The ten Finest Cubicles at Frieze Los Angeles 2025

Two themes dominated artwork world conversations within the run-up to this yr’s Frieze Los Angeles. First got here the query of whether or not the honest would proceed within the wake of wildfires throughout L.A. County, which devastated over 40,000 acres and destroyed greater than 10,000 properties. Then, when the honest introduced that it could go forward, there was the matter of fairly how issues would shake up.

As Frieze Los Angeles 2025 held its VIP day on February twentieth, the temper was one in all vibrancy and communality. Main collectors, museum curators, and A-list celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Al Pacino, Child Cudi, and Katie Couric swarmed the Santa Monica Airport to peruse works introduced by some 101 exhibitors.

This yr’s honest comes because the L.A. artwork scene has remained steadfast in its dedication to its arts neighborhood. Forward of the honest, artists, galleries, and establishments have come collectively in a concerted effort to fundraise and supply reduction. Frieze made the choice to proceed as deliberate with the honest after consultations with native stakeholders. In the meantime, Felix Artwork Truthful and the brand new Submit-Truthful, together with a slate of spectacular exhibitions throughout the town this week, additionally selected to proceed.

“What was essential to the choice was…many conversations with the establishments right here in Los Angeles, the galleries right here in Los Angeles, and there was an actual name to motion that the neighborhood wanted a galvanizing second across the artwork world,” Christine Messineo, director of Frieze Americas, advised Artsy. “And we have been prepared to point out up.”

Since its debut in 2019, Frieze Los Angeles has turn out to be a linchpin for the town’s artwork scene, a truth that’s all of the extra evident within the aftermath of the fires. “Neighborhood constructing has at all times, at all times been inherent within the DNA of Frieze Los Angeles,” stated Messineo. “L.A. doesn’t exist with out our galleries, our establishments, our nonprofits, and our artists, and we need to be an area to welcome all of these into these organizations,” she added.

In addition to the principle galleries part, Frieze Los Angeles 2025 additionally options Focus, curated for the second time by the famend Essence Harden. This section showcases 12 solo exhibitions, a number of of which spotlight outstanding work from Los Angeles artists. Along with this part, Frieze has expanded its particular initiatives initiatives with a program of fundraising and community-led initiatives, together with Summaeverythang, AMBOS, and the Frieze Affect Prize.

The VIP day kicked off with a flurry of reported gross sales, led by a $2.8 million Elizabeth Peyton portray at David Zwirner’s sales space. Learn our roundup of day one gross sales from the honest right here, and keep tuned for our complete recap of reported gross sales on Monday.

Right here, we current the ten greatest cubicles from Frieze Los Angeles 2025.

Sales space F4

With works by Xin Liu

The centerpiece of Los Angeles tastemaker Make Room’s standout sales space is Artsy Vanguard 2025 artist Xin Liu’s Theater of Metamorphosis (2024), a outstanding triptych that includes a bronze solid of the artist’s mouth mounted on a fleshlike canvas. Leveraging her background in engineering, Liu built-in a cooling mechanism into this piece, chilling the bronze to adverse 4 levels Celsius. A part of her “cryo physique” collection, this technique attracts moisture from the air to rework the looks of the work over time, enjoying with themes of the physique and self-preservation.

One other piece from the identical collection, Primula Flowers (2024), options an an identical bronze mouth towards a canvas of skin-like resin painted in mushy blues and reds which might be harking back to veins. Halfway by the VIP day, the bronze was coated in ice, forming a protecting layer over the uncooked bronze. For the artist and Make Room founder Emilia Yin, these works resonate with Los Angeles’s health-obsessed tradition.

“The choice of presenting this ‘cryo physique’ work in that means had so much to do with Los Angeles, the frontier of expertise for life-preserving,” stated Yin. “We have now people who find themselves so into each doable option to optimize life and well being.”

Complementing these works is Fortune Tellers: Agua Viva (2025), that includes the artist’s DNA printed on rice paper, adorned with threads, and inscribed with poem-like texts. These technology-based works are priced between $20,000 and $50,000.

