Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles 2023

February 22, 2023

This was my first time attending the Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles, featuring 120 galleries from around the world. It started in 2019 and has grown tremendously. This year the event was re-located to the Santa Monica Aiport Barker Hangar. I bought my tickets well in advance AND added on the parking, which was key as parking is extremely limited. Over 120 galleries were spread out between two massive tents, with fun pop-up restaurants and outdoor installations in between.

Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles Entrance

On the way to the East tent, I passed by a very cool architectural installation by artist Chris Burden (who is famous for his Lamposts installation in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art).

FriezeArtFair_LosAngeles_2023_gscinparis_ChrisBurden — Chris Burden Sculpture, “40 Foot Stepped Skyscraper”, 2011, 250,000 Stainless steel reproduction Mysto Type I Erector parts on stainless steel base plate.

Agnes Martin (1912-2004)

I was wandering amongst the galleries, when a very soothing, geometrical painting caught my eye and I thought, “Hmm, that looks quite Agnes Martin-esque”. As I approached, I was thrilled to be up close and personal with an original Agnes Martin, the legendary minimialist. “I believe in living above the line,” she said in a 2002 interview, two years before her death. “Above the line is happiness and love.…Below the line is all sadness and destruction and unhappiness. And I don’t go down below the line for anything.”

Agnes Martin, "Untitled #4", 1996, acrylic and graphite on canvas, presented by Pace Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Agnes Martin, “Untitled #4”, 1996, acrylic and graphite on canvas, presented by Pace Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023

Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959)

I was also excited to a painting by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. His deceptively simple paintings are a blend of manga, Disney and punk rock. Often his characters are lovable yet mischievous at the same time.

Yoshitomo Nara, "Under the Hazy Sky", 2012, acrylic on canvas, presented by Pace Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Yoshitomo Nara, “Under the Hazy Sky”, 2012, acrylic on canvas, presented by Pace Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023

Jordan Nassar

This stunning and jaw-dropping tapestry is by artist Jordan Nassar. This piece apparently went to an institution for $200,000. The craftsmanship was outstanding.

Andreas Eriksson

A new artist I discovered and just couldn’t get enough of was Swedish artist Andreas Eriksson. His work is very textured, with a variety of paints and colors to create multiple layers and both shiny and matte textures. I found the colors he used to be so soothing, very much depicting the natural, earthy world.

Andreas Eriksson, "Texture Mapping III", 2019-2021, 2022, acrylic, egg oil tempera and oil on canvas, presented by Stephen Friedman Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Andreas Eriksson, “Texture Mapping III”, 2019-2021, 2022, acrylic, egg oil tempera and oil on canvas, presented by Stephen Friedman Gallery at the Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles 2023

Beatriz Milhazes

As opposed to the soft, natural hues of Eriksson above, Brazilian born and based Beatriz Milhazes uses bright, vibrant hues, textures, and tones. She seems to shout the deep blue of the sea and the fertile green of the city’s rich vegetation onto a shiny background of cosmopolitan life.

Brie Ruais

Maybe because it was just a few days after Valentine’s Day, but I really loved this work by artist Brie Ruais. The young American artist specializes in focusing on ‘archaic movements’ like digging, hollowing out, moving a mass. This work plays with figure-ground, light and dark and the production of a new thing by two existing things.

Daiga Grantina

There was plenty of sculpture but this piece caught my attention. Latvian born and Paris based, the artist crafts light and fluffy clouds out of heavier, more substantial materials.

Tomie Ohtake (1913-2015)

Born in Japan but living in Brazil for much of her life, Tomie Ohtake is known for having created an enormous body of works one in late modern art in the Americas: painting, sculpture, print-making, drawing, collage, theater staging, and huge civic-scaled works. I love the moon like quality of this work, although as abstract as it is, it could represent much more.

Tomie Ohtake, "Untitled", 1969, oil paint on canvas, presented by Nara Roesler at Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles, 2023 gscinparis — Tomie Ohtake, “Untitled”, 1969, oil paint on canvas, presented by Nara Roesler at Frieze Art Fair Los Angeles, 2023

Park Seo-Bo (b. 1931)

This Korean artists experiements with linear abstraction helped define Korean modernism. This work, part of the Ecriture series, shows off the artists extreme attention to materaility and the process of creation.

Park Seo-Bo, Ecriture No. 080916, 2008, mixed media with Korean hanji paper on canvas, as presented by Kukje Gallery at Frieze Art Festival Los Angeles, 2023 gscinparis — Park Seo-Bo, Ecriture No. 080916, 2008, mixed media with Korean hanji paper on canvas, as presented by Kukje Gallery at Frieze Art Festival Los Angeles, 2023

“Understory” by Stanya Kahn

California artist created a whole installation for the Ruinart lounge at the fair, which included the two paintings below. I love the reference to the West – I see coyotes dashing across a street almost daily here in Los Angeles, as we humans try to cohabitate with our animal friends.

Stanya Kahn, part of the "Understory" series for the Ruinart lounge at the Frieze Art Festival Los Angeles, 2023 gscinparis — Stanya Kahn, part of the “Understory” series for the Ruinart lounge at the Frieze Art Festival Los Angeles, 2023

And wait, there’s more…

Ok, so I wasn’t able to track down all of the artists but here are some other works that felt worth highlighting.

Collection of drawings at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Collection of drawings at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023

Paintings at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Paintings at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023

Display at Hauser Wirth gallery at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Display at Hauser Wirth gallery at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023

Painting at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023 gscinparis — Painting at Frieze Art Festival in Los Angeles 2023

And the most Instagrammed Art Goes to…

And finally – this piece definitely caught my eye, both because it features a wall mounted landline telephone (which I can remember) and the contrast between the green and the pink. But I wasn’t the only one to gravitate towards it – so many architects, interior designers, fashion designers, etc. whom I follow on Instagram couldn’t get enough of this piece, it seems.