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ARTWARS.LA RADIO PRESENTS "MEMBERS PASS PODCAST" hosted by Fenix L.A.X.
Join Fenix on an immersive audio journey through the vibrant Arts & Culture scene of Southern California. MEMBERS PASS offers exclusive access to the latest and most popular exhibitions, plus insider knowledge from creative professionals.
ARTWARS.LA RADIO
FRIEZE Los Angeles
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Join Fenix at the 2026 FRIEZE LOS ANGELES art fair (Frieze Los Angeles is a leading international art fair that was launched in 2019). In this episode you will hear from the Focus section galleries & 14year + stablished galleries.
Frieze Los Angeles largely focuses on contemporary art and celebrates the exceptionally dynamic culture of Los Angeles and its global contributions to the visual arts. The seventh edition of the fair returns to Santa Monica Airport from February 26 – March 1, 2026 and will feature approximately 100 galleries, an expansive program of ambitious installations, collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and pop-ups from some of Los Angeles' most beloved restaurants.
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Well, we're here at the entrance. Can you go ahead and introduce yourself? Uh Essence Harden. Essence, this is what third year curating focus? Sure, yes. First of all, talk to us a little bit about how you're feeling today.
SPEAKER_04I'm feeling good. It's the second day of the fair. I've been here all week. You know, it's a busy, busy week, so it's always exciting to see everyone. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05For those that don't know or may not be familiar with the focus section of uh the art fair, can you go ahead and just enlighten us a little bit?
SPEAKER_04Sure, so focus is for galleries that are 12 years and younger. Um this year we have 15. It's across all of the freezes, and they mostly work with emerging artists, but of course they don't have to be emerging, but really the galleries themselves are the things that are sort of more new. Um and it's a way for folks to enter the fair world. Um it's partially subsidized by Stone Island, and so the price point to both collecting and participating as a gallery is a bit lower, and it's a really great way to get introduced to new folks.
SPEAKER_05For those that may not be familiar about your whole play and the whole situation, could you go ahead and educate us about what you know your specific role is?
SPEAKER_04Sure, I'm the curator of Focus, so I choose the galleries and the artist presentations and do the layout of where they'll ultimately be when you get to focus. And I've been doing that for three years.
SPEAKER_05Talk to us about what this year entailed and what what came behind the selection of the works that you were wanting to see these galleries bring to the forefront.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean I think I work kind of object first and with the galleries, um, there's a lot that return every year. Um they age out ultimately at some point after 12 years or when they become older than 12 years. But I generally like abstraction, I like artists who are really rigorous and thoughtful and conceptual in approach, and gallery programs that can kind of harbor and show artists who are stretching both genres, materials, and mediums, and so you'll find a lot of work in there that uh does that, I hope.
SPEAKER_05What would you consider success in your point of view for the galleries that you brought to the forefront today?
SPEAKER_04I think just having lots of amazing conversations, getting the workplace, of course, is an economic reality to being in a fair and being a commercial gallery. Um so yeah, I think those things, having folks come, understand, um talk with and think through, work with you, and then having yeah, institutions and collectors get the work.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, essence, if you can give advice to a younger you about just everything that you have accomplished already, uh what would you tell, what would you tell yourself?
SPEAKER_04Ah, stay calm and carry on, I guess. How do you celebrate yourself? How do I celebrate myself? I think by relaxing and having a glass of wine and reading a good book.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Um go ahead and give us your social media handle or just anything you would like to share where we can see your work.
SPEAKER_04Oh, you'd probably just have to Google my name to see my work. I'm sure I have a website that's my name, Essence Harden. It has my CV on there. My social media is not really doing all that. It's mostly just my kid and myself. So yeah.
SPEAKER_05I love it, Essence. And then lastly, last and final, uh, go ahead and give me your shout-outs. Who needs to hear from you, loved ones, colleagues, your dog, your favorite coffee shop. Let me have it.
SPEAKER_04Oh, go to Grand Slam, uh, learn how to play tennis and get some cool clothes while you're at it.
SPEAKER_05Essence, thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_04Sure, no problem.
SPEAKER_05Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_07I'm Bibi. I'm the associate director of Sea View Gallery, and we are in the focus section of Freeze LA.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Um, so tell me, why was this the right artist to present at um at this platform at this time in 2026?
SPEAKER_07Uh Zenobia is a young sculptor and her work is really striking. She's based in LA, so it's always nice to present a local artist uh in their community. Um and yeah, she also has a solo exhibition at the gallery that's running concurrently to the booth. So it's nice to have that kind of dual presentation happening for us.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Okay, and as a younger gallery, how does this balance visibility, sustainability, and growth for your institution?
SPEAKER_07Um well, fairs are great. It's always you're connecting with local collectors, but also a lot of museum groups coming by, um, a lot of people flying in from New York or even internationally. Um so you meet new people, but you also reconnect with a lot of uh a lot of interesting, smart people.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Can you um take us to one of the pieces and just kind of detail it a little bit for us?
