Frieze LA Intersects with Contemporary Culture
Frieze Los Angeles 2026: Art Meets Socioeconomic Issues Under the Santa Monica Sun
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — On February 26, Frieze Los Angeles launched its highly anticipated event at the Santa Monica Airport, drawing art enthusiasts, collectors, and critics into an arena of cultural and societal reflection. The art fair boasted an array of blue-chip paintings and emerging artists, yet amid the artwork, pressing topics of class, labor, and immigration emerged as underlying currents, perhaps unintentionally highlighted by the very setting they were showcased in.
At the forefront, Amanda Ross-Ho’s “Untitled Orbit (MANUAL MODE)” unfolded as a site-specific performance for Frieze Projects. Her endeavor to maneuver a massive inflatable globe across a soccer field was a metaphor for the Sisyphean struggle artists face, encapsulating the persistent effort required to derive meaning from the chaos of existence.
Adjacent to the main tent, Patrick Martinez’s neon signs boldly displayed messages like “Deport ICE” and “No Body is Illegal.” Despite their powerful declarations, their enclosure behind glass seemed to mute their intended impact, creating a dichotomy between visibility and containment.
Inside, Frieze featured an eclectic mix of galleries. Parker Gallery attracted intrigue with a juxtaposition of Marley Freeman’s vibrant abstract paintings and ancient textiles from Textile Artifacts, run by Freeman’s own father. Paul Freeman spoke to the tactile engagement his exhibit invited, a rarity in the art fair context.
Sebastian Gladstone showcased Nevine Mahmoud’s finely chiseled marble sculptures alongside Emma Soucek’s textured paper pulp pieces, each offering contrasting yet complementary aesthetics. At Patron Gallery, Jamal Cyrus’s sewn denim abstractions echoed themes of manual labor and organizational deceit.
Murmurs gallery presented Y. Malik Jalal’s assemblages of car mats embedded with found imagery, creating an intimate, if unsettling, connection between the audience and the work. Nearby, Christina Fernandez’s photography at Gallery Luisotti evoked the invisible labor of Los Angeles, complete with stories of workers’ encounters with immigration authorities, enriching the narrative of the fair with a potent socio-political angle.
The nonprofit Art Made Between Opposite Sides (AMBOS) highlighted border issues, selling symbolic candles and ceramics while battling logistical relocation at the fair. Tanya Aguiñiga, co-founder of AMBOS, expressed dismay at their displacement but remained committed for the financial support the fair provides for their cause.
Cosmas & Damian Brown’s “Fountain: Sources of Light,” a fragrant installation emitting incense smoke, rounded off the event with an olfactory nod to cultural practices.
As the fair progressed, reflections on capitalism and progressive values pervaded the atmosphere, interrogating the role of art fairs in perpetuating or challenging the structures upon which they are built. Frieze LA 2026 ended with a reminder of art’s dual capacity to reveal and restrain, offering a mirror to the complexities of the world it seeks to depict.