For some, visiting fairs like Frieze Los Angeles is a leisure activity. For Ivy Shapiro, it’s work. She founded her own boutique advisory business in 2020 after a decade with Barbara Gladstone and 13 years working with advisor Allan Schwartzman. Shapiro—who has art in her blood as the daughter of sculptor Joel Shapiro and art educator Amy Snider—hit the ground running during the fair’s VIP preview. We asked her to keep a diary of her whirlwind day.

8:30 a.m.

I start the day with breakfast with my longtime friend Rose Tarlow at her store on North Robertson. I have always been enamored of Rose’s taste. 

10 a.m. 

I arrive at the fair—map, pen, and water in hand. 

Anne Truitt at Matthew Marks Gallery. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

10:15 a.m. 

I head first to Matthew Marks Gallery where I have an Anne Truitt painting on reserve for a client, which I need to see in person before we commit to the work. There is a wonderful exhibition of Anne Truitt’s white paintings on view at Matthew Marks in L.A. right now as well. The white paintings must be seen in person—I thought the exhibit was beautifully installed. 

10:45 a.m.

After Matthew’s, I ran into my friend and fellow advisor Ellen Langan. It was fun to walk through a few booths together. 

A memorable work: Rachel Harrison at Regen Projects. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

11:00 a.m.

I was impressed by the sculpture on view at Regen Projects—in particular works by Rachel Harrison and Liz Larner.

Liz Larner at Regen Projects. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

I admired both Rachel’s show at Regen Projects and Liz’s exhibition at the SculptureCenter in Long Island City (both on view now). I’m always struck by Rachel’s irreverent sense of humor and her simultaneous ability to approach sculpture on a sophisticated formal level. 

Howard Rachofsky and Ivy Shapiro.

11:30 a.m.

I ran into an old friend Howard Rachofsky—I met Howard when I worked at the front desk at Gladstone Gallery in 1994.

12:00 p.m.

In the middle of the fair, my attention gets pulled back to New York for a moment, when I receive an email about a painting I would like to offer to a client from Julia Rommel’s strong show on view at Bureau in New York right now. That exhibition is up for a few more weeks until early March and it’s definitely one to check out.

Ivy Shapiro and Woody De Othello at Jessica Silverman.

12:30 p.m. 

I was pleased to meet Woody De Othello at Jessica Silverman’s gallery. I have always liked Woody’s work. I thought his sculpture outside the fair was able to hold the space and have real presence. I made Woody laugh when I mentioned that I always tell my artist friends to stay clear of art fairs. I also enjoyed learning about a few of the artists in Jessica’s booth whose work I would like to become more familiar with. 

A work by Reggie Burrows Hodges. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

1:00 p.m. 

I thought Reggie Burrows Hodges’s painting looked particularly striking in Karma’s booth. As did a Susan Rothenberg painting (in my mind, an extraordinary overlooked painter) at Sperone Westwater. 

Susan Rothenberg at Sperone Westwater. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

I visited with Max Falkenstein at Gladstone Gallery. Here I am in front of a great, early  Carroll Dunham painting. Dunham is a painter and friend whose bold and energetic work endlessly engages me. 

Ivy Shapiro and Max Falkenstein in front of a painting by Carroll Dunham.

1:45 p.m.

I finish up at Frieze L.A. and enjoy a great salad and spectacular L.A. view during lunch at The Rooftop by JG. 

3 p.m.

After lunch, I went to the Felix Art Fair—it’s super lively. The way the booths were organized reminded me of when Pat Hearn and others organized the Gramercy Hotel Art Fair in the mid-90’s.

Antonia Marsh of Soft Opening, with a painting by Stephen Polatch. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

3:30 p.m. 

I was drawn to the works presented by the London-based gallery Soft Opening. In particular the painter Stephen Polatch caught my eye. Here is a picture of the gallery founder Antonia Marsh with one of Polatch’s small, intimate works. 

Lucy Dodd at Sprüth Magers. Photo: Ivy Shaprio.

4:30 p.m.

After Felix, I visited the Lucy Dodd exhibition at Sprüth Magers Gallery on my way to meet my former co-worker and present-day dear friend Rosalie Benitez for a drink at the bar at the Peninsula. I enjoyed Lucy’s sense of color and almost spiritual happenstance that she creates in her paintings.

Time for dinner. Photo: Ivy Shapiro.

7 p.m. 

After a rewarding art-filled day, I decided to forego the parties and opted for a delicious dinner at Matsuhisa with my partner, Craig Markus, and my kids, Lily and Walker, before our early morning flights tomorrow.