SPEAKER_07Um sure, I can talk about this uh uh patinated steel banana leaf, which is um kind of a monumental sculpture here in our booth. Um and this is a work based off of uh Wilfredo, a photograph of Wilfredo Lamb standing next to um a banana leaf. So our artist Zenobia Lee um kind of mimicked the silhouette of the banana leaf in that photo. And um she's she's really uh interested in kind of monumentalizing and transforming symbols of the Caribbean diaspora. So that's what we see here with this uh beautiful banana leaf sculpture.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, I love it. You know, it's a it's an eye grabber, I gotta tell you. Once I saw it, I had to walk over here. Um talk to me a little bit about what success it looks like for for you here at Freeze.
SPEAKER_07Um well, we're really happy. We've done three museum acquisitions from the booth. Um so uh the California African American Museum um purchased a piece, uh Mac3 Fund purchased a piece, and then um we also had another local institution uh buy some work from our show that's happening at the gallery. So all uh really good visibility for the artist and um yeah.
SPEAKER_05You know, in a in a time that we're in now where digital just dominates everything, you know what what what makes you know locations and gatherings like these special for your gallery and the type of work you guys represent?
SPEAKER_07I mean, I think the art world is all about personal connections, and it's something that we saw early in the pandemic with all the online viewing rooms and online art fairs, it just wasn't the same. Um connecting with people in real life is is always really important, um, especially in a place like LA, which is um kind of in the midst of becoming a real art capital. Uh fairs like this are really important for that.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, thank you so much. You've been so great. I'm literally a fan now. I'm definitely gonna make sure that I follow all of the handles.
SPEAKER_07So my C View is in Hollywood, um Corner of Fountain in Orange. Um we have two beautiful solos up right now, and yeah, we welcome anyone to the gallery who wants to stop by.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. So um, for those that want to keep the conversation going, go ahead and give us your social media handle if you can or website, so they can go ahead and uh tune in if you have that handy.
SPEAKER_07Uh just Google us, see View. Um, we're on Instagram and uh yeah, our email is on the website. Um feel free to reach out and visit us.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, is there any shout outs? Anyone that needs to hear it from you, favorite coffee shop, artists, colleagues?
SPEAKER_07Um, shout out to Hoffman Donahue, um, shout out to Bridget Donahue, shout out to our neighbors Bella Me across the hallway. Um, shout out to everyone in the focus section, shout out to Postfair, uh, shout out to CookBook for supplying the coffee and sandwiches. Um, shout out to Zenobia Lee and Sarah Hampman, the founder of the gallery, and shout out to you for great conversation. Um, yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_05I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_07Of course. Have a good day.
SPEAKER_05Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_08My name is Ivani Carana. We are at Freeze LA at Hannah Troire Gallery's exhibition of Terra Atkins.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, awesome. Well, first of all, thank you so much for your time and thank you so much for inviting me to sit down with you. Uh, let me go ahead and hit you with the first question. Uh, talk to us about being selected here for their focus section for the second year, right?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, it's definitely a huge honor for us. You know, our gallery in New York is our goal is to champion artists from historically marginalized communities. So being included in the focus section, especially at a fair like Freeze, is just such an epitome of I think like what we've been trying to do, and it's great to have Turia on such a large stage and allow people here to be able to see her work.
SPEAKER_05You kind of segued into my next question. So let's talk a little bit about the artists. Why was this the right artist to bring to Freeze this year in 2026?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, um, we've worked with Turiya for a while. She's done a solo exhibition at the gallery in New York as well. In the current climate that we're in, a lot of her work is very heavily rooted in research, particularly in African mythology and folklore, and something that she calls Afro-future myth. And given that research is such a huge part of her practice, um she's described it as being a refuge from anxiety and fear of the future in the climate that we're in, in response to the ongoing erasure of black history and sort of reshaping of how human rights discourses exist within public institutions. So, again, to be in such a important room and to have her be able to say that story in the times that we're in and maintaining that ferocity in her practice is a huge form of her resistance.
SPEAKER_05I gotta tell you, these pieces are phenomenal, and I think the color palettes just kind of like bring, you know, a little euphoria for me. I feel like tapped into it. Um, for those that may not be here or for those that are walking, you I know it's gonna get busy. Talk to us something that we have to pay attention to, maybe something that we may miss. You know, there's so much art in here, but what's something that you you can go ahead and give us a tip to not miss in one of these pieces?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, I think so. Second screen, which is this one, it's greens, pinks, reds, it's one of my favorites. It's definitely very vibrant. I think a huge theme of Turia's work is in flight, and she explores a lot of the themes of flight in African mythology. And this piece in particular, I think I've had people come up to me and tell me that it's really pulling them in, it draws them in, that's like a huge purpose of it. I think I don't want them to miss that the abstraction is really the point. I think, especially in certain cases, abstract work can be difficult for a lot of people because it sometimes feels uncomfortable. And in this case, the point is one of my favorite questions in Turia's work is asking what lies between knowing and imagining. And I think this piece really gets at pushing you into maybe what you think you know, but also opening up a lot of possibilities for what you can think of next.
