FRIEZE! If you like art…

It might make sense to you, it might not. You might laugh at it, cry at it, stare blankly at it. Did it require an explanation and still made zero sense? Scratch your head, tilt it to the side, and squint before the purpose and meaning comes into vision. Each and every one of these reactions is both relevant and correct.

An artist’s goal is to make a statement or evoke an emotion or sentiment using their work as a forthcoming medium of connection. Using a variety of colors and materials, sources of inspiration, subjects and topics, art makes us feel a little less alone. It captures elements of our lived experience and summons emotional responses: nostalgia, grief, sympathy. It gifts meaning to the feelings we struggle finding the words to describe. Ask an observer what an abstract piece represents, and you’ll receive a grab bag of answers. Community is built through these conversations and discussions. Empathy engulfs differing viewpoints, boundaries are pushed, controversies directly addressed. Whether it’s the artist talking through their work or gallery perusers gawking, art has the ability to say as much or as little as is required. And the best part? There is no requirement. Art is a free for all.

When I received my invite to Frieze New York, I screamed a multitude of excitable words. None work appropriate, all positively explosive. My vocabulary is as colorful as Leo Valledor’s Pow Wow Now when it needs to be, and yet I couldn’t fully communicate my enthusiasm or eagerness to attend. For those unfamiliar, Frieze is a brand in three parts: Frieze magazine, Frieze Masters Magazine and Frieze Week. In their own words “Frieze is the world’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art, dedicated to artists, galleries, collectors and art lovers alike.” It features four international art festivals: London, Los Angeles, New York, Seoul, as well as a permanent gallery, No. 9 Cork Street, located in the heart of London.

So how does one unearth a global modern art festival when one doesn’t work in the space or have any insight into its entrance? Why, suffer a manic-depressive episode, of course! I first discovered Frieze last summer on my spontaneous trip to Seoul, South Korea. I’ve never shied away from the daily trudge that became of my mental state through 2023, and my depression had just started to lift at the time of touching down in Incheon International Airport.

Between my days of getting lost in hanock villages and lazing at picnics along the Han River, I stumbled upon Frieze Seoul at COEX Mall. The impulsivity of the trip shielded Frieze until I decided to visit the Starfield Library, another institution of Seoul’s literary arts scene, and after an hour of getting lost in the mall’s basement, I emerged facing the entrance to Frieze. Kismet, if you ask me. This full immersion in arts and literature is exactly what my soul needed to clear the depressive episode’s cobwebs and regain the familiarity of my own body, mind, and spirit. While I didn’t get the chance to explore as much of the exhibits as I would have liked, I became engrossed with Frieze and all it had to offer, vowing to one day visit as many of its fairs as I could, including a return trip to Seoul.

Which is how I ended up in New York this May, invitation to Frieze New York secured on my iPhone. I have to admit, it’s possibly the most intimidating event I’ve attended. I’m a casual art peruser, something I consciously work on bettering in adulthood. Studying art has brought me great joy, but to truly become a student of the various crafts, it’s often a challenge on where to begin. Compound this feeling of inadequacy with being in company with so many talented, educated creatives? I felt like a fraud. However, much to my surprise, the event was inviting and inclusive.

I felt welcome the moment I stepped into The Shed, burying my insecurities and fully embracing the opportunity. Lovely staff members provided informational handouts, not only detailing the layout of the 8-level industrial space, but also the 60 galleries from 25 countries, hundreds of artists, and their respective backgrounds. Frieze also boasts their own interactive application. A free membership gets you access to exclusive content, hosts your event passes, and details brand partnerships. The event goes beyond just gallery perusing. You can find a list of sister events at offsite locations on the app too.

Starting on the second floor, admittedly where I spent most of my time and discovered many of my favorite works, art surveyors walk into The Shed’s massive glass-walled atrium. The dramatic mix of stark white walls and industrial strength steel support beams illuminated from natural sunlight during golden hour made for the most enchanting viewing experience. When a space is so artfully crafted with such opposing colors, textures, and materials, everyone’s art felt cohesive, like it belonged together. These diverse artists from around the world planned for such disparateness.

As we advanced through different floors, each feature a specific theme or collection. There were sculptures of sunglass lenses, nudist photography, and a shocking number of Mickey Mouse references for Disney lovers. The top floor served as a reception area for brands partnering with Frieze. One could grab a cocktail at the Maestro Dobel Tequila Artpothecary or watch (a cheap double entendre I’m quite proud of) master watchmakers Breguet engrave custom pieces. The space inspired connection through and discourse around the pieces displayed on the previous floors.

Some of my favorite pieces included Pow, Wow, Now, a painting created in 1980 by Leo Valledor (1936-1989) presented by the David Richard Gallery. Pow, Wow, Now hangs in the gallery’s entry facing the large 16-foot-tall front window, located on 10th and 22nd in New York’s Chelsea neighborhoos. In their own words “David Richard Gallery has produced museum quality exhibitions that feature Post War abstraction in the US. The presentations have addressed specific decades and geographies as well as certain movements and tendencies. While the gallery has long been recognized as an important proponent of post-1960s abstraction—including both the influential pioneers as well as a younger generation of practitioners in this field— in keeping with this spirit of nurture and development the gallery also presents established artists who embrace more gestural and representational approaches to the making of art as well as young emerging artists.”

Karma International of Zurich showcased Swiss contemporary pop artist, Sylvie Fluery with an entire booth adorned with neon signs. Themes of pleasure and sexual frivolity glowed, drawing in viewers like moths to a pub’s closing sign, but her most impressive piece was Cherry Blossom. Cherry Blossom is a wall-secured sculpture of a woman’s crossed legs, a pink leather jacket delicately laid across her lap. Fastened at least 10 feet up on the corner of the booth, it’s a striking and impossible to miss conversation piece.

Rob Pruitt’s A Month of Early Morning Fog Over Lake Montauk (March 2023) might top my list. Represented by 303 Gallery on W 21st, Pruitt intricately and intimately captured the tranquility of dawn, how we might overlook the mundane morning sky, when in reality, each morning is similar yet different. Cohesive yet unique.

In 303 Gallery’s words to describe the artist, “Rob Pruitt’s work is characterized by a fearless embrace of the present, social responsibility, and protean versatility. His output ranges from glitter canvases of panda bears, 2,922 paintings of President Obama painted one per day for each day in office, an eBay charity Flea Market, a Hollywood-style art awards ceremony, and a daily Instagram calendar of personal and public events. In 2011, Public Art Fund commissioned Pruitt’s Andy Monument, a chrome-plated, seven-foot-tall statue of Andy Warhol, in New York’s Union Square. He lives and works in New York City.” His works have been featured in Aspen, Venice, Detroit, Zurich, and his hometown of Washington D.C.

The next Frieze event will occur in Seoul, South Korea from September 4-8, back at the CoEx Mall that first introduced me to this inspired event. Tickets will soon go on sale. To sign up, visit the Frieze website to create an account and receive email updates. A huge thank you to Frieze organizers for inviting me.