Frieze LA – 4 Artists to look out for
This Friday, the second instalment of Frieze LA will take place at Paramount Pictures Studios. Victoria Siddall – the Global Director of Frieze Fairs – has said they “will welcome major new galleries to the fair, from Brussels to Cape Town, Mexico City to New York, as well as a host of exceptional curators creating ground-breaking programming.”The main section of the fair will host 70 leading galleries, while ‘Frieze Projects’ – co-curated by Kita Gonzales and Pilar Tompkins Rivas – returns to the Paramount Backlot, showcasing a series of installations. The 2020 fair will signal the start of ‘Focus LA’: a curated section providing a platform for emerging LA-based spaces aged 15 years or younger. We take a look at four artists worth seeing at this week’s fair.
Avery Singer (b. 1987) – Hauser & Wirth
Avery Singer is an artist who wants to break from the past: “painting can suffer from nostalgia about art history… I don’t like that. I would rather do something that is representative of the time we are in. If that challenges the idea of what a painting will be, then I consider it a success.” She begins her process by experimenting with 3D modelling software (specifically Google SketchUp), the resultant forms become the basis for an underpainting which she then works into using acrylic paints from an airbrush. These geometric, sculptural forms have the art world in thrall.
Heidiland, Acrylic on canvas, 2014
Happening, Acrylic on canvas, 2014
Sad Woman Projecting Libidinal Thoughts, Acrylic on canvas, 2014
Robin F. Williams (b. 1984) – Various Small Fires
Robin F. Williams’ paintings are constructed from a variety of materials and techniques including oil paint; airbrushing; staining raw canvas and applying very highly textured acrylic. She takes umbrage with the aesthetic idealisation of women in both art and advertising. Her androgynous figures are often nude with stern facial expressions, they have an air of affected disinterest. Williams says she is “interested in micro-expressions and how we read each other’s cues.” This interest results in intense portraits that are difficult to mine for emotional information. Williams – through these aloof figures – seeks to give “the women in the paintings the agency to tell the viewers to fuck off.”
Drag, Oil on canvas, 2018
Vaping In the Rain, Oil on canvas, 2019
Gabriella Sanchez (b. 1988) – Charlie James Gallery
Gabriella Sanchez predominantly works with mixed media on canvas. The pieces are comprised of numerous jigsaw-elements that are imbricated in different configurations, this compositional collage is often brought to life with a vibrant palette. Sanchez’s background of graphic design is evident in her work: pointed wordplay collides with bold imagery with the aim of reframing conventional visual cues, calling for a reappraisal of how meaning is created, delivered and subsequently received.
Homes Acrylic, Sharpie, oil pastel, embroided appliques on paper, 2018
Almost Softly, Acrylic, oil stick, sharpie and graphite on paper, 2018
Idris Khan (b. 1978) – Victoria Miro
Idris Khan experiments with photography, video and sculpture. He uses these mediums to probe the process of creation and erasure – the relationship between addition and subtraction within a creative journey. In his latest work, this has resulted in a textual palimpsest: a frozen burst of multiple layers of text, reminiscent of a kind of cosmic explosion.
Influenced by Everything, Purple oil based ink stamped on mounted paper, 2019
Imprecisions of Feelings, 3 Glass sheets stamped with turqoise oil-based ink, aluminum and rubber, 2019