The Fairest of them All
Another action-packed Frieze New York has come and gone. As the art world recovers from its collective hangover, here are a few pieces that stuck with us from the fair.
Sam Gilliam at David Kordansky
The paintings by this great Color Field innovator, now 80, looked as every bit as fresh as they did when they were first made in the ’60s and ’70s—prompting some fair goers to ask the gallery, “who is this young artist you are showing?”
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Erin Shirreff at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
The Kara Walker silhouettes on the wall may have stopped foot traffic, but Shirreff’s quiet contemplations of sculpture kept you looking.
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Ariel Reichman at PSM Gallery
The standout of the Frame section, the Berlin artist’s tenderly cared-for garden, which included elements of military graveyards, brought a welcome poignancy to the fairgrounds.
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Carroll Dunham at Barbara Gladstone
There were more than 200 comically childlike and grotesque drawings on paper hung here, each worth a close look. Like Ruscha at Gagosian, but with half the slickness.
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Danh Vo at Marian Goodman
Forsaking a walled booth, Vo went above our heads with floating American flags and Coca-Cola logos in his signature gold leaf on cardboard. Not to be mistaken for any kind of patriotism.
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Rirkrit Tiravanija at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
In his piece Freedom Cannot Be Simulated, the constraints of the install—you could only see the chalk lines of the huge black canvases by standing back from the closely arranged plywood walls—became a metaphor for the work itself.
Photo by Marco Scozzaro. Courtesy of Marco Scozzaro/Frieze.
Elad Lassry at White Cube
With horseshoe-shaped objects tumbling from a funky zebrawood surface that framed his pictures, Lassry reminded us that he makes sculptures that just happen to be photographs.
Paul McCarthy at Hauser & Wirth
With his outsized neon blue “Six Million Dollar Man,” Paul McCarthy offers his subversive take on the portrayal of the beheaded figure in art.
