In conversation with Guillaume Sardin

"I like to unearth stories from the past. For Wheely, I wanted to tell the immutable stories of the Course of the Sun."

 - Guillaume Sardin

Guillaume Sardin. Image credit Baptiste Estebanez.

This year Wheely, the luxury services company and Official VIP Chauffeur Partner of Frieze, partnered with French artist Guillaume Sardin to unveil its very first artist collaboration for the fair. At the entrance of Regent’s Park and right outside Frieze London, Wheely’s exclusive 30sqm pavilion is a space to relax and recharge, and centres around Sardin’s The Course of the Sun, a specially commissioned oil painted triptych exploring the passage of time.

The Course of the Sun follows the passage of the day from dawn to dusk, with the sun travelling across a sea of clouds before giving way to the moon and night. Sardin’s playful, Creole-inspired narrative brings together references from different cultures and periods, including the Egyptian scarab, the Nebra sky disc and Hittite sun disc, alongside Rwandan symbolism of the moon. At the bottom of the composition, Icarus falls from the sky, his engineered wings scattered across the scene. The artist explained further to FLO London at the fair.

The Course of the Sun, Guillaume Sardin, Wheely cabin at Frieze London, 2026. Image Callum Kettles.

Your artworks are like stories, known for playfully mixing the past and today’s world. Can you tell us a bit about the stories and symbols you have incorporated into these new paintings?
I like to unearth stories from the past. For Wheely, I wanted to tell the immutable stories of the Course of the Sun. The story runs across the three panels, with the morning sun with a scarab crown, a symbol from ancient Egypt. In the central panel, the midday sun is wearing the oldest human depiction of sky, the Nebra sky disk, as a crown, and it can be found at the British Museum. On the final panel, the moon is pulling the starry sky. The symbols come from Rwanda, a culture and country close to my heart.

The Course of the Sun, Guillaume Sardin, Wheely cabin at Frieze London, 2026. Image Callum Kettles.

Why did you choose these particular stories for this collaboration with Wheely? Do they have a resonance?
I wanted to paint the oldest travel known to us all: the sun and the moon in our sky. Wheely accompanies people through the day and night, so the journey of the sun felt like a perfect match.

How did the collaboration come about?
It started, like all the best collaborations, with a meeting. Wheely had seen my work in Paris, where they also operate, and wanted to have a meaningful creative presence for Frieze London, to tell a story in an intimate, comfortable space. I believe in the power of lasting stories and their relevance in our present, a perfect match with Wheely's commitment to ‘modern tradition’.

Extract of The Course of the Sun, Guillaume Sardin, Wheely cabin at Frieze London, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.

You mentioned that you don't usually work in oil painting. What are your usual mediums and why did oil painting feel like the right choice in this environment?
I'm an architect by training; I started with drawings and slowly with gouache. This year, the need and desire to start experimenting with oil painting as a new medium grew in me. The Wheely pavilion for Frieze in London felt like the perfect place, as the triptych is just right next to countless amazing old masterpieces painted with oil.
Oil also allowed me to create a sense of movement. All those very strong brushstrokes in the clouds and in the sky carry your eye from panel to panel and help you follow the stories. You can go back and forth, right and left – there’s so much to see, a bit like traveling, sort of echoing Wheely’s mission to accompany its clients throughout the day.

Guillaume Sardin, Wheely cabin at Frieze London, 2026. Image Callum Kettles.

How does it feel to be so prominent at the entrance of Frieze London? And how have visitors to the fair reacted?
It's quite an amazing feeling to be honest, it's my first time exhibiting in the United Kingdom and in London, and furthermore for Frieze! I’m beyond words and would like to thank Wheely for organizing the show. People have been intrigued and the composition and story have been an amazing conversation starter. I wanted the space to create curiosity and draw people inside to discover the paintings. Ultimately, I hope the work creates a feeling – a desire to travel and discover the horizon.

Wheely cabin with artwork by Guillaume Sardin at Frieze London, 2026. Image Callum Kettles.

Which artworks have you seen at the fair (either Frieze London, Frieze Masters or the sculpture park) which have inspired you most?

Frieze London and Frieze Masters are full of incredible art pieces. The diversity of mediums and the mix of non-figurative and figurative works at Frieze London is outstanding. I really like the work by Sean Landers at Timothy Taylor and Oototol at Valentine. At Frieze Masters, the selection of Meissen porcelain by Trias Expert and the booth of Galerie Chesnel really grab my attention.

Frieze London continues until 18 October 2025, at The Regent’s Park. For more information head to frieze.com

Interview by Tani Burns