Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Myers, Grace Celebrity VIP Frieze New York Preview

Celebrities get thoughtful at Frieze's VIP opening.

Mike Myers.
Photo: © 2014 Patrick McMullan Company, Inc.

The VIP launch of Frieze New York wouldn’t be the same without its celebrity footprint.

This afternoon, as artnet News was dutifully filing a fair report via iPhone, we looked up and locked eyes with Mike Myers, the comedian, actor, and intrepid artist (see Mike Myers Spent Three Years Painting Portraits of Colonel Sanders). He was headed towards Galleri Magnus Karlsson’s booth, where he spent a few minutes admiring an oil painting by Anna Bjerger of a woman in a pink bathing suit plunging into watery depths.

Jonathan Horowitz has Frieze fair-goers paint dots at Gavin Brown. Photo: artnet News.

Jonathan Horowitz has Frieze fair-goers paint dots at Gavin Brown.
Photo: artnet News.

Meanwhile, Artnews spotted Leonardo DiCaprio at Gavin Brown’s enterprise, commenting on Jonathan Horowitz’s dot paintings, created by industrious fair-goers in exchange for a cool $20. “I thought that was really cool,” the actor and avid art collector reportedly said.

Leonardo DiCaprio at Robertas at Frieze.  Photo: artnet News.

Leonardo DiCaprio at Robertas at Frieze.
Photo: artnet News.

 

Later, artnet News spied DiCaprio feasting at Roberta’s outpost, since even multimillionaire celebrities need to consume carbs every once in a while. We snapped a quick photo, before the star ducked behind a friend. The cost of the blurry snapshot? A steely glare from DiCaprio and his buddies.

In years past, celebrities have come to Frieze with their own mission beyond collecting art. In 2012, Mark Ruffalo was found frying meat at Gavin Brown’s booth, as part of an anti-fracking demonstration. “We wanted to remind people where their food comes from—and to feed them some sausages,” he told Bloomberg News.

Others at the fair are looking for some new clothes. Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman, on the eve of his retirement (see Brooklyn Museum’s Longtime Director Arnold Lehman Retires), was found draped in one of Pia Camil’s popular ponchos (see Frieze VIPs Go Wild For Pia Camil’s Free Ponchos.) “I love it. I think it combines performance art, art fair populism, and a marketing supreme,” he told artnet News.

Former Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman with Pia Camil at Frieze New York. Image courtesy of artnet News.

Former Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman with Pia Camil at Frieze New York. Image courtesy of artnet News.


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