UK contemporary art fair Frieze held its Los Angeles installment over the weekend with a heavy dose of Hollywood glitz.
Perusing art in an enormous tent at the Santa Monica Airport during a VIP preview were Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr., Will Ferrell, rocker Anthony Kiedis, Owen and Luke Wilson, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Jessica Biel, John C. Reilly and more.
“American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy toured the space with an art adviser, and Ari Emanuel (whose firm Endeavor owns the fair) held court.
Industry insiders schmoozing also included WME co-chair Richard Weitz, Michael Ovitz, “Sex and the City” guru Michael Patrick King and Giants owner and film producer Steve Tisch.
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The fair’s top sale was a 2009 Richard Serra drawing that went for $2 million (from Gladstone Gallery), while Thaddaeus Ropac gallery sold a Robert Longo work for $1.6 million and an Anselm Kiefer piece for $1.4 million.
Over four days, 32,000 visitors descended on the fair that also featured food from hip spots like Roberta’s, Kismet Rotisserie, Botanica and more in an al fresco dining area.
Frieze Americas director Christine Messineo told auction site Artsy that, “galleries continued to report sold-out booths, seven-figure sales, and notable museum acquisitions.”
Reflecting the go-go vibe, VIPs could cool their heels in a Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Lounge when they needed a break from all that art.
