LOS ANGELES — As crowds descended on the Santa Monica Airport yesterday, February 20, for the opening of Frieze Los Angeles, informal bystanders may overlook that only a month in the past it wasn’t sure whether or not the worldwide artwork honest would even be returning to LA this month. Wildfires had simply swept by means of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, deeply impacting town’s inventive communities. Regardless of some considerations over whether or not it was “too soon,” organizers determined to maneuver ahead as deliberate alongside 4 different LA festivals occurring concurrently, with the notion that they have been a possibility for these affected to learn financially — and for collectors and patrons to point out their help. In an overt acknowledgement of those tensions, Frieze added the subtitle “A Celebration of Creative Resilience and Community Rebuilding,” in press materials.
Dominique Moody with “NOMAD” (2015–2025), Frieze Initiatives x Artwork Manufacturing Fund
Nonetheless, the specter of the fires was unimaginable to disregard. It was instantly evident as I walked as much as the tent, the place I encountered Dominique Moody’s “NOMAD” (2015–2025), a hand-built trailer produced from wooden, metal, and scavenged components, one among eight public artworks comprising the Frieze Initiatives x Artwork Manufacturing Fund initiative. Moody constructed the trailer at Zorthian Ranch, most of which burned down within the Eaton Hearth, and had been visiting with the household of the late assemblage artist John Outterbridge the day earlier than their properties have been destroyed. After the Altadena blaze, she determined to dedicate the work to these “who lost everything” emphasizing the “impact on the larger arts community, in particular the Black Arts community that is so powerfully present there.”
Jackie Amezquita, “trazos de energía entre trayectorias fugaces (strokes of energy between impermanent traces)” (2025), Frieze Initiatives x Artwork Manufacturing Fund
Close by, a bunch of artists had arrange an set up unaffiliated with Frieze and composed of a picnic blanket on which sat burned and charred items of furnishings. Kikesa Cosio, one of many artists, instructed me that “Here Lay a Home” could be the location of performances all through the weekend to boost consciousness of the destruction suffered by the Altadena group, which her household had referred to as house because the Twenties.
Even contained in the tent, works that had no connection to the latest tragedy took on new ranges of which means. Chris Burden’s “Nomadic Folly” (2001), initially created for the 2001 Istanbul Biennial and introduced by Gagosian gallery, the construction produced from rugs, pillows, and curtains resembles a communal desert oasis, highlighting the essential want for shelter. The choice to exhibit the piece within the present context may very well be learn as considerate or exploitative, relying in your perspective.
Frieze LA 2025
And whereas Frieze took strides to acknowledge the catastrophe and help these affected — with 10% of ticket gross sales donated to the LA Arts Group Hearth Aid Fund, a Black Trustee Alliance sales space targeted on Altadena’s Black group, and a “Galleries Together” fundraising initiative for worldwide galleries who need to assist — it was straightforward to miss these overtures and get swept up within the honest’s sprawling maze of almost 100 exhibitors.
“It feels like the status quo,” stated one curator, who requested to not be recognized by title. “Everything benefits victims of the wildfires, as it should, but it can be hard to tell.”
Saif Azzuz, “What Memories Hold” (2024), introduced by Anthony Meier
On opening day, nonetheless, there was a palpable buzz and celebratory ambiance amongst exhibitors and patrons alike.
“People heard the call to come and support,” stated Hammer Museum curator Erin Christovale. “This feels positive in the wake of the fires. What local artists need is money in their pockets.”
Emmanuel Louisnord Desir sculptures and Mette Madsen work introduced by Sebastian Gladstone and Stars galleries
LA artwork seller Sebastian Gladstone stated he had offered seven of 9 wooden and bronze sculptures by Emmanuel Louisnord Desir, every priced between $10,000 and $40,000. In a shared sales space with Stars gallery, one of many strongest displays on the honest, Desir’s sculptures mixing Afro-futurism with a darkish, gothic aesthetic have been paired with visionary work by the late Mette Madsen.
