Frieze Los Angeles, the contemporary art fair, was launched in 2019. This year’s fifth edition, held in Santa Monica, featured more than 100 exhibitors, from the international gallery multiplexes (Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth, Zwirner) to local single galleries from New York, LA, Paris, Milan, and other art-collecting friendly destinations.

Frieze itself was a four-day event, from February 29-March 3, but it is really just the eye of the art storm that passed over Los Angeles. For more than a week, galleries held openings and special events, breakfasts, brunches and dinners. Artists opened their studios; Terry Allen , whose work was featured at LA Louver’s booth at Frieze, gave two performances with his Texas country band at the Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Lita Albuquerque held a guided mediation at Michael Kohn gallery; and JoJo Abot gave a performance at LA Louver.

Meanwhile, over at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood (itself the site of the first Oscars Ceremony), Felix Art Fair, the Dean Valentine founded alternative art fair, took over a row of cabana pool rooms besides their David Hockney-painted pool, as well as two floors of the hotel where each room featured a different gallery.

So what was it like? At times hectic, overwhelming, and disorienting (i.e. Haven’t I walked down this corridor already?). But also friendly, charming, a combination of the known, spiced with the possibility of discovery. Like any professional convention, it remains an opportunity for people who may have an email or zoom relationship to connect, or to have those meetings that only happen yearly at such events.

So what did I see and what did I like? Los Angeles-based artist Andrea Bowers’ compelling work at Vielmeter, wonderful prints by Lynn Hershman Leeson (who I’m helping with a project) at San Francisco’s Altman Siegel. There were several sponsored booths by such companies as Poiret who had a interesting Laure Prouvost installation of live plants, and LG who had a selection of Shepard Fairey digital art. Hannah Hoffman, an LA gallery was new to me (but highly recommended). James Fuentes was exhibiting paintings by the late actor/personality Geoffrey Holder, which were like Holder himself, sensitive, intelligent, at times bitingly funny, and beautiful. Hauser & Wirth had an intriguing Larry Bell mirrored mini-maze, Gagosian had multiple works by Lauren Halsey. Work by Sam McKinnis seemed to be everywhere. Marc Selwyn showed a beautiful Lee Bontecou (and you don’t see a lot of her work in galleries).

Work by Lee BontecouPHOTO BY TOM TEICHOLZ

In the ongoing recognition of the historical importance and impact of Los Angeles in contemporary art history, I was particularly thrilled to see the championing of seminal LA artist Wallace Berman at several galleries, not only at JRP editions which is reprinting Berman posters but also at Paris’ Galerie Frank Elbaz which had a wonderful original work by Berman.

Were there celeb sightings? Of course. Of Actors and artists and artists who are actors (like Lisa Edelstein); and of major art collectors who made their fortunes in Hollywood (was that George Lucas I saw? I think it was!).

Overheard at Frieze: A successful art consultant said that she saw her job as “training people with lots of money to be custodians of art works.”

In the days before Frieze opened, there was an event at EMECO chairs with a panel discussion led by sculptor Kathryn Andrews about gender inequality in the workplace and in the artworld that was also a launch for the Judith Center, which seeks to engage women artists, activists and thought leaders around the topic of gender equality. Andrews and the Judith Center also had an installation of political posters regarding gender disparity in the ground floor corridor at Felix Art Fair.

There was also a gallery show at Venice gallery ARCANE Space of 20-something artists Dillan Conniff, Holden Fuller, Yujia Li, Josh Rabineau, and Dominick Vanderlip that was worth checking out (the show has been extended to March 17).

At Felix Art Fair, the work is often less expensive than at Frieze, and the artists are often younger. The galleries are more often independent. So there is a heightened sense of discovery when roaming the fair. Sea View Gallery, an LA exhibition space in the Mt. Washington area, had work by Elana Bowsher. Interestingly, Rachel Uffner gallery in New York, actually had a presence at both Frieze and at Felix. At Felix, I was taken by the work of Talia Levitt, an artist with a definite design /graphic arts sensibility whose works look like a Seurat-like pointillist work whose surface may include items such as buttons or zippers – but are all made of paint (rating extremely high on the obsessive scale).

Hollywood agency WME-IMG are investors in Frieze LA, and they funded a new prize, called The Impact Prize, which was awarded this year to Gary Tyler (who I profiled here). Gary and his quilts had their own booth which was great to see, supported by Detroit’s Library Street Collective where Gary had his first show.

Lelong & Co. had several prints by Ana Mendieta (printed posthumously). Jeffrey Deitch had some amazing (beautiful but disturbing) sculptures by Isabelle Albuquerque, along with copies of her powerful new coffee table book, An Orgy for Ten in One Body (Pacific / Dietch/Nicodem.

Overheard at Frieze: “Follow me. I know how to walk the room.”

I want to also highlight the great work of Creative Growth an Oakland, CA based non-profit that for the last 50 years that was started tarted in the East Bay home of Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz. Their website sets the vision as follows, that “Art would be the path forward for people with disabilities to express themselves and a professional gallery would exhibit their work.”

And then it was over, like the circus leaving town. According to the press releases that found their way into my inbox, sales were good and plentiful. However, what Frieze and Felix accomplished more than anything was an affirmation of the artworld tilting to Los Angeles, the creative capital of the world, where more people earn their livings artistically than in any other city else on the planet.

Don’t believe me? Just visit Frieze LA next year!