SPEAKER_05I love that. So poetic. Thank you so much for that, honestly. It's just like I I wasn't even thinking about that, and now I have a graffiti background. Okay, so that one definitely is. And that's the one that called out to me. Um so my next question, uh, what does success look like for your gallery here today, or throughout this whole you know, event?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, I think, you know, right now, again, I I really want people to, and this is on my own, and I think Hannah will also have her own response, but understand the intention behind all of Turia's pieces, and again, like what resistance she's trying to create, and hopefully that inspires other people to do more research and to find their own forms of resistance and to really understand that like freedom dreaming is a real possibility.
SPEAKER_05I could be here all day. I could be all day with you. Um talk to me a little bit, and you know, I like to make these a little educational, I like to make these a little inspirational for younger galleries that are looking up to yours and uh that are not in positions like these. Um, can you go ahead and just give them some words of inspiration? What can you tell the you know the next generation that comes to your programs, to come to your shows, and is, you know, always tuned into the socials?
SPEAKER_08Yeah, that's a really interesting question because I am in fact the next generation. Hannah owns the gallery, she's incredible. She really took me in when I when I was in high school and I first walked into the gallery, and she said she she gave me the opportunity to work with her, and now I'm here, and I feel like for me the gallery has always been such a huge inspiration because of its just unwavering ability to be unapologetic. And Hannah has a true belief in the work of her artists, and a big thing that we like to say is you know, we don't highlight our artists because they are of color because they are women, but because their work is truly exceptional. And I think for new people that are coming into this space, I think it's a lot of like trust what you feel and trust what you know, and don't let people tell you what you should and should not be supporting.
SPEAKER_05Oh, you're next. I can see it now. I love the vibe. Two more for you, and I'll let you go, okay? Um go ahead and give me um, you know, social media handles. Where can we find the gallery? Talk to us about the uh the space. Uh, for those that have never been into the actual brick and mortar, if you can kind of visualize it for us since this is audio only.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, absolutely. So the space is in the lower east side in New York. You can find us at Hannah Trower Gallery on Instagram and also Hannah Trowray Gallery.com, which has all of our press releases. The gallery itself is actually a very interesting story because when it was first designed, Hannah was very intentional about the space and making it fit sort of the idea of what it was trying to be. So there are no there are no sharp corners anywhere in the gallery. So if you walk in, you'll see curved arches, you'll see curved corners. You can also see like all of our cards are curved because there's a huge stigma that I think we've been trying to push back on with people coming into galleries or even coming into fairs like this and feeling like they can't go up and they can't ask about the work or they don't belong in that space because it's something that they don't know about, they haven't been exposed to it, that they haven't been let into. And for us, you know, there's no corners, there's nowhere to hide. There's always someone who's gonna be there to welcome you, and that's just a huge ethos of the gallery.
SPEAKER_05So true, so true. Welcoming. And if you don't mind, I gotta add one. This is like my low-key. I bring this one out, this question, only when I feel like somebody's deserving of it. And I feel like I gotta usher it on you. Uh, how do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_08Oh wow, I love that question. Um, I think for me it's gotten to be a little bit of spending time with the people around me and allowing them to like see me fully and appreciate what it is that I have to give, and at the same time receiving that from them and being fully open and available to do that.
SPEAKER_05Wow. Wow. Amazing. Go ahead and give me your shout-outs. Who needs to hear from you, favorite coffee shop, your loved ones, your your cat? Who who is it?
SPEAKER_08Oh my god, Hannah first, of course. Definitely would not be here without her. My mom is the love of my life, she's the greatest person ever. My parents are immigrants from India, so them being who they are has really pushed me to A, work hard and B recognize that giving back is what I'm here for, and they have given me so much opportunity to be able to be on this stage and be able to showcase artists like this and have these opportunities, but also have the perspective of where they came from and where I come from, and that has just been so unique and so special.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. You've been great. I uh I can't imagine you not seeing you here within the next few years with your own you know installations.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate that a lot. It was really nice to talk to you.
SPEAKER_05Go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_00Hi, I'm Storm Asher. I'm the founder and curator of Superposition Gallery. Uh the gallery's been founded since 2018. My first show is in downtown LA, and we've traveled all over the world since then. We've done Marrakesh, London. Um, we're doing a project for the Olympics in 2028 back in LA. It's just been a whirlwind for like almost eight years now.
