The art world descends on Tinseltown this week as the sophomore edition of Frieze Los Angeles gets underway. Local galleries and museums have pulled out all the stops to capture visitors’ attention. But since Frieze, Felix, and other LA fairs are arguably the center of it all this week, here is our guide to how to navigate them. Good news for those of you who don’t want to spend all your art-buying money on Uber: This time around, the fairs are more concentrated and easier to travel between now that the Art Los Angeles Contemporary has moved to Hollywood from Barker Hangar. Happy fairgoing.
Frieze Los Angeles
Gretchen Andrew’s “Frieze Los Angeles” information guide. Courtesy of the artist.
When: February 13–16; Thursday, February 13, preview, invitation only; Friday, February 14, preview, check ticket and invitation time; Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, February 16, 11 a.m.– 6 p.m.
Where: Paramount Pictures Studio
What to Know: The second edition of the anchor fair, which attracted considerable buzz (not to mention celebrity cameos) in 2019, features 70 international exhibitors, making it considerably more manageable than the sprawling New York or London editions. This year, the fair boasts a new curated section dedicated to emerging art spaces in LA and new curators for Frieze Projects, which returns to transform the Paramount backlot into an outdoor artistic showcase.
On the backlot, keep an eye out for a collective dance performance from Black Lives Matter co-founder and artist Patrisse Cullors that invites visitors to “participate and reclaim time, space, and energy,” according to organizers. Other anticipated projects include those by Lorna Simpson, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, and Gary Simmons. Inside the fair, highlights include new paintings by art star Avery Singer at Hauser & Wirth and an immersive LED ceiling installation by James Turrell presented by Pace and Kayne Griffin Corcoran.
Tickets: Admission to Frieze LA is not for everyone. Tickets to the Friday preview range from $500 (including a curated tour, magazine, and tote bag) to $175; general admission on Saturday or Sunday is $125. Tickets to view the special programs only (outside the tent) are $60 on Friday and $25 over the weekend.
Art Los Angeles Contemporary
Coady Brown, Spellbound. Image courtesy 1969 Gallery, New York.
When: February 13–16; Thursday, February 13, opening reception, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.; Friday, February 14, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, February 16, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Where: Hollywood Athletic Club, 6525 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood
What to Know: After years on the far west side of the city at Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger, the 11th edition of the long-running Art Los Angeles Contemporary fair is relocating to the historic Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Boulevard. Although it has lost a number of heavy-hitting exhibitors since the arrival of Frieze LA, such as David Kordansky Gallery and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, this year’s lineup boasts 50 exhibitors from 11 countries, including New York’s the Hole and Los Angeles’s Luis De Jesus. The fair will also host independent publishers, special projects, and on-site artist interventions.
Keep an eye out for a project by Gozié Ojini presented by Court Space, a curatorial platform that pops up at Los Angeles’s public and private sports courts. Ojini will present installations and sculptures made from repurposed sports equipment, referencing the athletic history of the Club.
Tickets: $25 for a one-day pass; $30 for a three-day pass; $65 for opening night
Felix Art Fair
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Courtesy of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
When: February 13–16; Thursday, February 13, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., preview by invitation only; 6 p.m.–8 p.m., public preview; Friday, February 14, and Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sunday, February 16, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Where: The Hollywood Roosevelt, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
What to Know: If Frieze LA is the art-fair equivalent of the Oscars, Felix is the Independent Spirit Awards. The hip hotel fair, now in its sophomore year, was founded by collector and television mogul Dean Valentine with art dealers Mills Morán and Al Morán of Morán Morán gallery. Taking inspiration from the historic Gramercy International Fair, which kicked off the art-fair phenomenon in the mid-1990s, Felix invites dealers to set up shop in individual hotel rooms. This year’s edition will feature 60 exhibitors from China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Poland, and the UK, bringing back a majority of last year’s galleries and welcoming 25 new ones.
This time around, the fair has tweaked its structure to avoid overcrowding near the entrance, which frustrated some visitors during its debut. Felix is also hosting a series of special projects organized by William J. Simmons that will appear in the lobby, ballroom, and outdoor bungalows. Highlights include a display of work by Judy Chicago selected by TV producer Jill Soloway and a video by Martha Wilson that shows the artist gradually transforming into Melania Trump.
Tickets: $25
Spring/Break Art Show
Spring Break LA. Courtesy of the fair.
When: February 14–16; Friday, February 14, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., press preview and VIP afternoon first look, 4 p.m.–9 p.m., VIP opening night; Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, February 16, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Where: Skylight ROW DTLA, 757 S Alameda Street, Downtown Los Angeles
What to Know: You can expect a freewheeling, immersive experience at this fair, which was founded in New York in 2012 but expanded to LA last year to coincide with Frieze. As in New York, the LA version offers curators a free space to exhibit inside a disused urban building. (Transactions take place online through the Spring/Break site, which takes a final cut from the sales.) This year’s fair hosts 45 nearly exclusively Los Angeles-based artists, curators, and artist-run spaces, all responding to the fair’s 2020 theme, “In Excess.” By keeping overhead costs for participants low, the fair hopes to encourage experimentation, meaning you are more likely to see an ambitious installation or new media work at Spring/Break than at some of the week’s other fairs.
Tickets: $25–50
stARTup Art Fair
A visitor interacting with Camile Magrane. Image courtesy stARTup Art Fair.
When: February 14–16; Friday, February 14, 7 p.m.–10 p.m., opening night party; Saturday, February 15, 12 p.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, February 16, 12 p.m.–7 p.m.
Where: The Kinney, 737 West Washington Boulevard, Venice Beach
What to Know: The opening night party is open to anyone with a general admission ticket ($15 in advance and $20 at the door). The scrappy fair hosts more than 80 artists who will transform the rooms and grounds of the Kinney Hotel in Venice Beach with painting, photography, sculpture, and installation. In addition to unrepresented artists, fair organizers give free exhibition space to local community nonprofits who show their art in hotel rooms or hallways, including Art Share LA, the Los Angeles Center of Photography, the Los Angeles Art Association, and the Los Angeles Children’s Project.
Tickets: $10–100
Art Palm Springs
Image via Art Palm Springs.com
When: February 13–17; Thursday, February 13, 5 p.m.–9 p.m., opening night preview, VIP ticket holders only; Friday, February 14, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, February 15, and Sunday, February 16, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Monday, February 17, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Where: Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N Avenida Caballeros, Palm Springs
What to Know: If you are looking to take a trip to the desert before or after Frieze Week, but can’t stand to be too far away from an art fair, Art Palm Springs is for you. The ninth edition of the fair, which coincides with Palm Springs’ renowned “Modernism Week,” brings together 70 international art dealers with an emphasis on American art. Eckert Fine Art, which presents work from founder Jane Coats Eckert’s collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art, is bringing works by Alexander Calder, while Swiss gallery Imago Art will present Cy Twombly’s mixed-media piece Untitled (La Compositioni) (1964) from the collection of Baron Giorgio Franchetti.
Tickets: $25 for a day pass; $100 for the VIP preview plus a four-day pass