Sales space D7

With works by Chris Burden

Fairgoers in search of a second of respite from its packed aisles mustn’t miss Gagosian’s sales space. The mega-gallery has opted to current a dramatic set up by the late Californian artist Chris Burden, Nomadic Folly (2001), which was initially created for the seventh Istanbul Biennale. Tearing down the normal honest sales space partitions, the gallery has erected a four-room construction adorned with colourful handmade carpets, embroidered marriage ceremony materials, plush pillows, braided ropes, and jewel-toned glass and metallic lamps. These supplies are set on a platform of Turkish cypress beneath giant umbrellas, complemented by conventional music.

The genesis of the work is as compelling as its presentation. Burden traveled to Istanbul on September 9, 2001, simply days earlier than 9/11, and immersed himself within the native markets, deciding on silk panels, carpets, and lanterns to assemble the architectural set up. Senior director Deborah McLeod, calling the work an “homage to cultural relativism,” famous its heightened relevance to right this moment’s international hardships.

“This work had therapeutic powers on the time, and we thought this was a piece that Chris felt was showcasing all the proper issues about humanity in a time of disaster,” stated McLeod. “And right here we’re in a devastating second in Los Angeles, so we thought, ‘What a fantastic gesture.’ Chris Burden is the final word L.A. artist, so we felt it made sense to convey it to Frieze L.A.” Your complete set up is on the market for an undisclosed quantity.

Sales space D3

With works by Pat Lipsky, Jim Jarmusch, and Kikuo Saito

On the sales space of Los Angeles and New York gallery James Fuentes, a collection of work by the 83-year-old Shade Discipline painter Pat Lipsky are an prompt spotlight. Fuentes first met Lipsky when the painter visited the gallery’s Tribeca location for its solo present of works by the late artist Kikuo Saito, her previous pal and colleague.

The sales space options three of Lipsky’s giant summary Shade Discipline work, heralding an exploration into the artist’s important physique of labor. The standout piece is Chrysanthemum (1971), one of many earliest examples of the wave-like varieties that may come to outline her fashion, displaying a vibrant gradient of reds, greens, oranges, and blues on a tan canvas. This work is flanked by two newer work from 2023: the sun-soaked orange Message and the moodier Winged Fantasia. These items are priced between $125,000 and $150,000, with Chrysanthemum promoting on the VIP day. Coinciding with the honest, the gallery can also be internet hosting its inaugural exhibition with Lipsky, titled “That Which We Are,” at its Los Angeles location.

Exterior the sales space, a 2011 portray by Saito, Vilgot, and an untitled collage by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch are displayed, priced at $140,000 and $7,000, respectively. Reflecting on the honest’s significance, Fuentes commented on the energy of L.A. “It’s proof of L.A.’s resilience and the trajectory of L.A. being a metropolis that’s going to proceed to thrive,” Fuentes stated. “It’s been much more significant than another Frieze than I can bear in mind for that cause.”

Los Angeles–primarily based artist Edgar Arceneaux makes a behavior out of smashing mirrors. He applies paint to canvas to the backs of mirrors containing silver nitrate. These are then damaged, and the nitrate is transferred onto the face of the canvas, culminating within the works for his “Skinning the Mirror” collection. Minneapolis gallery Dreamsong presents seven items from the collection in a shattering show. Arceneaux created these works throughout a 2024 residency on the Walker Artwork Heart in Minneapolis, the place he grew to become captivated by the seasonal modifications of the area—a stark distinction to his native Southern California.

A notable piece from the collection is Skinning The Mirror (Summer time 1) (2025), which measures roughly 6.5 by 10 toes. This work options cracked mirrors interspersed with bursts of purple and yellow paint seeping by the fractures. It was acquired in the course of the honest’s VIP day by the Mohn Artwork Collective, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork, MOCA, and the Hammer Museum, by the MAC3 fund. One other hanging piece, Skinning The Mirror (Winter 9) (2025), is a extra subdued, tan monochrome abstraction. By the tip of the VIP day, it had been acquired by the Metropolis of Santa Monica Artwork Financial institution Acquisition.