SPEAKER_05Storm, talk to us a little bit about the artwork we're seeing here. I gotta tell you, your space is unique, and for those that are not gonna be able to be here or actually even attend the fair, talk to us a little bit about the ambiance.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. So, what we're looking at right now is a cautionary tale by Greg Ito. He is a fourth generation Japanese American artist from Los Angeles. His inspiration was from this original luggage case that his great-grandfather had during a Japanese internment camp incarceration. So, since World War II, um his family has survived and been really resilient, having all of their heirlooms in this case. And Greg grew up always seeing it in the living room with his grandpa his great-grandpa's initials on it. And he was like, you know what, I think I want to like look through this and see if there's something for my work to get some inspiration from. He's really well known for his paintings, and so this is the first time he's shown sculptural suitcases ever. So he transformed what people know as his portals from these windows that he's famous for, but now has introduced the suitcase as a container and portal. And each portal brings you into his most precious moments in his life and the things that he cares about most, which is his family. So it was all about okay, I don't want to focus on the tragic past, but how can I focus on family in a way that uplifts his five-year-old daughter for the future? So, Spring, his daughter actually collaborated with him on the project. She made sculptures with him. You'll be able to see his handprint and her handprint and her mother's as well, Karen Galloway. And it was wild because when we were doing this presentation together and planning through the studio visits, there were so many moments where I was reminded of my own family's heritage. Um on one side, my grandmother escaped a sharecropper's indentured slavery, and on the other side, um, they're from Germany and escaped the Holocaust. So we were connecting a lot about how, you know, what is it that we take with us when everything is just ripped out from under you? And it's not what you would expect. It's like a rock that you kept in your hand for a long time and you kept rubbing it. And he talks about this worry stone that he had in his pocket for years when he had a hard time in his life, and now it's transformed into this piece in one of the suitcases as like a symbol of I got through this. And it's so it's all about resilience.
SPEAKER_05I love it. I love it. Honestly, when I when I stepped up over here, I thought I was in a Louis V installation pop-up, the trunks, the suitcases, just the ambiance. I'm telling you, I looked at it, I was like, wow, I love it here. I don't want to go. Uh, talk to me a little bit about you know being selected to participate in uh the focus group. What does that mean to you? What does it mean to the gallery? And what is, you know, how does that you know curtail the future of um the gallery?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Well, Essence Harden has been a beacon curator for me um growing up in LA, ever since she was at California African American Museum. Um I'm very supportive of black artists in LA as well and any artists of a certain diaspora. So for me to be a black Jewish gallerist in the focus section without having a brick and mortar, I feel like is an iconic way to introduce how galleries can shift and change and adapt for artists to actually support the projects they want to do, not just wait for a space every four years, you know, for a solo. And it's really important for me to be able to have this stage to show what we can do even if we don't have real estate.
SPEAKER_05Wow, powerful. Um, and perfect segue. What does success look like for the gallery uh here at Freeze for you?
SPEAKER_00There's been a lot of great institutional connections, a lot of conversations with big brands, um, corporate sponsorships, and also museums local to Los Angeles that are really interested in working with us now over the next few years because of what we showed here. So I'm just so thrilled that Greg also is such a reciprocating artist with the amount of energy he brought to the presentation. There was no hand holding at all. Like we were right here with each other, and I think it really shows it's like you know, when you're thinking about a gallery that doesn't necessarily exist on the map, and then on top of that, there's a big institution. How do you bridge that gap? And I'm always interested in showing institutions how to support artists through galleries and like you know, massaging away all of the barriers. It's just not necessary.
SPEAKER_05So true. If um, and I just gotta tell you, it really touches my heart when I when I see artists collaborating with, you know, their family members, siblings, you know, their kids, and stuff like that. So this here for those that are coming with a with their family, it's a must-stop. So they can kind of, you know, just feel that vibe. Because it's here, I gotta tell you. I I can feel it. The energy is here. Um, if you can speak to a younger self, a younger you, right, and um invite them into your universe, and um, you know, as a liaison, as an anchor into you know the gallery, you know, what would you tell them? How would you invite them in?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's actually funny because when Greg presented me one of the first suitcases and it had uh the painted handprints of his daughter and his wife and himself, I was connected back to my auntie, Julie Asher, who actually is a painter and sculptor herself. And there was a picture I was looking for in this old house I lived in in North Carolina. I was only two years old, but I had this really old memory of my hands on the wall, and she found the photo, and it's me asleep, and it says Julie and Storm, and like our hands painted exactly in the same way where she mixed the colors and painted it on my hands, and we had to paint it over when we were selling the house. So I I couldn't remember if that was a real memory or if it actually happened. And so I would say anybody that's coming into the booth will just immediately be reminded of their childhood or just be inspired to be an artist because they see, oh, that's the same size as my hand, I can do this.
SPEAKER_05Wow, awesome. You do so much, um you are so much. The space is gonna bring in, you know, so many people together through the works and through your energy. So I have to ask you one of my favorite questions, but you but you gotta answer sincere, okay? Okay. How do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_00Well, I celebrate myself by dressing up, surrounding myself with wonderful women, all the assistants in my booth have been so helpful. They traveled from all over the country to be here, and also just drinking a lot of water.
SPEAKER_05That's right. Give me the social media handles or website wherever we can find uh your work and the galleries work.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. So Greg Ito is on Instagram with four zeros and then oh four O's, Superposition Gallery, and then Storm Asher, A-S-C-H-E-R.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, go ahead and give me your shout outs. Who needs to hear from you? Colleagues, loved ones, family members, favorite coffee shop, your dog, your cat, let me know.
