Some 32,000 people attended Frieze Los Angeles from 29 February to 3 March. While the number of exhibitors fell to 95 from 124, sales and celebrity sightings were strong.
Will Ferrell in front of Sean Kelly’s booth at Frieze Los Angeles 2024. Courtesy Casey Kelbaugh and Frieze. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh.
Among the top sales at this year’s Frieze Los Angeles were Richard Serra’s paint stick on paper work Pamuk (2009), which Gladstone Gallery sold for US $2 million and a charcoal drawing by Robert Longo that Thaddaeus Ropac sold for $1.6 million.
Richard Serra, Pamuk, (2009). Paintstick on handmade paper. © Richard Serra / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery sold paintings by Beauford Delaney and Norman Lewis for between $1 million and $2 million, and Marc Selwyn Fine Art placed works by Frank Bowling, Richard Misrach, and Lee Bontecou at prices north of $1 million.
Deborah McLeod, Senior Director at Gagosian, described the fair’s opening as ‘the busiest first day ever’.
‘We had great sales, led by Lauren Halsey’s sculpture going to a major institution,’ she continued. ‘We placed several artists in important West Coast collections and sold nearly every work in the booth. We finished the fair with a healthy waitlist for the five artists we featured.’
Gagosian’s booth at Frieze Los Angeles 2024. Courtesy Casey Kelbaugh and Frieze. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh.
Sell out booths included Victoria Miro’s presentation of Hernan Bas, Gallery Hyundai’s presentation of paintings by Kim Sung Yoon, and David Kordansky Gallery’s solo presentation of Sam McKinniss.
The Frieze Impact Prize went to Gary Tyler for his work In Memoriam of an Ashanti Warrior (2024), while Mustafa Ali Clayton’s Natural (2024) was acquired by the California African American Museum in partnership with Frieze. Kaylen Ng received the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award for her film The Metamorphosis Project (2024).
Sharif Farrag, Rat Race (2024). Ceramic rat racer performance at Frieze Los Angeles 2024. Courtesy Casey Kelbaugh and Frieze. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh.
Among the most unusual works at the fair was Sharif Farrag’s performance Rat Race (2024), which saw ceramic rats mounted on remote-controlled cars and raced around a track on an astroturf soccer field outside the fair.
‘Being at an art fair, competition is prevalent,’ Farrag told ARTnews.
Pippa Garner’s Haulin’ Ass! (2023) was another stand-out. The work is a red 2003 Ford Ranger mounted backwards on its chassis that drove prominently around Santa Monica Airport during the fair.
Pippa Garner, Haulin’ Ass! (2023) at Frieze Los Angeles 2024. Courtesy Casey Kelbaugh and Frieze. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh.
No art fair in the world can compete with Frieze LA for celebrity sightings. This year, Hollywood actors Will Ferrell, Jessica Alba, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Biel, Robert Downey Jr., and Josh Brolin (one of the stars of Dune: Part Two) all attended the fair, as did both Luke and Owen Wilson.
LA Laker LeBron James, comedian Chris Rock, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and musicians Anthony Kiedis, Mike D, and Alana Haim also visited. Tierra Whack, who partnered with artist Alex Da Corte to create visuals for her new album World Wide Whack, also held a listening party in Los Angeles on Sunday 3 March to coincide with Frieze LA —[O]