“Gross sales have been robust, and it’s been extremely busy. I’m a bit overwhelmed in the mean time,” gallery co-founder Gregory Smith advised Artsy. “The power is incredible to date. Edgar is from South L.A. and has labored right here for many years. It was very nice to convey work he made the place we’re from to the place the place he’s from and present it right here as a result of all of us have kind of completely different connections to him.” Costs for the works on this collection vary from $16,000 to $100,000.

Sales space D4

With works by Greta Schödl

Austrian artist Greta Schödl is probably greatest recognized for her contributions to the poesia visiva (visible poetry) motion in Italy. On the age of 95, she continues to infuse her sculpture and works on paper with language, usually merely symbolic and nonsensical. For example, in her presentation at Richard Saltoun’s sales space, Schödl presents six marble stones engraved with the Italian phrase for marble, marmo, every letter “o” meticulously crammed with gold leaf. These works, made inside the final 5 years, are priced at $10,000 apiece.

Her piece La Scala (Serie VIBRAZIONI) (ca. 2014) embodies her ideas of symbolism and design with out using the written phrase. This 10-foot-tall scroll options meticulously designed wave-like patterns created with Indian ink. The lengthy paper is segmented by gold crochet, including a textural dimension, and is anchored by a chunk of wooden on the base of the work. It’s priced at $26,000.

Nonetheless, Richard Saltoun presents a wide array of the artist’s experimental language-based works on paper. For example, some untitled works from the Nineteen Eighties function painted papers crammed with handwritten cursive phrases adorned with cut-out collaged sentences and gold leaf organized in geometric patterns. These works are priced at $10,000, and works within the sales space vary from $3,000 to $50,000.

Sales space E9

With works by Luke Agada, Amoako Boafo, Daniel Crews-Chubb, Lenz Geerk, Suchitra Mattai, Wendy RedStar, Betye Saar, Kehinde Wiley, and Brenna Youngblood

An instantaneous standout at Roberts Initiatives’s sales space is an set up by Betye Saar that options two mixed-media assemblage works: the small rocking chair Critter Chair: The Seat of the Spirit (1990) and the windowpane sculpture Fragments of Fall (1989/1999). Initially featured within the “Sanctified Visions” exhibition at MOCA in 1990, the set up attracts on the lifetime of American author Zora Neale Hurston. Right here, the gallery reconstructs an evocative atmosphere with moss and corrugated sheet metallic, mimicking features of Hurston’s childhood environment. The aim of mounting such a traditionally embedded exhibition, stated the gallery’s founder Bennett Roberts, is to emphasise the important historical past of the town.

“It’s all about reminiscence and remembering,” Roberts advised Artsy. “I believe that’s the factor about L.A. is that we at all times undergo these issues, however we at all times appear to come back out stronger and higher. So, we determined to make use of it in any case of this occurred and create it as an atmosphere that’s about remembering.”

The remainder of the group presentation options highlights from the Los Angeles–primarily based gallery’s program. This contains Wendy Purple Star’s Night Star #1 (2025), which options two mirrors positioned at a 90-degree angle, reflecting a star quilt sample crafted from earth pigments in wealthy shades of blue and purple, impressed by Apsáalooke (Indigenous People that primarily stay in Montana) ladies’s rawhide work and quilting strategies. The worth vary for Purple Star’s works begins at $9,000, extending to Amoako Boafo’s portrait Japonica Spherical Neck (2023), priced at $205,000.

Sales space E13

With works by Víctor Hugo Pérez

Mexican artist Víctor Hugo Pérez’s portraits of his spouse and pets, corresponding to Mujer con gata (2018), are something however atypical. Right here, his spouse and cat are depicted with nightmarish options: eyes on the identical facet of their faces, large toothy jaws, all set inside ominous black frames adorned with gold leaf. These frames are hand-carved, that includes a menagerie of animals from birds to cats. Mexico Metropolis powerhouse Proyectos Monclova presents a collection of those unsettling portraits for its distinctive Frieze Los Angeles presentation.

Pérez usually focuses on unsettling and grotesque representations of legendary feminine figures (his spouse stands in because the mannequin for these portraits). These figures are impressed by pre-Hispanic mythology and biblical references, corresponding to Lilith or Eve. For instance, Lilith (2024) portrays Adam’s first spouse surrounded by two birds and two demonic-looking canine, imbuing the piece with a way of mythic drama.