SPEAKER_00Shout out to my man, Richard Simon. That's right. That's right. He literally installed the booth with me and Greg, so he he made this happen too. Thank you, baby.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_05And as I walk back into the freeze, I want to take it as a time to go ahead and shout out Sunday's gravy for the chicken armor. Oh my goodness. As we continue to walk out, we're having Amanda Ross hold an untitled Orbit Manual Mode 2023 installation or activation, I should say. She's been pushing the ball around ever since the affair started. So what's our objective now? As we walk in, we want to go ahead and now see what the more established galleries are up to. Let's go ahead and travel the world. I want to go ahead and take in a little bit of what's happening in Mexico, if we can see what's happening in Europe. I'm gonna go ahead and bring you guys there. Let's go discover what these galleries have to show. Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_06Hello, my name is Jana. I'm director at Gallery Frank Elbas. We are a Paris-based gallery and we are participating in Freeze Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Thank you so much for your time. Talk to us a little bit about what made this the right moment to come out and um show this uh work.
SPEAKER_06So we've been participating in Freeze Los Angeles for several years now, um, and it makes sense for us because we have LA-based artists, including Manga Thompson, um, who has prepared a beautiful presentation this year. It's kind of an in-stitu installation of his wallpaper works and also lenticular prints. Both are rather new series, so we are very happy to introduce this for Los Angeles Freeze art fair.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Okay, so um talk to us a little bit about how important art fairs are today. Um, you know, how do you and how do you balance you know physical location and participating in other uh art fairs like these?
SPEAKER_06So I think art fairs do make sense and it's always great to come to a different location because we are only based in Paris, so um it's always a pleasure to engage with the local collectors, local institution, institutions, curators. So um for us Los Angeles, as I was saying you is quite important. It's always a pleasure obviously to participate and to engage um locally.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. And uh talk to me about what success it looks like for your gallery here today.
SPEAKER_06So of course it's always great to uh bring the energy, the new works, and to engage and of course to place the works that we have, um, but also to kind of highlight our artists to give them a stage for um to showcase their new works. So I think for us this is the success, and this is something we had yesterday during the first day that you know there's been a great response, um great feedback. Um so yeah.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Okay, um, talk to us a little bit about what you're seeing. Is there any notable shifts in collectors? Are they looking for different types of works uh as opposed to like back in 2024, or you know, is there any difference between the collectors in Paris and Los Angeles that you're seeing?
SPEAKER_06Um I wouldn't say that there is uh major difference, but I think there is um the curiosity again. Um people are curious to discover, to um you know, to kind of to see new things and um very open-minded, so yeah.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Can you go ahead and just uh point out one of your favorite pieces and maybe kind of tell us something that we may miss between all of this rush? Is there something that you know that catches your personal attention that you loved and had to bring to the fair today?
SPEAKER_06Okay, so of course we are Paris-based gallery, and we are very happy that um we are showing these works by Mango Thompson, which are um on Rodon's work. So actually the wallpaper and the lenticular prints that you see are the extension of his films, because he's also a filmmaker, and he did a film on uh Rodin and all the reproductions he could in in in catalogs and um different materials he would come across. And so I think my favorite works, uh my favorite work on in our presentation is this cathedral lenticular print. Um, and what is beautiful I think is that so lenticular prints they work in a way that when you move you kind of discover different image, and that depends on the angle. And sometimes the text comes through and it's a French text, so it's beautiful to uh to have it here with us. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_05It it this is a this is a pleasure, and this is an honor. Thank you so much for putting this together because I gotta tell you, it it's nice on the eyes. Um it seems like you stay busy, so I have to ask you this question. How do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_06How do we celebrate ourselves?
SPEAKER_05Um I mean in which way how do you calm down after this? You know, big, big undertaking. I I gotta tell you, uh a lot of galleries don't get invited to come show here.
SPEAKER_06Yes, so we feel very honored and um we are truly delighted to participate and come back each year, and I think um well the reward is the response of the audience, so yeah, it's always very rewarding. I think and this is the best celebration we can get.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. I have two more for you, and I'll let you go, okay? I promise. Um go ahead and uh tell us where we can go ahead and uh visit the gallery, yeah, um, and give us the social media handles or website.
SPEAKER_06Um, so you can visit the gallery um at our space in Paris, which is uh 66 Rue de Turenne in the Moray area, uh, and our social media account is Instagram, so it's gallery in French, Gallery Franc uh Frank Elves.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, uh give me your shout-outs. Who needs to hear it from you? Family members, favorite coffee shop, colleagues, artists. Who needs to hear a shout-out from you?
SPEAKER_06Uh I think our artists, because they did a great job, and we are so grateful for their trust, and um, you know, it's just so rewarding. Shout out to them, to Manga Thompson, Sheila Higgs, and Kenshiro Kazaki.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_06Thank you.
SPEAKER_05All right, go ahead and introduce yourself and can you tell us uh the booth number and where we're at?
