It was business as usual under the Frieze big top this week in London – with dealers front and center, and collectors, curators, art enthusiasts and revelers buzzing about. The Frieze Projects, curated by Neville Wakefield, were less flashy and more subversive this year, ranging from Cory Arcangel’s Wonka-esque golden ticket project (awarding a Frieze booth to one of the hundreds of galleries that had unsuccessfully applied) to foot rubs from artist Bert Rodriguez (who we also saw at the Whitney Biennial this year), and artist Norma Jeane’s clear plastic smoking booths, complete with water coolers and an ashtray, among others. From 11am-1pm on opening day, the fair was strictly open to VIPS-the likes of billionaires, museum curators, and Hollywood stars like George Michael, Gwyneth Paltrow and Hugh Grant.

Artist Norma Jeane's smoking booths

New York gallery Marian Goodman highlighted works by photographer Thomas Struth and drawings by Gabriel Orozco; White Cube were selling works by All Star YBAs like Tracy Emin, Sam Taylor-Woods and Cerith Wyn Evans, along with Gilbert & George prints. Gavin Brown Enterprise put out an impressive quasi-collaboration between Eduardo Paolozzi and Urs Fischer, plus Steven Shearer drawings and Jonathan Horowitz’s Richard acrylic on silkscreen prints. The bizarre combinations of found images and objects by Goshka Macuga-a Polish-born, London-based artist who is a finalist for this year’s Turner Prize in Britain-featured at Kate MacGarry caught our eye. Gagosian was as expected-Richard Prince, Mike Kelley, Tom Friedman, Piotr Uklanski and the likes. And Peres Projects featured engaging works in all mediums (chewing gum included) by Dan Colen, assume vivid astro focus and Terence Koh.

While George Michael was shopping at the more serious Frieze fair, boyfriend Kenny Goss was traipsing into the Royal Academy where the younger, edgier ZOO art fair was held. Arguing that Frieze and Zoo have lost momentum, Kounter Kulture (running concurrently with The Future Can Wait show) took us to The Old Truman Brewery in the East End where an eclectic mix of Hoxtonites, from Stuart Semple to Pure Evil, were congregating. Jonas Mekas’ Flux Party was brilliant. Mekas, master of independent film, regaled audiences with tales about the Fluxus movement and films by some of its seminal protagonists, including Yoko Ono and Nam June Paik.

The opening of Dicksmrs Gallery-the wife counterpart to Thomas Hanbury and Rodolphe von Hofmannsthal’s Dicksmith Gallery-featured Jim Krewson’s lewd (but comical) drawings. Curated by wives Lily Atherton Hanbury and Frances von Hofmannsthal, it proved to be a great show, and the after-opening party they co-hosted-along with Hotel Gallery, Dicksmith, Chris Taylor and Gavin Brown-was good fun. DJed by Thomas Bullock, the fete called the likes of Josh Hartnett, the Scarry sisters, Peter Doig, Mark Leckey and Derek Blasberg, among others.

Frieze 2008 Sculpture Garden

Frieze week was also a good time to launch a gallery. Three newcomers were Yvon Lambert in Hoxton Square, Pilar Corrias’ Rem Koolhaas-designed space on Great Portland Street, and Sartorial Contemporary Art’s new property in Argyle Square. YBA Sarah Lucas opened a show at Sadie Coles HQ and Anish Kapoor opened a show at RIBA. “Park Nights: Manifesto Marathon” at the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion was brilliant, with a series of warped manifestos by artists like Brian Eno, Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono and Terrence Koh.

Needless to say, it didn’t seem to us that Credit Crunch was on anyone’s mind…

Works by Eduardo Paolozzi (forefront), Urs Fischer and Jonathan Horowitz, Gavin Brown

Works by Eduardo Paolozzi (forefront) and TKTK, Gavin Brown

Frieze Art Fair welcome

Wild Horses by Sophie von Hellermann, at Greene Naftali gallery

Drawing by Steven Shearer, at Gavin Brown