Central to the sales space is a number of ceramics crafted in Tonala, Jalisco, utilizing a conventional black clay method. Pérez imbues this conventional method along with his distinctive modern expressionist fashion, adorning these works with animal motifs and summary varieties. A standout piece, La intocable rata (2023), incorporates a ceramic rat poised regally atop the vessel, priced at $6,000.

Through the VIP day, the gallery noticed strong gross sales, with virtually half of the artworks bought at its midpoint. “We’ve had one of the best response,” stated Alexandra Lovera, the gallery’s gross sales director. “We didn’t know what to anticipate after we got here due to all the things that occurred with the fires, however the response has been unbelievable. The folks have unbelievable power. They’re shopping for, they’re excited, so we couldn’t be happier.”

The flowery, 17-foot-wide salon-style assemblage by Libyan Yurok (an Indigenous folks of California) artist Saif Azzuz, What Recollections Maintain (2024), attracted keen audiences to Anthony Meier’s sales space all through Frieze’s VIP day. This set up combines sculptural assemblages that function Yurok patterns with wood carvings of animals, whereas additionally introducing some metallic flower reliefs, a more moderen medium for Azzuz. Sentimental particulars within the works additionally stand out. “He’s actually family- and community-focused, and he at all times sneaks in somewhat drawing or paintings from every of his children and his spouse,” stated director Kristin Delzell, noting the polaroids of the artist’s household, espresso mugs, and small work.

Elsewhere within the sales space, the gallery is presenting a number of Azzuz’s large-scale work, together with the frenetic, swirling canvas The sunsets are extra dramatic when the world is on hearth (2024). But the piece that actually catches the attention is Free to promote your labor (2024–25), a equally chaotic inexperienced portray that comes with the artist’s assemblage apply. This work contains supplies corresponding to abalone shells, barbed wire, plastic collectible figurines, metal, and numerous shells, marking the primary time the artist has mixed the 2 practices.

The sales space additionally contains metal sculptures comprised of sheet pans, redwood oars, and a desk stuffed with carved wood sculptures. Taken collectively, the sales space gives a wealthy overview of the 38-year-old artist’s apply. “It’s simply such an important snapshot of his work,” Delzell stated. Costs for these assorted works vary from $6,000 to $56,000.

Sales space D12

With works by Delcy Morelos

The human physique is roughly 65% water: Blood, tears, sweat, urine, and reproductive fluids are important expressions of our residing our bodies. This organic truth is the impetus for Colombian artist Delcy Morelos’s collection “Organized Salt Water (Agua salada organizada).”

Six works from the collection are introduced by Marian Goodman Gallery, which has represented the artist since 2023. Within the works on view, Morelos partially coats cotton strings with shiny, darkish, earth-toned acrylic paints. The artist, recognized for her work with pure supplies like soil and filth, extends her exploration to water. Her evocative use of colour and texture bridges the hole between the physique and the earth, suggesting an intrinsic connection between the human physique and nature.

“Her apply seamlessly merges artwork historic references, Indigenous cosmology, and a poetic materials presence, exploring the profound connection between land and physique,” Philipp Kaiser, president of Marian Goodman Gallery, advised Artsy. The worth vary for the works is between $90,000 to $125,000.

Sales space B17

With works by April Bey

Draped in a lush inexperienced velvet backdrop, Los Angeles–primarily based April Bey’s huge textile work We Will Not Apologize for Being the Universe; Our Personal Constellation. Don’t You Know Gentle Lives in Darkish Locations Too? (2025) stands because the centerpiece of the Vielmetter Los Angeles sales space. A part of the artist’s ongoing “Atlantica” collection, this tapestry portrays 4 fictional Black ladies who embody traits of care and cooperation, providing a contemporary perspective on the idea of survival.

“On the whole, they’re loving and mushy, they usually handle animals fairly often; they handle information and of vegetation,” stated founder Susanne Vielmetter of the figures in Bey’s works. “The concept is it’s the alternative of taking up survival of the fittest. They’re not aggressive. They’re serving to one another and taking good care of issues.” This huge textile work is priced at $120,000.