SPEAKER_09Yeah. Hi, my name is Audrey Bowie. I am the registrar here at Commonwealth and Council. We're booth 822.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. First of all, thank you so much for your time. The exhibition is immaculate.
SPEAKER_09Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Uh, go ahead and talk to us a little bit about what you guys are showing here today.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so Common Wealth and Council is an LA local gallery, and we've been around for 15 years now. So our freeze booth consists of six artists. So we have Nikita Gale, uh, American artist Rafa Esparza, Danielle Dean, uh David Lada David Alahugi, and Rose Salene.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And uh talk to us uh a little bit about you know showing these artists why was it important to bring these six here today or this whole weekend.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, um, I think one important aspect to our programming for the booth was acknowledging Black History Month. And so we have um four phenomenal Black artists in the booth uh this year. And um we have two artists, American artists, as well as David Aluhugi, um, who will be featured in our next gallery show out in March.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Um, it's getting packed here, it's still um invite only. Talk to us a little bit about a piece, maybe. I know it's not too packed here, so we can kind of, you know, move around of a piece that you we definitely gotta look at while we're here and if there's anything, any little detail that we gotta make sure we don't miss.
SPEAKER_09Yeah. We have some uh newer works by Nikita Gale from her Lost Arena series, and of course her works touch upon themes of performance, but also viewership and the consumption aspect of performance. The series kind of plays on the etymology of the word arena as the Latin root for that word is harina, which means sand, which plays out in the medium. Um, and we are looking at these kind of velvet curtain sculptures on aluminum frames with different minerals like iron oxide and river sand. And it really harkens back to the kind of root and origin of arenas and how performances were typically bought out at the expense of the performer and how that inherently contains some violence and um themes of power and control.
SPEAKER_05Beautiful, love it. Um for those that have never been to the brick and mortar space, um, can you kind of describe that for us and you know how would you invite a younger you to go check out the space?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, I think our brick and mortar space is definitely one of our quirks, as it is a very old building in K-town that is a bit obscure, but I think that's what makes it all the more special are those quirks. Um and yeah, it's a little bit hidden, but once you find it, it's great.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, fantastic. Okay, how do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_09We celebrate when our artists are happy because that definitely makes us happy. Um and yeah, a lot of or I guess our slogan for the gallery is like we are all like us, ours together, you know. Um so we don't succeed if they don't succeed.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Uh what's the social media handles?
SPEAKER_09Um we are Commonwealth and Council on Instagram.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, uh give me your shout outs. Who needs to hear it? Family members, favorite coffee shop, your dog, your cat. Let me have it. Um just shop local in K-town. Yeah. Go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_01My name is Danielle Bessner. Uh I'm an associate director here at Massimo da Carlo.
SPEAKER_05Talk to us a little bit about the space.
SPEAKER_01Um so the gallery is an Italian gallery based in Milan, that's our headquarters, and then we have international locations in London, Paris, and Hong Kong. Uh at the Freeze Los Angeles, we have artists predominantly from the US and specifically from uh LA. We work with a lot of American artists bringing them over to Europe. And we want to showcase our LA artists here at the fair. Um, we always like to come to Freeze LA and show the best of what we do in America and the artists that we have that are local uh to California and local to LA. So we've brought Brian Rochford who lives here, Erin Garber Maikovska as well, and Karen Golbrand. All three of them are Los Angeles-based. They've been uh making their work here for many, many years, and we really love an opportunity to showcase that. The fourth artist on the booth is Zhao Wang. She is based in Berlin, she's Chinese, and um, you know, we want to keep uh our international focus still alive, so it's important that we not be too homogenous because we have artists from everywhere in the world, but um we do want to have a focus on Los Angeles and be connected to what's happening locally as well as on a global scale.
SPEAKER_05I love it, I love it. Talk to us about a piece and uh if there's something that we need to make sure we look at and might miss when the rush comes in.
SPEAKER_01So for me, it would be the large abstract painting we have by Aaron Garber Mykowska. Um this work is a very powerful example of his paintings. We have an upcoming show in our London gallery opening on the 12th of March. So this is a nice preview to a really new direction that he's taking as an artist. Because he's been working in LA for so many years, people are familiar with his work and with what he's doing, and he's changed from work from working on um polluted poly to working on canvas, and you can see that it's really challenged his brush strokes and his mark making and the way he's put this together his composition. So we're very excited to bring that here, and it's to me the main thing to come and look at on our booth.
SPEAKER_05What does success look like for the gallery here at Freeze for You?
SPEAKER_01Success looks like uh bringing artists uh that we work with in the US, that we work with internationally, and bringing that to the local collector base here in LA. Um we have a strong relationship with the city and we want to continue to perpetuate that.
SPEAKER_05For those have that have never gone to the physical location, uh how how what would you tell them to invite them to come check out the space?
SPEAKER_01Uh I would really encourage everybody to visit our Milan Gallery. It is an amazing piece of architecture and a really special space. It's you know very iconic and all of our shows are really exciting and challenging there, so it's uh you know, must see. Must see.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And then uh go ahead and give me your shout outs. Who needs to hear from you, family members, loved ones, your dog, your favorite coffee spot?
