Frieze New York Returns to Its Traditional Format
Frieze New York 2025: Beauty Without Burden in a Turbulent World
The Frieze New York art fair, held this year at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, has long been a cornerstone of the global art calendar. But the 2025 edition reveals a curious phenomenon: a return to aesthetic comfort and commercial optimism, even as the world outside shudders with social unrest, economic turbulence, and global conflict. Far from its recent flirtation with progressive themes and activist art, this year’s fair seems intent on offering visitors exactly what they came for—beautiful, safe, and expensive objects.
A Safe Harbor for Luxury Art
One of the most discussed works at this year’s fair is Ann Veronica Janssens’s “Pinky Sunset R” (2021). This large-scale glass slab shimmers serenely in hues of pink, yellow, and red, inviting admiration without requiring engagement. Crowd reactions ranged from gleeful adoration to quick smartphone photos, but few lingered long or showed serious intent to buy. Priced at $90,000, the artwork—a dichroic laminated glass piece—is visually captivating but conspicuously free of political charge.
Positioned against the clinical brightness of The Shed’s lighting, Janssens’s piece is more than just an optical marvel. It represents the ethos of 2025’s Frieze New York: art that soothes rather than provokes, that distracts rather than informs. It is elegant, sophisticated, and uncontroversial—qualities that appeal to wealthy collectors who come not to agitate the soul, but to add visual serenity to enviable lifestyles.
Goodbye Wokeness, Hello Commercialism
The subtle tone of this year’s fair matches its newly intensified commercial focus. Recently acquired by Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel as part of a sweeping $200 million deal, Frieze has shed much of the progressive veneer cultivated over the past decade. The previously prominent themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been quietly phased out. Social commentary is mute or entirely absent. It’s an art market in high-gloss cruise control, uninterested in the rising tides of humanitarian crisis, climate disaster, or socio-political unrest.
As one art dealer opined anonymously, “We’re really just here to sell work.” That sentiment reflects the fair’s realignment towards luxury and investor-grade safe bets—pieces by artists who are market darlings, already vetted and validated across global auction houses and private collections.
The Jeff Koons Effect
Few represented this trend better than Jeff Koons. His towering “Hulk (Tubas)” sculpture, a bizarre fusion of The Incredible Hulk and functioning brass instruments, drew both puzzled glances and genuine excitement. Part of his long-running Hulk Elvis series, this piece reportedly sold for $3 million.
Koons’s balloon-like sculptures have long been criticized for their garish consumerism, but they remain top-sellers—a telling insight into the priorities of blue-chip collectors. While recession whispers hover in the air, the ultra-wealthy continue to shell out seven- and eight-figure sums for works that undoubtedly double as financial holdings.
An Art Market on Edge
Despite the fanfare, Frieze New York 2025 also revealed signs of hesitation beneath the glossy surfaces. Many gallerists declined to speak about sales figures, deferring to hired PR agents. Dealers, especially those from mid-size galleries, were notably tight-lipped when asked about the impact of shifting economic conditions such as inflation, interest rate hikes, and volatile international relations.
One Berlin dealer quietly admitted, “There’s been a bit of a slowdown, but we’re still optimistic.” Meanwhile, American collectors like Ned Wood from upstate New York mused aloud whether economic conditions truly shape buying behaviors: “I buy what I like,” he said—though he hadn’t committed to a purchase.
The Future of Art Under Crisis
As prices skyrocket and political messaging recedes, the question remains: Is the art market entering a new gilded age, or is this a momentary bubble before the next correction?
For collectors like Valentine Uhovski and Olga Rei, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. “Blue-chip collectors are going to focus on familiar, safe artists,” Uhovski predicted. Rei cautioned that the economic effects might trickle down more visibly by the year’s end. In the glowing shadow of Janssens’s artwork, Rei confessed, “It’s magical because it reflects your mood.”
This mood of escapism—of disconnection from the grim realities outside—may be Frieze New York 2025’s defining characteristic.
Conclusion: Beauty as Balm?
Frieze New York 2025 provides a telling glimpse into where contemporary art might be headed—toward beautiful, market-ready objects that promise tranquility amid chaos. While this shift may alienate those seeking deeper insights or social consciousness from visual culture, for now, the