The 2018 edition of Frieze New York was lucky number 7 for the contemporary art fair import from London. With three public viewing days (May 4-6, 2018) and two preview days (May 2 & 3, 2018), the revered event enjoyed record attendance (44,000 visitors) and strong sales.

The fair returned to Randall’s Island for its seventh year. However, it was not all business as usual for the 2018 edition; there were some significant changes made. One of the most noteworthy was an update to the fair’s layout. Frieze New York also introduced its first-ever themed section and launched Live, a platform for performances, installations, and interactive projects throughout the fair. As in past editions, all mediums were represented with artworks ranging from the political to the overlooked, to the aesthetically pleasing. In total, the fair assembled 197 galleries from 30 countries, a slight decrease from the year prior.

Frieze New York’s New Layout

Universal Design Studio (UDS), the award-winning London architecture venture of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, was charged with redesigning the layout of the fair to make it feel more intimate. UDS previously worked with Frieze on the layout of their London art fair.

For Frieze New York, UDS went with five adjacent tents and sought to maximize the amount of natural light entering the space while protecting the artworks from the sun’s brutal rays. Additionally, the firm increased the number of outdoor terraces and restaurants at the fair.

The new design relocated the fair’s two entrances, which we found a little disorienting at first, but overall the new structure was lofty and more orderly.

New Themed Section: Hudson and Feature Inc.

Detail of Takashi Murakami installation, Gagosian Gallery

The fair’s inaugural themed section, dubbed For Your Infotainment, paid tribute to late art dealer Hudson (1950-2014). Known for disregarding artworld trends, Hudson showcased work by overlooked, obscure and original artists operating in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s at his New York and Chicago-based gallery Feature Inc. Curated by Matthew Higgs, the Frieze New York section channeled Hudson’s maverick spirit and consisted of eight solo and two-artist presentations featuring artists who either had their gallery debuts or had a history of being exhibited at Feature Inc. Included were Andrew Masullo, Raymond Pettibon, Tom Friedman, Takashi Murakami, Dike Blair, Tony Tasset, Jason Fox, Daniel Hesidence, and Tom of Finland. Additionally, Higgs curated a dedicated Feature Hudson Foundation booth bringing together another 15 artists, among them Nancy Shaver, Lily van der Stokker, and Richard Kern.

Frieze New York 2018: Live

Also new for 2018 was Live. Curated by Adrienne Edwards, this year’s program was titled Assembly and its theme was street performance and protest marches. We didn’t actually catch any of the performances in Live but we did find Hank Willis Thomas’ embroidered fabric works (15,093 (2018) and 15,580 (2018)) hanging at the South Entrance. Resembling American flags, the artworks consist of stars, each representing a life lost to gun violence in the US in 2016 and 2017.

Somos Monstros (aka Raúl de Nieves and Erik Zajaceskowski) presented Thank You/Thank You as part of Live. The pair paraded through the fair in elaborate sound-generating costumes and created a colorful installation. Other artists in Live included Renée Green, Alfredo Jaar, Dave McKenzie, Adam Pendelton, and Lara Schnitger.

Frieze New York 2018: Spotlight

As for the returning sections of the fair, curator Toby Kamps was back to helm an impressive Spotlight section. Expanding to 35 single-artist presentations, Spotlight focuses on overlooked 20th century artists. This year’s class included pioneering conceptual artist Paul Kos, who often uses symbol and metaphor to explore the parallels between landscape, faith, and war in a range of media. Anglim Gilbert Gallery presented Kos’s work.

Hollis Taggart, a newcomer to Frieze, also participated in Spotlight. The gallery presented a captivating exhibit of paintings and sculptures by the late American pop artist Allan D’Arcangelo, known for his abstract works of highways and road signs. Also of note in Spotlight was Nicole Klagsburn and Marc Selwyn Fine Art’s beguiling presentation of occult artist Cameron.

Frieze Talks

Jerry Saltz

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Magazine Senior Art Critic Jerry Saltz led an animated and playful discussion as part of the Frieze Talks 2018 program. The session, titled “Art World Lost > Art World Regained”, attracted a number of artists, friends, and acquaintances of the critic. He used his time to elaborate on an article he recently published in New York Magazine, “Break the Art Fair,” which explores how the current art fair model is broken, and also offered words of advice to artists.

Frieze New York 2018 Main Section Highlights

Matthew Brannon, Casey Kaplan Gallery

The main section of Frieze also contained several highlights. We were drawn to Casey Kaplan’s presentation of a new series by Matthew Brannon. In the series, Brannon explores the imagery of the American war in Vietnam. Using his graphic style, the artist visually deconstructs the decisions made and the fallouts endured surrounding this storied time in American history.

James Cohan showcased the work of Shanghai artist XU ZHEN®. A provocateur, Zhen’s work critiques sociopolitical ills in modern Chinese society. In his large wall relief, I Believe the Sun Is the Center of the Universe (2017), he brings together phrases from various protest signs and petitions spelled out in gold chains. And, Eternity—Painted Terracotta Statue of Heavenly Guardian, Sleeping Muse (2016), which shows a Tang Dynasty warrior holding Brancusi’s modernist chrome head, is a comment on cultural appropriation.

Cornelia Parker, News at Eight (Make the Moon Great Again) 2017, Frith Street Gallery

British conceptualist Cornelia Parker, who served as the official artist of 2017 UK general election, had a piece in Frith Street Gallery’s booth. News at Eight (Make the Moon Great Again) (2017), is from a series where she had children between the ages of five and 10 scribble headlines on blackboards. New York audiences might know Parker from her PsychoBarn rooftop installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kevin Harman, Skip 16, Ingleby Gallery

Scottish artist Kevin Harman exhibited an unusual work in Ingleby Gallery’s booth. Part of his Skip series, Harman found a skip (or dumpster) in the Bronx on the Friday night before the fair. It was full of a week’s rubbish. He spent 48 hours sorting and categorizing the dumpster’s contents by color and material. Then, he returned the contents to the dumpster in the form of a sculpture and installed it in Ingleby Gallery’s booth.

Other show stoppers at this year’s fair include Gagosian’s exhibit of sculptures by American artist Robert Therrien, a mesmerizing James Turrell in Kayne Griffin Corcoran’s booth, Rodolphe Janssen’s presentation of Gert & Uwe Tobias, and Kaikai Kiki’s colorful group show that featured artwork by Mr., MADSAKI, Yoshimoto Nara and more.