The fifth edition of Frieze Los Angeles is open through March 3 at the Santa Monica Airport, bringing together nearly 100 presentations from international galleries and institutions. Filled with artworks from both emerging and established artists, the fair is neatly arranged in a tent structure designed by the architectural studio WHY’s Kulapat Yantrasast.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Inside Frieze Los Angeles 2024
Yesterday, Whitewall explored its bustling opening. First, that began outside in BMW‘s separate pavilion, dedicated to the unveiling of its new i5 Flow NOSTOKANA vehicle—a one-of-a-kind car that features color-changing technology on its exterior, developed in collaboration with the South African artist Esther Mahlangu. After a presentation with the brand’s design team, we watched in awe as the car shined in various patterns and colors, changing in ripples to show Mahlangu’s works, among other designs.
BMW x Esther Mahlangu, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Once inside, we were immediately greeted by a handful of unmissable works, including Nora Turato’s facts / no longer a thing (2024), a four-part vitreous enamel on steel piece, exhibited by Sprüth Magers. There was Sam McKinniss’s Golden Gate Bridge (2023), a framed oil on linen piece, shown by David Kordansky Gallery. And a zine by Pippa Gardner named Beauty 2000, originally created in 1992 as an exploration of unconventional beauty hacks, was published for this year’s edition of Frieze Los Angeles as part of Frieze Projects, “Set Seen” and curated by Art Production Fund.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
We were reeled into 303 Gallery’s booth, filled with 30 small acrylic paint-on-canvas works by Rob Pruitt that illustrated a sunset, aptly named A Month of Sunsets (November 2023). Across the way, we were transfixed by San Francisco-based artist Jenifer K. Wofford’s “Comfort Room” paintings, shown by first-time presenter Silverlens.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
At Gallery Hyundai, Seoul’s oldest contemporary art gallery, we loved the gorgeous porcelain jars by Yoo Eui Jeong next to oil on linen paintings by Kim Sung Yoon—with both works featuring the same details, like dragons and clouds. At Victoria Miro, our empathic senses were tingling, and we were awash with a range of emotions, embodying the sad and sinister moods of Hernan Bas’s subjects. For the artist’s solo show, acrylic on linen pieces like Vampire (2023) and The forecast called for clear skies (2024) showed the same male subject looking at the viewer, immersed in various scenes—one being a birthday party, the other being under an umbrella in the pouring rain.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
At Various Small Fires, we quite literally stumbled into a fruity presentation on the floor by John Miller named Inverted Chandelier (2006), featuring a styrofoam mound made of plastic fruit, mirrors, wood, and decorations like miniature trees from railroad scenery. In Anton Kern, we loved Lara Schnitger’s Catcall City, showing a woman surrounded by flying bras dangling her own in the air. At Jessica Silverman, we wandered through a presentation of five hanging bronze bells by Davina Semo before visually falling into an oil stick on linen work by Hayal Pozanti. And at Taka Ishii Gallery, we were calmed by a work by Thomas Demand, Daily #36 (2022), showing a knife on a cutting board next to peeled fruit or vegetable skins.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Pace Gallery showed one of Loie Hollowell’s irresistible works, Split Orbs in yellow-orange, purple, red, and blue (2023). White Cube presented A.R. Penck’s Standard West TT (1982), taking up an entire wall. Proyectos Monclova featured a collection of traditional Mexican artworks—including wallpaper, paintings, and sculptures—by artists like Aydeé Rodrígues López and David Montaño Roque.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Kasmin’s solo show of the artist Vanessa German reeled us in, drawing us from the front of the booth to the back with the energy of crystals. For the self-taught artist’s show, she utilized rose quartz stones to create a selection of busts, memorializing people who have unjustly died at the hands of police, among other causes. In the booth, we also saw a rose quartz skateboard, a chair, a rifle, and a pair of boots standing tall.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
At David Lewis, Bruce Nauman’s Double Poke in the Eye II (1985) neon flashed around the corner, showing two faces and fingers pointing at each other, taking turns at pointing with the flicker of light. In Almine Rech’s booth, we took some time with Chloe Wise’s oil on linen work, heaven’s ache (2023), and Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s Leopard Print (2024).
At Anat Ebgi, we loved the ooey-gooey drip visuals in the oil on canvas painting Seep (2024) by Messon Pae. And at the end of the hallway, we wandered into Shepard Fairey’s collaborative presentation with LG OLED, showing the artist’s work on the screens as a high-definition digital canvas.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Best Booths at Frieze Los Angeles 2024
In Perrotin’s booth, the Korean, Montreal-based artist GaHee Park’s oil painting Woman with Shadows (2024) was a true highlight. Surreal and intimate, delicate yet assertive, the woman in the piece featured her hand in front of half of her face, complemented by long red nails, with the part of her face covered reimagined by a shadow.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Jack Shainman Gallery leaned into double trouble and featured Claudette Schreuders’s Accomplice (2021), a miniature sculpture of twins joined at the arms wearing the same exact outfits. It honored local NBA legends from the Lakers basketball team through a mixed media work by Hank Willis Thomas of the team’s colorful jerseys. It drew a crowd around the corner to the back of its booth with a stunning cotton and acrylic yarn tapestry by Diedrick Brackens named fathers betray first (2023).
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
We also loved Nara Roesler’s showing of Maria Klabin’s works Retorno (2023) and Verão (2024). Dominique Gallery featured a solo presentation of glazed sculptures by Mustafa Ali Clayton—one of which was acquired by the California African American Museum. Hannah Traore Gallery brough paintings and sculptures by James Perkins, a continuation of the artist’s “Burying Painting” exhibition he had at the gallery in 2022.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
On our way out, we said hello to Alexander Gray of Alexander Gray Associates and marveled at Carrie Moyer‘s The Good Ship (2023). We took a quick final twirl through Lisson Gallery to enjoy Ryan Gander’s antique mirror and marble resin wall sculpture named I be… (Iiii) (2024).
Frieze Los Angeles 2024, photo by Eliza Jordan.
