It’s Art Fair season in LA….On February 16-19, 2023, Frieze Los Angeles takes place at a new location of Santa Monica Airport. Led by Christine Messineo, Frieze’s Director of Americas, the fair will feature over 120 galleries from 22 countries around the world, and will include major world-leading galleries alongside some of the most exciting emerging spaces for contemporary art. Positioned in the Southeast corner of the airfield, the fair will occupy multiple sites across the property and will once again be designed by Kulapat Yantrasast’s WHY studio. If you are looking for more annual art fairs, visit our sister site EatTravelGo.com – CLICK HERE to read my review a couple years back of LA’s Art Fair week; CLICK HERE to read a review (by one of our staff writers) of FRIEZE Los Angeles 2020.

The new location of the fair will allow for an expanded footprint and a wider selection of galleries, alongside collaborations with nonprofit organizations, as well as a series of new ambitious activations, and pop-ups from some of Los Angeles’ most beloved restaurants. This year’s list of participating galleries sees an added emphasis on exhibitors with a specialism in the 20th century, particularly those who show work by artists who may have been previously overlooked. The Focus section of the fair, dedicated to galleries aged 12 years and younger, will be curated for the second year by Amanda Hunt, alongside new Associate Curator Sonya Tamaddon, and have a broader remit, welcoming participants from across the US. The fair’s curated program, Frieze Projects, will see new developments that embrace the expanded physical space and include collaborations with Art Production Fund and Jay Ezra Nayssan, founder and director of Del Vaz Projects, as well as key initiatives such as the Frieze Impact Award.

Frieze Los Angeles is supported by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, which in 2023 celebrates 20 years in partnership with Frieze and a shared commitment to artistic excellence. The 2023 fair will see the return of the much-celebrated Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award, a development program supporting emerging Los Angeles-based filmmakers. Christine Messineo, Director of Americas, Frieze, said: ‘I am proud that support for Frieze Los Angeles continues to grow as we move to a new, expanded location with many galleries participating for the first time. In 2023, we will also push beyond the borders of the fair and encourage our visitors to explore everything LA’s West Side has to offer, from major institutions to smaller spaces that form the fabric of the city’s art community. Together with my colleagues, I am delighted that Frieze will support and celebrate that community in 2023. Kulapat Yantrasast, WHY, added: ‘Launching off from the Santa Monica Airport, the fourth Frieze Los Angeles represents the spirit of rejuvenation of this beloved airport and its neighborhood, as well as the broadest expansion of our communities of art and cultures in California.’

A pint-size art lover enjoys the work of Anish Kapoor presented by Lisson Gallery; photo by Kathy Leonardo (2019)

The main section of the fair will see a strong line-up of galleries from across the greater Los Angeles region namely: Blum & Poe, The Box, Château Shatto, Commonwealth and Council, Jeffrey Deitch, David Kordansky Gallery, Regen Projects and Various Small Fires (VSF). This selection of exhibitors will be complemented by leading international names such as Sadie Coles HQ, Paula Cooper Gallery, Gagosian, Gladstone Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Gallery Hyundai, Pace Gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, and David Zwirner, alongside first-time exhibitors including Canada, Tiwani Contemporary, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Kukje Gallery, Proyectos Monclova, Nicola Vassell and Welancora Gallery. In a new development, the expanded footprint of the fair will allow for a wider selection of galleries featuring 20th-century art, with an emphasis on showing work by overlooked figures and rarely seen practices.

These participants will be shown in the Barker Hanger, which sits adjacent to the tent on the airport property, and include Berggruen Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, Donald Ellis Gallery, Hakgojae Gallery, L.A. Louver, Luhring Augustine, Anthony Meier Fine Arts, and Parrasch Heijnen.

The Focus section of the fair will evolve in 2023, to include participants from across the US, with galleries from cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York, expanding on the remit of previous years which saw exhibitors hailing solely from the Los Angeles region. This section of the fair is overseen by Amanda Hunt (Head of Public Engagement, Learning and Impact (PELI) atWalker Art Center) and Sonya Tamaddon (Independent Curator) and will showcase some of today’s most exciting emerging spaces such as Chris Sharp, Dreamsong, Kristina Kite, Make Room, Nonaka Hill, Ochi Projects, Parker Gallery, Patron, Paul Soto/Park View, regularnormal, Sebastian Gladstone, Sow & Tailor, and Stars.

Galleries participating in the fair will also benefit from the digital reach of Frieze Viewing Room, which will open February 9, 2023, ahead of the fair, offering a first look at the galleries and programming, and close February 20, 2023. In addition, an expanded Frieze Week program of exhibitions and events across the city will begin on February 13, 2023 and run throughout the fair. Frieze Week will encompass a broad spectrum of programming at galleries, museums, civic organizations, and other artist-driven spaces, celebrating and showcasing the many communities which make up LA’s dynamic art landscape. Major institutional exhibitions taking place throughout the week include: ‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971’ at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; ‘William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows’ at The Broad; ‘Alicia Piller: Within and Strings of Desire’ at Craft Contemporary; ‘Uta Barth: Peripheral Vision’ at The Getty Center; ‘Bridget Riley Drawings: from the Artist’s Studio’ at The Hammer Museum; ‘Milford Graves: Fundamental Frequency’ at Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; ‘Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982’ and ‘New Abstracts: Recent Acquisitions’ at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); ‘Henry Taylor: B Side’ and ‘Simone Forti’ at MOCA Grand Avenue.

About the venue: The fair will be held in the Southeast corner of the airfield and take place across multiple sites, including the Barker Hangar.

General Admission ranges from $76 -$202; Purchase tickets on the website; Frieze Hours: Thursday Preview, February 16 (invitation only): 10am – 7pm; Friday Preview, February 17: 11am – 8pm; Saturday, February 18: 11am – 7pm; Sunday, February 19: 11am – 6pm;

What: Frieze Los Angeles 2023
Where: Santa Monica Airport, 3233 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica, CA 90405
When: February 17 – 19 (see  hours above)
Website: https://www.frieze.com