NEW YORK, NY.- The fourth edition of Frieze New York closed on Sunday 17 May with high quality presentations generating exceptional sales and significant praise from collectors, curators and galleries alike. With 198 galleries from 33 different territories and 63 from New York, this was both the most international Frieze New York to date and that with the highest participation from the city. Exhibitors at all levels reported strong sales from the moment the fair opened, with a number of significant international museum placements. From the world’s leading galleries to those recently established, participants remarked that the fair has become a vital event to meet with a highly engaged audience from the US and around the world.

Museum directors and collectors commended the quality of the work on show. A high number of booths were specially conceived for the fair, with a wide range of solo and curated presentations. The addition of Spotlight, a curated section for solo exhibitions of twentieth-century artists, and the display of major post-war works next to the contemporary for the first time, also brought stimulating new contexts to this edition of the fair.

Frieze New York took place 14-17 May in a bespoke temporary structure on Randall’s Island, Manhattan. Frieze New York was sponsored by Deutsche Bank for the fourth consecutive year.

Gallery Response
Esther Schipper (Berlin), said: ‘We sold extremely well. Since Wednesday at 11 o’clock we’ve been working very hard! Attendance has been unbelievable, the infrastructure is great; it’s a really grown up fair.’

Esperanza Sobrino of Acquavella (New York), commented: ‘ We are extremely happy with the incredible response we have had to our presentation of contemporary and 20th-century works. Sales have been very strong in both areas. We sold a Dubuffet for over $2million and a Thiebaud for over $2 million. We saw some old-timers as well as connecting with many young collectors and international people we haven’t seen in a long while. We also enjoyed the mixture of people really engaging including young people on the Frieze Education program. It’s been a very good experience.’

Greg Lulay from David Zwirner (New York), said: ‘As it continues to grow stronger each year, Frieze New York has definitely hit its stride and is becoming one of the top fairs. Following last year’s success exhibiting Donald Judd and Yayoi Kusama, we had an extraordinary response to another two-artist curated presentation, this time with John McCracken and Franz West.’

Spotlight
The 2015 fair introduced Spotlight, a new section for solo presentations of 20th-century art which has been a critically acclaimed feature at Frieze Masters in London. Advised by curator Adriano Pedrosa (Artistic Director, Museu de Arte
de São Paulo), Spotlight explores unexpected positions from established artists and presents new research into art from emerging territories, as well as significant work from overlooked artists.

Zürcher Gallery (New York) brought a collection of Regina Bogat’s late 1960s and ‘70s works. Gwenolee Zürcher commented: ‘Following two solo shows in New York and one in Paris, the fair exceeded our expectations by offering a platform for us to finally reach our goal of attracting the attention of well known museums and institutions. We wouldn’t have made these contacts otherwise and we are very pleased with the sales we have negotiated on the stand.’

Toby Clarke of Vigo Gallery (London), showing Ibrahim El-Salahi, said: ‘We had an extremely positive experience selling works to internationally-recognized museums, and coming away with wish-lists from several other institutions. We also made sales to private collectors from diverse countries. The general response from artists both young and older was also strong. It’s been a strong introduction to Frieze.’

Marian Ivan (Bucharest), who presented Geta Bratescu, added: ‘I have had a very good fair. The spirit this year was very high - for everybody. Being the fourth edition, logistically things are great, and it feels truly established. I’ve met collectors from acrosst the US, as well as New York. Museum committees and curators travel to the city this week not for the auctions but for Frieze, and I’ve met people I wouldn’t have elsewhere. It’s important to be here.’

Showing Howardena Pindell, Garth Greenan (New York) observed: ‘Frieze New York has been a incredible experience. The production values of this fair are incredibly high and the exhibitors are outstanding. We’ve also met some amazing collectors. Within a few hours of the fair’s opening, we had sold everything that we wanted – all to institutions. We are a young gallery and this fair has been a real springboard for us.’

Frame and Focus
Younger galleries in the Frame and Focus sections of the fair also met with success.