SPEAKER_01Um for me personally, I guess uh I live in London and I'll shout out my London team at Mossmo da Carlo because you know, what are you without your team?
SPEAKER_05100%. And then where can we find you? You can give us the social media handle or just website?
SPEAKER_01Uh we're at Mosmo da Carlo. Um our website is the same.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_01Thanks.
SPEAKER_05Alrighty, go ahead and introduce yourself, the gallery, and where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_02Hello, my name is Alexandra Lovera. We are at Proyectos Moncloba Gallery, which is a Mexican gallery here in Freeze LA.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Talk to us a little bit about the importance of showing here, showing up here in Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_02So for us, it's definitely very important to have a presence on the West Coast. We usually do Miami fairs, New York fairs, so it's definitely crucial to be a part of Freeze LA. Los Angeles is a very important region right now with the art scene popping, so yeah, we just love it here.
SPEAKER_05So uh I'm not gonna try to ask it in Spanish, but I'm gonna ask if you can answer it in Spanish. Um, talk to us about how the markets are are different between like Mexico, um Miami, and just other places where you guys show.
SPEAKER_02Definitivamente si varia mucho dependiendo de la zona. In Miami sentimos que el arte siempre puede ser un poco más llamativo, cosas un poco más coloridas. In cambio in Nueva York ya cambió un poco minimalistas, colores más sobrios, luego Mexico igual, in México dependiendo de quién es el cliente, el cliente mexicano le encanta colecionar artistas mexicanos, apoya muchísimo el arte of Mexico, and extranjeros to Mexico can apoyo el arte mexicano, which is very bonus. And Los Angeles for us is a sorpresa.
SPEAKER_05Beautiful, beautiful. Talk to us about the the artists you have here on display and why was it important to bring them to LA Freeze 2026?
SPEAKER_02So here in front of us we have Eduardo Terrazas, Mexican artist. Actually, today is his birthday, he's 90 years old. So he really is an institution in Mexico, one of the biggest Mexican artists of our time. Here we have art that is based on an indigenous technique called Wichol, which is wool yarn individually glued with wax on a wooden board. So it's combining indigenous traditional techniques with a very contemporary display and patterns and styles.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. Um talk to me a little bit about what success looks like uh here at Freeze for the Gallery.
SPEAKER_02So success is people loving our artists, loving the artworks, and engaging with us, asking questions, being very interested in Mexican art. We represent artists from all over the world, but mostly Mexican artists. We of course want to elevate and really promote the incredible art we have in Mexico. So every time people respond really good to our artists, they're interested in them and they collect them. For us, that's just the formula for a success successful fair.
SPEAKER_05I love it, I love it. Um this one in Spanish, if you can please. Um, how would you invite a younger you to come look at the uh gallery space and um just you know tell them about the programming and about what you guys have going on at the gallery?
SPEAKER_02No, the person who more saves or more concept for a gallery or a ferry or a museum. It's simply the sensibility of curiosity, to accept, preguntar pregnants. She can't contact, siempre enseñarles what we are doing, as you can take to preguntar preguntas, to accept the galeristas, acercarse loss artists for that cerca del arte.
SPEAKER_05Beautiful, so beautiful. Um go ahead and uh talk to me about what the uh actual space looks like for those that haven't visited the location. Um talk to us a little bit about that and what makes you guys unique.
SPEAKER_02So we are located in Mexico City in Polanco. Polanco is mostly a museum area, so it's great for our visitors to go to the gallery because you get to go to the most beautiful museums in Mexico. We have the anthropology museum just meters away, Tamayo Museum, Humex Museum. So we really are like in the center of where the museum life is, very different from like the other areas in Mexico City where you only have galleries or only have like bars or restaurants, which is still incredible. But we are located in a more residential area, very near to museums. Our architecture is gorgeous, it's a huge blue building, very Mexican in its style and the construction and architecture. So it's three stories. We always have different shows which vary every month and a half. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, fantastic, man. Uh I I love it. The vibe you're bringing here. It's just electric. Thank you so much for your time. I have two more for you, and I'll let you go, okay? Um, personal question, but I gotta ask you. Um, I only bring this question out to those that I know can answer it. Um, you ready?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05How do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_02I celebrate myself by pampering myself. I love a good massage, I got I love a good shopping spree. So every time I feel good about myself, I just go out, get a massage, do my hair, do my nails, maybe buy something nice. That's the best way to celebrate myself.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. I love it. And then lastly, go ahead. Oh, and uh give us the social media handle, uh the location of the gallery if you can, and then the website.
SPEAKER_02Sure. The Instagram is underscore moncloba, which is the name of the gallery. Location is Mexico City Polanco, La Martine 415, 415. And yeah.
SPEAKER_05And lastly, go ahead and give me your shout outs. Who needs to hear from you? Your family members, your colleagues, loved one, your favorite coffee shop, your dog, your neighbor, who is it?
