Last week saw the first edition of Frieze Los Angeles. The fair delivered a successful public program and a star-studded guest list that included Beyoncé, JAY-Z, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio. While many eyes were on celebrity buyers, dealers and collectors were keenly watching the numbers. The fair’s director, Victoria Siddall, opted to present many LA-based galleries and it looks as if her strategy paid off.
Local powerhouse, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, sold a Mary Corse work on paper to the Hammer Museum for $150,000. They also sold a James Turrell for $350,000.
Big name, international galleries made significant sales too; Hauser & Wirth sold Mike Kelley’s Unisex Love Nest (1999) for $1.8 million. Lévy Gorvy sold Günther Uecker’s Spirale III (2002), which had an asking price of $1.2 million, and Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Nets (B-A-Y) (2001), which had an asking price of $1.6 million. Lisson Gallery sold Sean Scully’s Landline Magenta (2018) for $1.2 million, and Sprüth Magers sold Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Stripe 1) (2019) for $480,000.
With a number of big European and Asian names in town, select dealers chose to show works by artists who have previously been ignored by the market. The tactic worked with many galleries reporting sold-out booths by the final day.