Lisa Cooley (New York) participated in Focus and remarked: ‘The first day exceeded my expectations. We did extremely well even within the first two hours. We sold to a new internationally renowned collector whom we met for the first time at the fair.’

Atsuko Ninagawa of Take Ninagawa (Tokyo) commented of their participation in Focus: ‘We made very strong sales at Frieze New York this year. On the first day most of the works on our booth sold out. It was an amazing atmosphere with serious collectors from Asia and the Middle East, as well as the USA, showing such enthusiasm to engage with works by Yukiko Suto and Yuuki Matsumura. We were also thrilled with the response to Aki Sasomoto’s Frieze Project. I was a pleasure to participate in Frieze New York. We had a great experience.’

Barbara Seiler (Zürich) exhibited in Frame and said: ‘We have had a really good fair. We are very pleased with our sales, which were made to new collectors, both from the US and Europe, including some significant sales to important collections.

There has been consistent attendance by important contacts - curators and writers as well as collectors - every day. The atmosphere is very positive and everybody seems very happy.’

David Lieske of Mathew Gallery (Berlin) commented of Frame: ‘It’s been a wonderful fair, and a great experience. I’m especially excited that we placed two artists books - sometimes a challenging format - with American collectors. I am very happy in Frame, and very satisfied.’

Museum Groups
With around 130 museum groups from the world’s major museums, the fair had strong institutional attendance.

Tate Modern’s Director, Chris Dercon, observed: ‘This was the best Frieze ever, the kind museums want to see: amazing quality and a chance to encounter the oeuvre of great artists from Linder at Stuart Shave/Modern Art to Tuttle at Pace and Marcia Hafif at McCaffrey. Pia Camil’s ponchos for Frieze Projects were also a highlight.’

Visiting museum groups included: AGO Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada; Art Institute of Chicago (ARTIC), USA; Aspen Art Museum, USA; Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA; Centre Pompidou Foundation, Paris, France; Dallas Art Museum, USA; DIA Art Foundation, USA; Fondacion MACBA, Barcelona, Spain; ICA Boston, USA; American Friends of the Louvre, USA; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; MOCA, L.A, USA; MoMA, New York, USA; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil; New Museum, New York, USA; Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil; San Francisco MOMA, USA; São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP); Seattle Art Museum, USA; Serpentine Galleries, London, UK; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; Tate Americas Foundation, USA; Tate, London, UK; Whitney Museum of Art, New York, USA, among others.

Stand Prize
The winner of the Stand Prize 2015, presented by Champagne Pommery, is Galeria Jaqueline Martins (São Paulo). Judged the most innovative stand at the fair, the gallery received a prize supported by Champagne Pommery. The prize of $15,000 was judged by an international panel of curators: Carlos Basualdo (the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art), Hamza Walker (Co-Curator, ‘Made in L.A. 2016’) and Ruba Katrib (Curator, SculptureCenter).

Jaqueline Martins said of her approach to her prize-winning booth: ‘An important part of the gallery’s programme is to research undiscovered and experimental practices in Brazilian art produced during the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s and we are delighted to have had this opportunity to present and introduce Martha Araújo’s work to such a wide audience. Araújo’s practice is concerned with the democratisation of the physical space and with the body’s place within the architectural realm. Araújo’s work often requires active interaction from the viewer and it seems appropriate and exciting to show this rarely seen work in a contemporary art fair context with such a high footfall.’

Frieze Education
This year the Frieze Education program, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, included workshops for high school students and tours for over 500 school children. Participants leading this year’s Frieze Teen workshops included artists Urs Fischer and Julie Mehretu. Participating school groups in the Program included those from High School of Art & Design, Innovation High School, Frank Sinatra High School, Banana Kelly High School, Wings Academy High School, Bronx High School of the Arts, International High School At Lafayette, International High School at Claremont, TEP Charter, Strive for College, and Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. Also visiting the fair were groups from: Joan Mitchell Foundation, Bronx Museum Teen Council, MOMA Cross Museum Collective, Bronx River Art Council and Museum Teen Council.