What to see at Frieze New York

Date April 30th, 2018

From 30 April to 8 May May 2018 Frieze Week comes to New York, bringing with it an exhilarating array of galleries, talks and activities. Taking place at Randall’s Island Park from 2 - 6 May, Frieze Art Fair this year includes its first ever themed section which celebrates the work of an art dealer; For Your Infotainment/Hudson and Feature Inc. puts a spotlight on the work and influence of Hudson through seven booths and a non-selling exhibition.

The fair has a distinct activist spirit, with the Live section ASSEMBLY in particular dedicating numerous exhibitions, talks and events to the work of black artists. ASSEMBLY is a time based programme curated by Adrienne Edwards which emphasises the need for a nuanced articulation of diverse black experiences and for building spaces for future generations. There is also a strong emphasis on the power and work of women artists and feminist movements, as exemplified by Lara Schnitger’s performance piece Suffragette City.

Alongside Frieze galleries and satellite festivals throughout New York have sprung into action, filling the city with art. As with Frieze Art Fair itself, many of these events are politically engaged works with an activist spirit and an interest in examining the human condition. Before the Fall: German and Austrian Art of the 1930s at Neue Galerie looks at the way artists navigated the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s - an unsettling theme, particularly in 2018. Meanwhile Cary Leibowitz’s solo exhibition at Invisible Exports looks at the neuroses of today’s US citizen, while a group exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum showcases the work of Latin American women artists.

Jitish Kallat's Decimal Point at Sperone Westwater takes a multi-scalar look at how we understand time and place. Adrian Piper’s retrospective A Synthesis of Intuitions at MOMA examines stereotypes linked to race and gender as well as casting a critical eye over art participation and social engagement. At Met Breuer, a group exhibition exploring the replication of human life through the ages continues during Frieze week. Like Life: Sculpture, Colour and the Body (1300-Now) features work by Yayoi Kusama, Bharti Kher, Marc Quinn, Yinka Shonibare, Elmgreen & Dragset, Kiki Smith and Damien Hirst.

We will be visiting the pre-opening of The Shed, New York's first multi-art center which supports projects in the fields of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture. The Shed opens in 2019 and will collaborate with MIT to bring the latest technologies into contact with new and emerging projects in art, theatre, dance and activism. We'll also head to Treatment: The Plan For Rain , a project by Nicholas O'Brien at Knockdown Centre which rethinks the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) stormwater collection program through animation and sculpture, focusing on soil biodiversity, transparency, maintenance, and the DEP's impact on citizens. On 5 May we'll head to Myrtle Avenue to see "After Art" a Subverting Digital Media Pop-Up Show with Pratt Institute. The show presents the work of students of the course Subverting Digital Media, taught by Carla Gannis .