Numerous artists from 21 countries showcased their work across more than 95 galleries between Feb. 29 and March 3 at Santa Monica Airport for the pronounced visual art fair, Frieze Los Angeles.
Through focus on the convergence of opportunity, community and art, Frieze Los Angeles 2024 brought communities together, according to an article from Beverly Hills Courier .
“This highly anticipated event showcases the best of contemporary art from around the globe, bringing together a diverse array of established and emerging galleries, artists and cultural institutions from the East and West and providing them a platform to connect and collaborate,” Beverly Hills Courier said .
Frieze Los Angeles 2024 offered new takes on past expeditions, through multiple efforts including improved installations, collaborations with non-profit organizations and a new section for young galleries displaying art tailored to the relationship between ecology and community.
The fair’s everchanging showcase of topics has attracted various prominent actors, musicians and songwriters through the years. At Frieze Los Angeles 2024, some of these celebrities included, but were not limited to, Robert Downy Jr., Will Ferrell, Gwenyth Paltrow, The Weeknd and Leonardo Dicaprio.
Before the fair, Frieze Los Angeles hosted a set of parties opening with a launch party on Feb. 26 at the Getty Villa, then a downtown party celebrating OTW by Vans and S.R. Studio on Feb. 27. Finally, a lunch was hosted at T he Maybourne (Beverly Hills’s Terrace), to celebrate “Set Seen,” a program which included pieces relating to the impact constructed environments have on the understanding of reality, according to an article from Women’s Wear Daily . On Feb. 28, singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey was spotted along with Actor Charles Melton at the Beverly Hills Terrace, which attracted the largest audience of the launch.
On Feb. 29, individuals selected through invitation were able to preview the fair starting at 10 a.m. from March 1 to 3. Admission opened starting at 11 a.m. to the general audience.
Frieze magazine was founded by Amanda Sharp, Matthew Slotover and Tom Gidley in 1991. Starting out as a small art magazine in London, England with a staff of less than 10, Frieze would later erupt into one of the largest platforms of contemporary art according to a video from Frieze . Now Frieze is recognized for bringing forth a plethora of opportunities for visual artists all over the world.
Frieze’s first art fair was introduced in London in 2003, and ever since the company has hosted art fairs in both the U.K. and later the U.S. yearly. Now in 2024, Frieze’s most recent art fair has, over four days, gained the attention of over 32,000 people across 48 countries.
This year, nonprofits including Art Made Between Opposite Sides, Gallery 90220, GYOPO, Los Angeles Nomadic Division, People’s Pottery Project and the Reparations Club were involved in building connections between art, social initiatives and community, according to a an article from Frieze.
AMBOS, an artist collaborative non-profit that uses art as a way to create connections with struggling communities on the U.S. and Mexico border, is a third-time participant at Frieze.
“We never dictate what people should make, we just let them express themselves,” founder Tanya Aguiñiga said to The Art Newspaper.
This year, the LA fair included a wide variety of installations including Jorge Pardro’s “unlimited,” a set of five three-dimensional illuminated glass lamps which hold a deeper meaning.
“Fairgoers are invited to reconsider their perception of the surroundings, echoing Pardo’s artistic aim not only to captivate visually but change how one perceives the space they inhabit,” Ocula Magazine said.
Another installation, Yeni Mao’s “Make Room,” was located at booth F3 and featured a seven- sculpture installation that told the story of the tunnels under the Mexico and U.S. border town of Mexicali. “Make Room” was crafted entirely from steel, porcelain, leather and volcanic rock.
A rtists connected not only to the audience through their craft, but to each other as well. Geoffrey Holder and Kikuo Saito, both painters strongly involved in theatre, were brought together at the event.
“We tried to bring together two seemingly disconnected artists – Geoffrey Holder, who was from Trinidad and born in 1930, and Kikuo Saito, who was born in Tokyo in 1939,” New York gallerist James Fuentes said to artsy.net.
Holder is a representational painter while Saito is an abstract painter. The two artists displayed their work in a joint section at James Fuentes, booth 11.
“This show gave us an opportunity to create an unexpected curatorially sensitive conversation.” Fuentes said.
The F ocus 2024 booth had an initiative to bring light to emerging and underrepresented artists whilst simultaneously bringing attention to the influence ecology had on art according to an article from Frieze . Curated this year by Essence Harden, the visual arts curator and program manager for the California African American Museum, the Focus booth stood as a way to bring opportunity to upcoming artists.
Frieze will pick up again at The Shed in New York from May 1-5 with over 60 galleries from artists across 25 countries.