By Lita Barrie

Frieze week is the high point of the L.A. art calendar, bringing over 350,000 visitors to the city. Art galleries and museums time their best exhibitions to coincide with the festivities, which include endless parties, book signings, panels, concerts and art openings. On the first VIP day, the aisles were at almost maximum capacity by noon, and remained joyful and lively until they closed at 7:00 PM - with many guests still happily drinking, dining and talking in the outdoor areas. Roberts Projects sold an Amoako Boafo painting for over $300,000 and a Suchitra Mattai work for $60,000.

By Maxwell Rabb

On the evidence of its first few hours, Frieze L.A.’s fifth edition was perhaps the busiest yet. By noon on Thursday’s VIP day, aisles were approaching maximum capacity, with 12 p.m. ticketholders forced to wait as the late 10 a.m. guests continued to pour into the venue. The fair, which takes place from February 29th to March 3rd at the Santa Monica Airport, hit a bustling peak early on and maintained its lively atmosphere throughout the day. And though the day started out dreary and cold, the sun peeked out by mid-afternoon and helped keep up the good spirits. One factor was undeniable from the offset: transactions were aplenty. 

By Chris Waywell

Opened on Wilshire Boulevard as Roberts & Tilton in 1999, Roberts Projects moved from Miracle Mile to Washington Boulevard in Culver City and now occupies a 10,000 square-foot space on South La Brea Avenue. Its roster of artists features emerging names alongside established figures including Jeffrey Gibson, Betye Saar and Kehinde Wiley. Co-founder Bennett Roberts reveals where to get a grilled-chicken salad nearby and why the “the Wild West has finally become the new frontier.” 

Roberts Projects will exhibit works by artists that interpret and/or subvert the idea of “oasis” from a range of perspectives: calm to nurture the human spirit and the hardships from which we seek refuge. A major highlight of the booth is Betye Saar’s neon work Oasis, which debuted at MOCA Los Angeles in 1984. This year marks the 40th anniversary of that transcendent solo exhibition of room-sized installations, which offered profound insight into tradition, spirituality and African American identity. Saar will also debut new works in an installation designed by the artist for Roberts Projects, which will be on view for the duration of the fair. Occupying the intersections of historical narrative and ancestral memory, ritual and metaphysical truth, the presentation is testament to Saar’s enduring legacy as a pioneer of assemblage art, and as a cultural icon.

By Maximilíano Durón

Frieze Los Angeles has named the 95 exhibitors that will take participate in its upcoming 2024 edition, scheduled to run March 1–3, with a VIP preview day on February 29.

A major change to this year’s edition is that its dates have been pushed back two weeks; the fair’s previous editions have typically taken place during the second week of February and often coincided with Valentine’s Day and the Presidents Day holiday weekend in the US.