Highlights: Frieze New York 2017

The sixth edition of Frieze New York brings together more than 200 galleries showing today’s most significant international artists - from emerging talents to seminal and rediscovered 20th-century masters. 

Solo Shows
Visitors will encounter solo exhibitions across the main section, including: Lorna Simpson, presenting new paintings and sculptures in her first-ever project with Hauser & Wirth (New York); the celebrated American painter John Currin with Gagosian Gallery (New York); Anri Sala, presenting Bridges in the Doldrums (2016) with Marian Goodman Gallery (New York), ahead of the artist’s participation in the Venice Biennale; Keith Sonnier at Pace (New York), bringing together his pioneering neon sculptures with two new series of works; and Tala Madani with David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles), coinciding with the artist’s presentation in the Whitney Biennial.

Curated & Group Shows
Galleries presenting dynamic two-artist and group presentations include: Esther Schipper (Berlin, main) with a group show centered around Swap (2011), an interactive performance by Roman Ondak; Lisson Gallery (London, main) with a two-artist show by leading international artists Anish Kapoor and Lee Ufan, coinciding with the opening of Kapoor’s Descension at Brooklyn Bridge Park; and Herald St’s (London, main) group stand including Michael Dean, a Turner Prize finalist and the recent subject of a Nasher Sculpture Center exhibition, on the eve of the artist’s participation in the fifth Skulptur Projekte Münster. Joining the fair for the first time, Galeria Luisa Strina (São Paulo, main) will show a spectrum of major Latin American artists including Leonor Antunes, Carlos Garaicoa, Laura Lima and Adrián Villar Rojas alongside 20th-century icon Lygia Pape, coinciding with the latter’sretrospective at The Met Breuer. Another leading Brazilian gallery, Mendes Wood DM, (São Paulo, main) will bring a substantial presentation by São Paulo-based artist Adriano Costa alongside other leading artists.

Venice Biennale Artists
Frieze New York will also be an opportunity to preview many artists representing countries in the Venice Biennale, including: Carol Bove, representing Switzerland, whose work will be on view alongside the photographer William Eggleston at David Zwirner’s (New York, main) stand; the seminal artist Geta Bratescu, representing Romania, showing alongside experimental conceptual artist Lia Perjovschi with Ivan Gallery (Bucharest, Focus); and the sound and media artist Samson Young, representing Hong Kong, showing new work with Galerie Gisela Capitain (Cologne, main).

Politically Engaged Art
Resonating with themes explored across this year’s international biennials, many galleries are presenting work exploring the role of art in climates of conflict – from colonial pasts to dystopian futures. Looking back at the politically charged scene of New York City’s East Village in the 1980s, P.P.O.W. (New York, main) will present a large-scale, car-shaped pigeon coop by Anton van Dalen, originally exhibited at Exit Art in 1988, alongside pioneering works by artist-activists Martin Wong and David Wojnarowicz, all showing the influence of immigration, street art and Hip Hop on the cultural epoch. Also highlighting the visual culture of the 1980s, Skarstedt (New York, main) will show works by politically engaged artists Mike Kelley and Cindy Sherman, among other modern and contemporary artists. Maureen Paley (London, main) will present politically themed works by AA Bronson and Wolfgang Tillmans, and further addressing 21st century politics and technology with humour, Carroll / Fletcher’s (London, Frame) solo presentation of multimedia works by Thomson & Craighead will explore themes of self-help and apocalypse, including a perfume that ‘literally’ smells of end times.

Looking at histories of colonialism, Meessen De Clercq (Brussels, Focus) will present a solo stand of works by Thu Van Tran examining rubber as a symbol of suppression by the French in Vietnam; and Chi-Wen Gallery (Taipei, main) will showcase Chien-Chi Chang’s The War That Never Was and Yin-Ju Chen’s Extrastellar Evaluations (both 2016), new video works looking at memory and histories of human destruction. Showing with Mary Mary (Glasgow, Focus), Aliza Nisenbaum’s solo presentation will use imagery of protest found in Mexican Modernist prints from 1900-1950 to explore painting as a form of ethics.

