A-LIST celebrities and art lovers will descend on Santa Monica Aiport once again this week for the annual Frieze Art Fair – which last year attracted everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jared Leto.
The four-day event will begin on Thursday with 95 galleries from 21 countries showcased in Los Angeles.
Festivities will kick off with a VIP preview with Maestro Dobel Tequila hosting a cocktail lounge celebrating Mexico’s contemporary art and hospitality scene, as celebrities are expected to pour in.
Stars including Margot Robbie and even Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have been seen pursuing the fair’s art in previous years.
Art Production Fund will be presenting the on-site public program ‘Set Seen’, featuring Matt Johnson Giant’s Shell Swan, an eight-foot-tall bronze sculpture depicting a classical swan made out of seashells.
The site incorporates 120,000 sq ft of tenting and this year the whole fair will take place within one structure at the historic Barker Hanger, designed by Kulapat Yantrasast’s architectural firm, Why.
It will solve last year’s issues of walking or riding between two big spaces at the site.
Frieze director of Americas Christine Messineo in a statement: “With Frieze Los Angeles upon us, we are excited to reveal leading international exhibitors and established Los Angeles galleries that form the highlights of this year’s edition.”
Another bizarre draw this year will be Pippa Garner’s Haulin Ass!, a fully-functional 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck with its exterior rotated 180 degrees and welded back together so it appears to face the wrong way as it drives.
The event features large comical testicles and will reportedly be “cruising around the airport and neighboring streets throughout the fair encouraging art lovers to reconsider our perspectives on everyday objects.”
The Frieze Impact Prize has been handed to Gary Tyler for 2024.
Tyler was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, and spent more than four decades in prison in Louisiana until his sentencing was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.
The prize recognizes an artist who has made a significant impact on society with their work and will see Tyler present a solo project at Frieze, include textile pieces, and receive $25,000.
Romola Ratnam, SVP, Head of Impact, Inclusion and Advocacy at Endeavor said, ‘The Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize celebrates art’s capacity to spark conversation, challenge perceptions, and drive change.
“We are honored to partner with The Center for Art and Advocacy this year, amplifying their important work supporting justice-impacted artists in the U.S.
“I look forward to seeing Gary Tyler, an artist whose work exemplifies the potency of creativity in the face of adversity, present new textile works at the fair.”
Frieze, similar to the Art Basel fair, continues to grow every year and is now a full week of previews, parties, and the fair itself, similar to an awards season.
It originated in London and was first held in Los Angeles at Paramount Pictures Studios in 2019 and 2020 before it was canceled for two years due to the pandemic.
It made a return at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills before relocating to the Santa Monica Airport site in 2023.
This fair this year will feature pop-ups from a selection of renowned women-owned L.A.-based restaurants curated by the nonprofit Regarding Her [RE: Her].
