黑料不打烊

VIP preview of Frieze Los Angeles on February 17, 2022. Photo by Maya Garabedian

After a brief hiatus of art fairs worldwide, Frieze returned to Los Angeles for the third time, with new protocols, creative community platforms, and a custom-built space. The fair, which ran from February 17-20, 2022, with the first day serving as an invite-only preview, was held in a tent specially designed for the empty lot across from the Beverly Hilton. With about 40 percent more space than past editions of Frieze LA, previously held at Paramount Pictures, the fair was able to accommodate additional exhibiting galleries and pre-pandemic levels of attendance, leaving space for everyone to have their own unique experience.

Friedrich Kunath, Winsome Lonesome, 2021-2022, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Blum & Poe and Frieze LA. Photo by Maya Garabedian

Upon entering the space through the combined Entrance/Exit, festivalgoers were met face-to-face with a seven-foot canvas created by Friedrich Kunath, a German born-and-trained visual artist now living in LA. Winsome Lonesome is a breathtaking, three-dimensional piece created with oil paint alone. Kunath’s work blends the emotional longing of German romanticism with the graffiti-style poet phrasing reminiscent of Basquiat. An internationally featured artist who has risen to prominence over the last decade, he was being represented by Blum & Poe (Los Angeles), one of roughly 100 galleries represented at the fair. Hung on an external wall of the gallery’s main room, it was the piece that greeted visitors and sent them on their way – a choice that highlighted the emotional complexity of the piece, setting a warm, inquisitive tone at the beginning and a cool, reflective one at the end.

Ryan Gander, I be…(xlii), 2021, antique mirror, marble resin. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery and Frieze LA. Photo by Maya Garabedian

Another standout piece of the fair was Ryan Gander’s, I be… (xlii). His unbelievably lifelike marble resin drapery, reminiscent of a Greco neoclassical era, hung on a mirror fixed to the wall, leaving viewers in awe of the antique’s weight-bearing capacity. This sort of puzzle-like questioning and interconnectivity is typical of Gander’s work, a British artist who uses a variety of mediums, ranging from sculpture, film, writing, graphic design, performance, and installation art to portray multifaceted messages about appearance and knowledge. He was represented by Lisson Gallery (London) at the fair, whose thoughtful placement of the piece – a high-traffic walkway – caused passersby to stop for a moment before continuing their journey through the exhibitions.

Anish Kapoor, Apple to Lime to Purple Dark Mix, 2019, stainless steel and lacquer. Courtesy of Regen Projects and Frieze LA. Photos by Maya Garabedian

One piece that garnered significant attention was Apple to Lime to Purple Dark Mix by Anish Kapoor. A beautiful, reflective lacquer-treated piece of stainless steel was a stop for many Angelenos – true to the stereotype of the city, the most popular pieces were inevitably the ones that offered the best photo opportunities. At certain angles, the piece was an opaque display of burnt reds and oranges, but as your viewing perspective changed, so did the piece. At some angles, it was like fun house mirror that warped the viewer’s own reflection, and from others, it reflected an elongated, upside-down image of the rest of the space curated by Regen Projects (Los Angeles). As more people approached, the reflection lost its red-orange hue and became a swirling psychedelic mix of everything and everyone nearby. Kapoor, a British-Indian conceptual artist, is known for his reality-bending works that play with space and light. Compared to his other works, such as Cloud Gate in Chicago’s Millennium Park, known by its public-given moniker, The Bean, this piece was far more discreet. However, Kapoor’s innovative approach to artmaking made it an unavoidable fan favorite.

Chris Burden, Dreamer’s Folly, 2010, cast iron gazebos and lace fabric. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery and Frieze LA. Photos by Maya Garabedian

In a more open-air space of the fair stood Chris Burden’s Dreamer’s Folly, a massive gazebo structure courtesy of the world-renowned Gagosian Gallery. One of the most interactive pieces of the fair, visitors were able to see the initial blueprint drafted by Burden, which was framed and hung on the wall beside the gazebo’s entrance. As one walked through the work, a nice reprise from the bustle of the fair was offered, with hanging lace that reduced the sound and light ever so slightly. On a bench between two of the columns sat Poetic Practical: The Unrealized Work of Chris Burden, a forthcoming book that offers an extensive examination of projects that never came to fruition. The Gagosian/Rizzoli publication is set to release in April 2022, giving Frieze visitors a special sneak peek at never-before-seen archival materials and newly commissioned photography of his life as an artist.

