Frieze Los Angeles Art Fair Opens With Celebrity Guests, Big Sales

The V.I.P. opening day of the Frieze Los Angeles art fair felt like a family affair as Hollywood power players and art world elites met and mingled to view the best works from galleries around the world. Held at the Santa Monica Airport for the second year running, the all-day event on Thursday, Feb. 29, felt breezier this year, as a new design and 20 percent fewer galleries gave A-listers the space to peruse and schmooze.

One couldn’t go two feet without shaking hands with an old friend or coming upon a clutch of Hollywood insiders. Old pals Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson — the first two movie star incognito in baseball caps — chatted with LACMA director and CEO Michael Govan in front of one booth, while bigwig agents-slash-collectors from Endeavor, CAA and UTA were out in force, some swarming together in packs. Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, strode around the fair with a notably affable air, greeting guests and checking out paintings and sculptures. Endeavor has a majority stake in Frieze, which also has art fairs in London, Seoul and New York.

WME co-chairman Richard Weitz —  who was spotted with jewelry designer Sheryl Lowe (her husband Rob Lowe, who has taken up painting, was also at the fair) — talked up the glitz and glamour of Frieze Los Angeles. “What a mystique Frieze has,” Weitz exclaimed, noting it draws “the who’s who of the art world and those looky-loos just want to be part of it.” He added, “So much of it is already sold to begin with, but it’s always fun to watch.”

Producer and writer Maria Bell, a noted art patron, agreed. “I just feel it’s so exciting to have such a great fair come to Los Angeles,” she enthused. “Not only does it bring in people from all over, but it gets the L.A. art community together in a way that nothing else does. For years, we tried to have a successful fair here, and this one is just the right fit, and it’s so great.”

Other notable attendees included Robert Downey Jr. (who was spotted in a green tracksuit and multi-colored bucket hat), his wife Susan Downey, Leonardo DiCaprio (in a hat paired with a face mask), John C. Reilly, Jessica Biel, Tobey Maguire, WME’s Nancy Josephson and Dan Aloni, Zachary Quinto, Anthony Kiedis, CAA’s Joel Lubin, UTA’s Jay Sures, Lionsgate’s Jon Feltheimer, Sarah Gilbert, producer Michael Patrick King, Lisa Edelstein, a black-hoodie-clad Michael Ovitz, The Edge, Jeremy Pope, furniture designer Alexandra Von Furstenberg, filmmaker Ronnie Sassoon, restaurateur and artist Michael Chow, designer Michael Smith, Simone Bent Garity and Troy Garity, Steve Tisch and Jamie Tisch.

For many at Frieze, the main purpose of the day wasn’t socializing — it was art. “You see great historical works by artists like Kenny Price and people like that, and then there’s brand new works by young artists,” Bell said. “It’s a great mix. It’s really fantastic.” At Jeffery Deitch, Ryan Murphy, looking every bit the serious collector in a long black coat and sunglasses, along with his art advisor Joe Sheftel, were spotted intently examining a silver self-portrait bust done by the artist Isabelle Albuquerque, as part of her series Orgy For Ten People In One Body.

Minutes later, Albuquerque and her mother, the legendary artist Lita Albuquerque, walked up to the Deitch booth, a happy pair exuding joy and praising the collaborative atmosphere of Frieze. “I think what I’m really excited about this time is that there’s more energy, more international people coming in,” Lita said. “I feel like we are coming into our own, and it feels fantastic to me.”

The two were also enjoying the numerous parties that dominated the week surrounding Frieze. “It’s great to celebrate together,” Isabelle said. “It’s really nice. She’s much wilder. She has way more energy. I’m always like, ‘Night, night.’ She’s like, ‘A few more parties!’”

As for her daughter’s work at Jeffery Deitch, Lita couldn’t have been prouder. “I think she’s brilliant. I think she draws from all these art historical sources. It’s all personal as well. Everything that she does is her own body. … It’s unbelievable. It’s really powerful and … it’s genius.”

Sales were brisk throughout the day. At Lehmann Maupin, 15 works were sold which highlighted six female artists including Korean artist Kim Yun Shin, Liza Lou and Billie Zangewa. “Overall, there was an upbeat energy at the fair with galleries showcasing some of their best works. Sales at the gallery have been steady, especially for our artists who have significant institutional activity this year,” co-founder Rachel Lehmann noted. “With eight of our artists based in Los Angeles, the fair has become a must-stop destination for us.” 

At Gagosian, L.A.-based Lauren Halsey’s sculpture watt’s happening sold to a prominent Los Angeles museum. The show includes works by Derrick Adams, Theaster Gates, Cy Gavin, Lauren Halsey and Rick Lowe. “The response to these five artists has been tremendous, with numerous works being placed in prominent West Coast collections,” said Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent. “The presentation takes a fresh look at notions of abstraction, with Black artists adding their own investigations to that story and offering a contemporary interpretation.”

Frieze opens to the public today, March 1, and runs through March 3. (Two other concurrent Los Angeles art fairs, Felix and Spring/Break Art Show, also are up through March 3.)

Scores of collectors are in town from all over the world to attend the fairs as well as check out the many art galleries that have timed openings to what has become known as L.A. Art Week.

For many high-powered collectors who love and support the arts, it has truly become an apex social occasion. “It is a chance to end up seeing a lot of the art world and people that you really like,” Bell told THR. “We’re sort of like a big traveling group trooping together. At the various fairs around the world, we all see each other. It’s almost hard. You’ve got to keep focused on the art because you run into so many old friends, and it’s so lovely to see them.”

On the first day of Frieze Los Angeles, the largest reported sale was a large-scale Richard Serra drawing at the Gladstone Gallery for $2 million. At Thaddaeus Ropac, a charcoal-on-paper work by Robert Longo sold for $1.6 million and a work by Anselm Kierfer sold for 1.3 million pounds. Hauser & Wirth sold a painting by Ed Clark for $950,000, a work by Charles Gaines for $795,000, a painting by Frank Bowling for $800,000, and a painting by Rita Ackermann for $425,000.

David Kordansky Gallery completely sold out their booth of works by Sam McKinniss, in the range of $95,000 to $140,000. Pt. 2 Gallery sold all their works by painter Muzae Sesay, while Vielmetter Los Angeles placed a nine-panel painting by Whitney Bedford for $300,000. An Antony Gormley sculpture showing at White Cube sold for 500,000 pounds, while David Zwirner placed a sculpture by Huma Bhanaba, along with two John McCracken sculptures for between $450,000 and $500,000 each. 

In a new partnership between Frieze Los Angeles and the California African American Museum, the museum acquired a ceramic work titled Natural for their collection created by the L.A.-based sculptor Mustafa Clayton Ali, who was represented in the Focus section by Dominique Gallery, located in West Adams.