Super Mario's Art: Fine Art in the Fast lane: February 2019

Frieze Los Angeles

Paramount Studios

Los Angeles, California

https://frieze.com/fairs/frieze-los-angeles

February 15 to 17, 2019

During the week of February 15th, Los Angeles was a host to a total of 6 art fairs throughout the city. The crown jewel was Frieze, an international art fair which has iterations in London, and New York. With a total of 70 galleries, and site-specific installations in the backlot of Paramount Studios, this was the first year that Frieze was in Los Angeles. Despite the rain and cold weather, people flocked to see Frieze Los Angeles. Each of the booths at Frieze gave the viewer something to love. From Anri Sala's self-playing drums to Cindy Sherman's iconic photography, Frieze offered something for everyone. The best galleries were the ones that offered solo presentations. The Hauser and Wirth's presentation of Mike Kelly's "Unisex Love Nest" installation was both brilliant and disturbing; Mike Kelley at his best. Spruth Mager's booth had an intimate presentation of small paintings by Karen Kilimnik. The red walls extenuated the color and subject matter of each of the works. The paintings portrayed castles, princesses and horses; the subject matter of fantasy. One of the best discoveries at Frieze were the paintings of Hugh Steers at the Alexander Gray Associates booth. Hugh Steers was a New York painter who tragically died of HIV/AIDS in 1995. The figurative works explore the taboo subject matter of queer identity and homo-eroticism. The composition has the intimacy of a Paul Cadmus or Edward Hopper or even his contemporary Eric Fischl, but without the jadedness. Despite their intimacy, Steers' art was bold for his time. These were definitely one of the highlights at Frieze.

LA Louver's booth was probably the best exclusively Los Angeles based gallery to show at Frieze. LA Louvre showed Guijin Fujita, whose extraordinary works combine both traditional Japanese painting with LA graffiti art. Almine Rech had a wonderful presentation of the abstract expressionist/color field painter Vivian Springford who was one of the featured artists in "The Women of Abstract Expressionism" exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2017. Matthew Marks gallery had an amazing showing of Ken Price's ceramics and works on paper. Price's work was surprising, and humorous in their color and subject matter. Another great booth was David Kordansky, which featured the work of Kathryn Andrews. Other notable galleries with a great selection of works include Metro Pictures, OMR, Massimo De Carlo, White Cube, Blum and Poe, and kurimanzutto.

Outside of the galleries, the backlot presented some truly amazing and provocative installations and outdoor sculpture. Sarah Cain's installation "I touched a cactus flower" was a delightful celebration of color and light within brownstone backlot. Catherine Czudej "Waiting for Jimmy Hoffa" was a sad allegory of the sad fate of labor unions and the labor movement. Paul McCarthy's "Daddies Tomato Ketchup Inflatable" and the video inside the prop building "Bossie Berger" offers a decadent view of food and consumerist culture. The outdoor installations of Hannah Greely "High and Dry" and Trulee Hall's "Infestation" effectively uses the studio backlot and the prop set to create sites of fantasy that correspond to the specific Paramount Pictures lot. The most effective and the best of the outdoor installations is Karon Davis' "Game," which was curated by Ali Subotnick. Three white plaster figures, two standing and one sitting, stand in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy. The figures are African American, and they stand outside struggling to maintain their humanity as they are becoming prey. Davis is making a provocative statement on the state of school violence, where schools have become the hunting grounds for guns and active shooters. Davis's installation is deeply moving and provocative. Definitely one of the best of Frieze.

By all accounts, Frieze Los Angeles was a success. The Mike Kelley installation "Unisex Love Nest" sold for $1.8 million dollars. Other works sold and the galleries surveyed were satisfied with the fair.

Upon looking at the works sold and those who purchased the works, it looks like the purchasers were mainly from outside of California or even the United States. I am glad that this year's Frieze in Los Angeles was a success and it will more likely be back in 2020. My only problem is that the purchases did not benefit Los Angeles' institutions and collections. (Maybe I am wrong. I hope that I am). Did the Hammer Museum, LACMA, MOCA or others including the well-known collectors in Southern California purchase works? The Mike Kelley installation was purchased by a foundation in Europe. I wish that it could've remained here in Los Angeles, the hometown of Mike Kelley. I am hoping that Frieze in the future will bring in more local collectors and institutions so that the community will eventually benefit. I am also happy that the backlot exhibited the best emerging and established artists from Los Angeles. The backlot was truly enjoyable. Frieze was a triumph and it looks like the other art fairs also benefited from this fair. It appears that Frieze has a great future in Los Angeles.