[...] The London art world is gearing up for a Frieze Week like no other - without Frieze itself, and in the shadow of new lockdown restrictions for the capital, which at the time of writing are impending. 'They're certainly keeping us on our toes,' says Victoria Luxem, operations director at Cromwell Place. But then, nimbleness is something of a guid- ing principle for this new arts hub - and so in some respects its opening on 10 October comes at just the right time.
At Addis Fine Art, there is an exceptional recent painting by Tadesse Mesfi: Pillars of Life (2020; Fig. 1) presents a group of elegant, elongated women at a marketplace with baskets on their heads - caryatids in 2D, if we're to follow the lead from Mesfi's title. The Ethiopian gallery has also become a per- manent member of Cromwell Place, and will open a Mesfin solo show - his first in Europe (27 October-15 November). International travel may seem a distant prospect now - but the market is rallying to ensure that art from the wider world need not be far away as well. [...]