Regardless of the early success, Gladstone remarked that he had not but seen members of the higher echelons of collectors. Hollywood did make a displaying — I noticed Balthazar Getty, James Franco, and Justine Bateman perusing and schmoozing, and Child Cudi captivated by a glowing James Turrell piece at Tempo Gallery’s sales space.
Sam Parker of Parker Gallery famous that his early skepticism about turnout had dissipated. The earlier night, the gallery opened its new location in Hollywood with solo reveals by Joe Minter and Daisy Sheff, welcoming a whole bunch of tourists. “It was crazy,” he exclaimed. “The energy is great.”
Frieze Impression Prize Winner Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez and his I.C.E. SCREAM collection
“It’s been an amazing morning — everyone’s talking about the energy, the sense of lightness. It’s an affirmation that we should be doing this, we should all be together,” stated Trevyn McGowan of Southern Guild, making its debut at Frieze LA this yr. The gallery expanded from their base in Cape City, South Africa to Los Angeles final February. “I have not been able to move from the booth since we opened.”
Zanele Muholi {photograph}, Zizipho Poswa sculpture, and Manyaku Mashilo portray at Southern Guild ‘s booth
The booth’s presentation featured 5 girl artists, 4 from South Africa and one from LA: photographic works by Zanele Muholi and Alex Hedison, textiles by Bonolo Kavula, towering ceramic and bronze sculptures by Zizipho Poswa, and work by Manyaku Mashilo, who additionally has a present on the LA house.
Though the house contained in the tent can appear far faraway from the fraught world outdoors, McGowan acknowledged the platform that the honest offered. “Since the election, I made it clear: Everything we do has to be done with purpose, toward equality and diversity. It can’t just be intrinsic, it has to be at the forefront of every decision we make.”
Ozzie Juarez, “Pásale! Pásale! Todo Barato!” (2025), Frieze Initiatives x Artwork Manufacturing Fund
Countering the fast rise of xenophobia, intolerance, and nationalism, expressions of solidarity and resistance may very well be seen elsewhere all through the honest, notably in a number of Frieze Initiatives, together with Jackie Amezquita’s “trazos de energía entre trayectorias fugaces (strokes of energy between impermanent traces)” (2025). The artist’s set up of lava rocks, soil, and corn masa that took up a lot of the soccer subject, the focus of which was a Mesoamerican pyramid. Close by, Ozzie Juarez had recreated a South Central Swap Meet, impressed by these he grew up going to, and was gifting away toys sourced from these precise gatherings and repackaged.
“Are these from the homies?!” a girl in a pointy swimsuit excitedly exclaimed, choosing up a small figurine of one of many beloved Chicano/Latino characters.
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, whose I.C.E. SCREAM (2025) collection of neon-hued resin paletas, or ice pops, relabels the immigration and customs enforcement company as “U.S. Inhumane and Cruelty Enforcement,” took house the honest’s 2025 Impression Prize.
Tanya Aguiñiga and Karla Aguiñiga, “Frutas Coquetas (Sexy Fruit)” (2025)
Set up view of “Frutas Coquetas (Sexy Fruit)” (2025) with “Defund I.C.E” hats
As a part of her AMBOS (Artwork Made Between Reverse Sides) venture, Tanya Aguiñiga designed a fruit cart the place she and her sister Karla Aguiñiga are displaying a ceramic set up of erotic fruit sculptures, Frutas Coquetas (Horny Fruit) (2025), created by artists in a program for refugees and asylum seekers. Regardless of their outstanding location contained in the tent for the primary time, and the crowds surrounding the cart, Aguiñiga famous the disconnect between the honest’s typical viewers and her community-based artwork observe.
“I’m OK not being for everybody,” Aguiñiga stated matter-of-factly, standing in entrance of her show of suggestive pears, phallic bananas, and different frisky fruit. “People are afraid to take stances on things that don’t relate to their own lives, when it all relates to all of us.”
