‘A Sold-Out Success’

We could not have hoped for a better inaugural edition of Frieze Los Angeles in terms of attendance, atmosphere and sales - Victoria Siddall, Director of Frieze Fairs

I’m immensely grateful to everyone who came together this week to put Los Angeles on stage and show what it means to be an international arts capital. I am confident that the kind of energy and cooperation we have seen throughout Frieze Week will be a catalyst that propels our city’s art scene even further -Bettina Korek, Executive Director, Frieze Los Angeles

Frieze Los Angeles debuted as a new international art fair from February 14 through February 17, 2019, celebrating the city’s pivotal role in the international art community. The fair attracted 30,000 attendance, including civic leaders, international art collectors, curators, critics, and members of the Hollywood entertainment community. Tickets sold out for every public day of the fair, and robust art sales were reported from the opening hours and throughout the weekend. What did media, museums, collectors and galleries say about the fair?

Media Coverage

Frieze Los Angeles could lead to a new era of patronage, cross-pollination, and, who knows, a whole new evolutionary stage for art itself. -Artnet (USA)

Frieze has always liked to break the art fair mould, and its Los Angeles debut is no exception -The Telegraph Luxury (UK)

While Frieze Los Angeles comes with a tide of Hollywood support, the fair also will bring a new class of international collectors to a city whose booming art scene is uniquely poised to welcome them... Frieze Los Angeles is largely seen as the linchpin of the most robust arts week Los Angeles has seen. -The Hollywood Reporter (USA)

The excitement was palpable, even electric, at the opening at 11 am on Thursday 14. -Le Monde (France)

Frieze Los Angeles is a testament to L.A.’s ascendant status as a global arts center and destination. -Architectural Digest (USA)

Civic Leaders

We know the creativity that’s been here for decades, the visual artists that have been here, but now we’re realizing what a cultural draw this can be as well. Something like Frieze solidifies this in many ways. – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

It’s going to make a mark on this environment, not only now, but for years to come. This is the highest moment of arts celebration in the history of this town. – Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

Museum Directors

What great and vital few days we had in Los Angeles with Frieze! The groundswell of support and welcoming generosity is so meaningful. MOCA has greeted so many artists, colleagues and collectors from all over the world this week. What an amazing and enthusiastic energy all over the city. Can’t wait until next year. It’s only just begun! – MOCA Director Klaus Biesenbach

We’ve always believed that Los Angeles would become one of the world’s top arts capitals. We’ve long had a thriving arts landscape with practicing artists, world-class art schools, great galleries and an array of cultural institutions that continues to expand. It was exciting to see art enthusiasts coming together from all over the world to the first edition of Frieze Los Angeles - a pivotal moment for our city. -Joanne Heyler, Founding Director of The Broad

Collectors

Frieze has been a great sold-out success, with people from all over the world traveling to Los Angeles. We look forward to it coming again. – philanthropist Eli Broad

The energy at Frieze Los Angeles was palpable. People ‘showed up and showed out’. The breadth of offerings was impressive and so many traveled from all over to join us in this moment in L.A. arts. I know this will further cement L.A. as the creative, global arts center that we all know it is. I have to recover from all this running around, but I cannot wait for next year!! -Los Angeles collector V. Joy Simmons

Galleries

We’ve had a gallery for 10 years and we’ve been waiting for an event that could concentrate all of the energy that has been in L.A. for so long. Pacific Standard Time was the one event that brought that amount of energy but it was not concentrated over one week, and there was nothing of that magnitude that has happened. Frieze was a much needed addition to the city. -Francois Ghebaly, Owner of Ghebaly (Los Angeles)

Frieze was a strong confirmation of everything I’ve been hearing about the Los Angeles art scene for a while now — energetic, intelligent and friendly. A great fair for an extraordinary city. -Matthew Wood, Partner of Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo) 

I loved the scale — I thought it was monumentally important for the feel of it and the intimacy it achieved. The selection of galleries was great; I loved the back lot program, and thought it was overall a huge win for the city of L.A. -Tim Blum, Co-founder of Blum & Poe (Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo)

Further Information

The next Frieze Fair will be Frieze New York, taking place May 2 through 5, 2019. Find further details here.

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