings, exploring the idea of the soil as both a literal and symbolic arena for themes of resilience, nourishment, melancholy, despair and disillusionment.

Curator-led Walkthroughs | Saturday 11 October 2025, 11am

No.9 Cork Street is pleased to host a series of curator-led tours of our October exhibitions, featuring works presented by Vadehra Art Gallery, Artwin Gallery, and Hafez Gallery. The tours will be led by curators Ben Broome, Asya Yaghmurian, and Dr Sara Raza.

11am: Vadehra Art Gallery walkthrough hosted by Ben Broome

11.45am: Artwin Gallery walkthrough hosted by Asya Yaghmurian

12.30pm: Hafez Gallery walkthrough hosted by Dr Sara Raza

Please RSVP here.

Frieze No.9 Cork St, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm, 9 Cork St, London, W1S 3LL.

Frieze No.9 Cork St is supported by official media partner The Economist Insider.

Further Information

Frieze London and Frieze Masters, The Regent’s Park, 15 – 19 October 2025. 

Tickets are on sale – don’t miss out, buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, exclusive guided tours and more.

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^{Main image: Bakhyt Bubikanova, Grass, 2015. Courtesy: the artist and Artwin Gallery}