Jay Lynn Gomez and Patrick Martinez, Labor of Love, 2022, stucco, neon, ceramic, acrylic paint, spray paint, latex. Courtesy of Charlie James Gallery and Frieze LA. Photo by Maya Garabedian

For some reason, smaller galleries featuring impressive works by lesser-known artists harbored an unfortunate issue that reoccurred throughout the entirety of Frieze: lacking exhibition labels. One such piece was a captivating multimedia work presented by Charlie James Gallery (Los Angeles). Having to speak with the gallery’s on-site director to find the name of the piece and its creators, Labor of Love by local artists Jay Lynn Gomez and Patrick Martinez, forced a realization that became impossible to ignore. Insightful and inspiring works of art would be placed on an otherwise empty wall without any information, let alone the handy QR codes featured on many labels – with a quick scan from a phone’s camera, an artist’s biography and body of work would be at one’s fingertips. In some instances, labels would be present, but dramatically offset from the pertaining work, displayed in a vertical listing of everything nearby. Countless fairgoers seemed to receive the message while passing by such works that they would be needing to do identifying guesswork themselves, subsequently deciding that these works were less of a destination stop on their journey through the fair. While the logic is sound, some fantastic artists, including Amsterdam-based graphic designer and performer Nora Turato, may not have garnered the attention their work deserved.

Nora Turato, i am no longer interested in looking for problems that remain undetectable to me (left), it’s the hottest day of the year and everyone is fucking upset (right), 2021, vitreous enamel on steel. Courtesy of LambdaLambdaLambda and Frieze LA. Photo by Maya Garabedian

Two of the most impactful pieces from my time at the fair were the citrus-themed works of New York sculptor Kathleen Ryan. Wither on the Vine and Bad Lemon (Flourish) were what the François Ghebaly (Los Angeles) gallery director called “my blue ribbon pieces,” after a particularly memorable experience in the space. The choices of material, from copper pipes, to shells, to precious and semi-precious gemstones, in conjunction with the works’ sizes and placements, told a captivating story. It was as if the curatorial setup was meant to manufacture a performance element in which visitors were a part of the installation.

Kathleen Ryan. Left:, Wither on the Vine, 2022, amethyst, agate, serpentine, tiger eye, ruby in zoisite, jasper, amazonite, labradorite, turquoise, magnesite, citrine, garnet, dolomite with fuchsite, smoky quartz, quartz, tektite, lava rock, marble, mother of pearl, glass, steel pins on coated polystyrene, copper tube, copper fittings. Right: Bad Lemon (Flourish), 2022, citrine, chalcedony, magnesite, carnelian, tiger eye, aventurine, prehnite, amethyst, labradorite, unakite, serpentine, Ching Hai jade, sesame jasper, brecciated jasper, tree agate, moss agate, druzy agate, quartz, moonstone, onyx marble, shells, fresh-water pearls, glass, steel pins on coated polystyrene. Both images courtesy of François Ghebaly and Frieze LA. Photos by Maya Garabedian

Wither on the Vine sat in the center of the room, elevated just inches above the ground, with Bad Lemon (Flourish) on a podium behind it. The gallery’s backdrop, a wall plastered with an unrelated work of contemporary movie posters engulfed in painted flames, brought in fairgoers who were either blissfully unaware of, or actively disinterested in the beauty of Ryan’s rotting fruits. Groups of people were drawn in by to the one-dimensional familiarly of random box office hits, overlooking the fascinating depth of the central pieces. Those who took the time to see something different experienced the magic in such a phenomenon and its symbolism –representative not only of Frieze LA, but of life.

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