The 11th edition of Frieze Art Fair kicked off on Wednesday with a selection of 152 top-notch international galleries. Notable returnees included Marian Goodman, who will open a London branch in Autumn 2014 and Max Hetzler from Berlin, who as one of Jeff Koons’ first European gallerists, had his booth strategically placed opposite Gagosian’s solo presentation of large-scale works of one of the world’s most expensive living artist. While at least three of the Koons-sculptures—or at least very similar ones—had been on view at Almine Rech’s gallery show of the artist last October, Koons made a big impression. With the return of Eva Presenhuber from Zurich, who is well-respected among colleagues for her outstanding and daring booths, fair co-director Matthew Slotover has one less worry —Frieze is still innovative and cutting-edge.

However, the notable absence of Xavier Hufkens from Brussels and neugerriemschneider from Berlin—both selection committee members of the world’s leading art fair Art Basel—as well as Berlin’s Galerie Neu—selection committee member at what many fair specialists tout as the second strongest art fair, Paris’s FIAC—cannot be overlooked and will undoubtedly be a thorn in the British fair’s side.