Nigel Ip

Every Frieze Week, a new fair seems to rise up to face the competition. Echo Soho was the latest to join the fray, founded by India Rose James.

Featuring just 12 exhibitors, it was designed to promote the next generation of female-led gallerists and their rising artists. It’s such a small gathering that it easily fit across two floors of the Artists House, a short walk from Tottenham Court Road station. In fact, I wish it was bigger.

There were a few things I rather enjoyed.

Berntson Bhattacharjee presented a wonderful site-specific installation by Alicja Biała which transformed the chapel into a synthetic wasteland. In this environment, the plants have absorbed heavy metals from the contaminated earth, themselves becoming metal in the process. It was a bonus meeting Daniel Lismore in this space.

Pipeline’s solo presentation of Rachel Clancy’s paintings was fun and contemplative. Her use of perspective to reframe domestic spaces felt theatrical and drew attention to overlooked details in our daily surroundings.

Showcasing the works of Eleanor May Watson, Cat Roissetter, and Natasha Michaels, Lizzie Glendinning (formerly Brocket London) offered a fine blend of practices involving processes, textures, and reinterpreting art-historical narratives in ways that were playful and poignant.

Finally, Wondering People really drew me in with Amata Benedict’s mythological ceramics, particularly the Sphinx Vase (2025) which featured holes for handles instead.

I hope this fair stays for another round next year. It’s a comfortable experience with a good aim and provides opportunities for nomadic galleries to exhibit.

Exhibitors:

Alice Black, Alice Amati, AWITA, Berntson Bhattacharjee, Gillian Jason Gallery, House of Bandits, LAMB, Liminal Gallery, Lizzie Glendinning, Pipeline, Wilder, and Wondering People

Echo Soho (16 – 19 October 2025) was at Artists House, 14 Manette Street, Soho, W1D 4AW, https://www.echosoho.com/