Feminist Perspectives
Many galleries have curated shows featuring women artists from the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring pressing feminist issues and the role of women in influential movements of contemporary practice. Solo exhibitions include Simone Subal Gallery (New York, Focus) who will showcase the Austrian-American pioneer of feminist Pop Art, Kiki Kogelnik (1935-1997); newcomer Bridget Donahue (New York, Frame) presenting a solo exhibition by Susan Cianciolo, coinciding with the artist’s participation in the Whitney Biennial; and The Third Line (Dubai, main) presenting a solo stand of work by Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri exploring the common ground between Iran and the West.

Highlights among the themed group stands include: Lehmann Maupin (New York, main) with a striking three-artist stand featuring Californians from different generations: Mary Corse, Liza Lou and Catherine Opie; Cheim & Read (New York, main) who will respond to the recent Women’s March on Washington, with a booth featuring works inspired by the color pink by artists including Ghada Amer, Donald Baechler, Lynda Benglis, Louise Bourgeois, Louise Fishman, Adam Fuss, Jenny Holzer, Jonathan Lasker, Jack Pierson, Juan Uslé and Andy Warhol; Salon 94 (New York, main) featuring works by three international women artists— Huma Bhabha, Francesca DiMattio and Katy Grannan—offering commentary on issues of race, gender, class and sexuality; and Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai, Focus) with an intergenerational stand of female artists from India including tapestry by Monica Correa and fibre sculpture by Mrinalini Mukherjee alongside painting and photography by Simryn Gill, Lubna Latif Agha and Yamini Nayar.

Performance and Interactive Works
Across the fair, galleries are presenting immersive projects that invite visitors to become part of the artworks themselves. The Breeder (Athens, main) will revive a seminal interactive public installation borne out of the AIDS crisis: 1-900 Mirror Mirror (1993-6) by Chrysanne Stathacos. Canada (New York, main) returns to the fair with another immersive interior, curated by the New York-based artist Marc Hundley to mirror the artist’s actual home at 220 Roebling in Brooklyn, including objects and artworks hung salon-style amidst handmade furniture, books and records. In the Focus section, David Lewis (New York) will bring a solo stand with Dawn Kasper – presenting a participatory installation of musical sculpture exploring the concept of desire.

Generations of Influence: 20th century movements and tribal art
Building on Frieze’s reputation for showcasing modern artists and encouraging the growth of art collections across eras, this year’s fair features a growing presence of galleries exhibiting significant works from the 20th century alongside masters of contemporary art. Sprüth Magers (Berlin, main) will bring together key figures of post war art with contemporary European and American artists whom they have influenced; and Franklin Parrasch (New York, main) will explore the history of art within America, showing work from the 1960s through the 1980s by Californian pioneers Peter Alexander, Billy Al Bengston, John McCracken, Ken Price, Deborah Remington and Ed Ruscha.

Exploring 20th century art and its influences world-wide, Entwistle (New York, main) will show tribal sculptures side by side with post war Japanese paintings of the Gutai and Informel movements; while Axel Vervoordt (Antwerp, main) will curate a rare solo presentation of Masatoshi Masanobu, a significant artist from Gutai’s second wave. Major European and American 20th-century figures including Sam Francis, Henri Matisse and Robert Motherwell will be on view at Bernard Jacobson Gallery (London, main); alongside significant works by Georg Baselitz and Robert Rauschenberg at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris, main); Jean Dubuffet and Wayne Thiebaud at Acquavella Galleries (New York, main); and Jean-Michel Basquiat and James Rosenquist at Eykyn Maclean (New York, main).

Frieze Stand Prizes
Frieze New York 2017 sees the return of three awards recognizing exceptional presentations from galleries across the fair, including a specific prize for younger galleries in the Frame section.

A Frieze Stand Prize will be awarded to outstanding presentations in two categories: the first specifically to a gallery under 12 years of age, and the second for an exceptional gallery taking part in any section of the fair. The prizes will be awarded by a leading jury of museum directors and curators and will be announced at 4pm on Thursday, May 4.
Supported by Stella Artois, the Frame Prize is dedicated to the most deserving presentation in the Frame section. The winner will be selected by a leading jury of emerging art experts. The Frame Prize will be announced at 12pm on Friday, May 5.

Further Information

Explore Frieze Projects and Frieze Talks, our non-profit program of new artist commissions and talks.

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