SPEAKER_02My husband and my future baby, because I'm pregnant. So yeah.
SPEAKER_05Congratulations for people. Awesome. Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_03Hi, I'm Ever Velasquez. I'm the director at Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. Let's talk about it. And before we get into that, you've been so active in the art space in the city of Los Angeles. Before we start talking about the gallery, talk to us about what you're seeing here at Freeze LA 2026. Are we seeing a lot of more international appeal? Are you looking, are we seeing more local artists coming out and supporting, or just what what's the vibe like?
SPEAKER_03I think it's you get to see everybody. So for me personally, you know, I've been doing this a few years, so I I see it as like uh like homecoming in a sense. Like you get to see everybody that you that you know from other states, other countries, other cities gathered to here to celebrate artists and art and within the community.
SPEAKER_05Talk to us a little bit about the artist. Uh who are we showing here today? Who are we looking at?
SPEAKER_03We are showing Manuel Lopez, Narciso Martinez, Christopher Reyes, uh Ozzy Juarez, and Jeffrey Sincich.
SPEAKER_05Why was it important to bring these uh artists here to Freeze LA 2026?
SPEAKER_03Uh for us it's really important at Charlie James to highlight all of our artists and you know really show up for them and show up in in the fair context. So uh with this presentation, uh also with Patrick Martinez, I forgot to mention. Also, Patrick Martinez has the the in the neon installation on the way in that before you head into the all the booths. Um I think the time is now, you know, and to continue to show all the beauty that our community presents here in Los Angeles and onward.
SPEAKER_05What does success look like for the gallery here at Freeze this year?
SPEAKER_03For us specifically, I think it's you know what we what we really love to do is um solidifying our artists and art history by cre by putting them in institutional acquisitions at different museums, finding the right pieces with the right collectors. I think it's important to be able to share the art within the community as well as well.
SPEAKER_05Talk to us about um inviting a younger you to the gallery. How would you invite a younger you to the gallery to come look at the programming, come look at what you guys have going on there?
SPEAKER_03Like like I tell everybody when they come in, you know, I I say I greet everybody, I say hi, tell them, you know, we're located in Chinatown, come by and see us. We open a new show every seven weeks. Um we're open Tuesday to Saturday. Our openings, you know, I give I let them know when the openings are, and you're welcome to come by. It doesn't cost anything. We're in a great location. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Um, I know it's you know, we just uh crossed over from the members or excuse me, the invite only to general public coming in. I know it's gonna get packed. Um, what's a piece that we definitely gotta make sure we look at and something we may miss? Is there a piece here that you know requires a little more time in front of?
SPEAKER_03Oh, it's hard. I think they're all really great, but I think when it comes to specifically Christopher Reyos, uh, which is the whole back wall, all of the paintings that you see, any of the uh what you think is embossing isn't embossing. That's all layers and layers of paint that he creates, all of those beautiful layers and those textures throughout. So it's really good to be able to like look at those and with a lot of time and energy. Same with like the Manuel Lopez pieces, like the more you look, the more you find within the pieces. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Awesome, awesome. I have three more for you, okay? And I'll let you go. Yeah, um go ahead and talk to me a little a little bit about um you know being here at Freeze and as a woman of color, right? Like what what is does that, you know, kind of do you put that at at the forefront? Do you put that, you know, as a kind of like, hey, there's space here for all of us, or you know, just talk to us a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_03I think it's yeah, important for us to show up, important for us to support each other, important for us to be able to be our support system for each other however we can. Not necessarily just um showing up is always great, sharing the artwork with people, being an art patron, all of it, it all is important.
SPEAKER_05This is gonna be a super easy question for you because man, I I already know the response, but I want the people to know how do you celebrate yourself?
SPEAKER_03Oh, I'm I celebrate every morning that I'm able to wake up. You know, like it's not guaranteed for us to be able to wake up every morning, so I'm winning if I wake up.
SPEAKER_05That's right.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and to remind people of you know, I'm happy to see them while they're here.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, oh um, go ahead and uh let us know where we can go check out the space, uh, the location, website, and uh social media handles if you can.
SPEAKER_03Okay, sounds great. Well, at the fair, if you're coming to the fair, we are at booth D15, that's Charlie James Gallery. Charlie James Gallery is located in Chinatown in Los Angeles. We're on a street called Chung King Road, and it's behind Hill Street. It's a pedestrian street, so most people get a little bit lost if you don't know the area, but park on Hill Street, walk on over, it's a great location. Um, we are Charlie James Gallery on all social media outlets. Uh the website is CharlieJamesGallery.com, and you can know about all of our events, all of our artists, and all the press and everything that our our artists are doing.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic. And lastly, give me your shout-outs who needs to hear from you. Family members, loved one, dog, favorite coffee shop, your neighbor. Let me know.
SPEAKER_03Everyone, everyone in LA. This is what we do. This is a love letter to Los Angeles.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for your time. You've been amazing.
SPEAKER_03You too. Great to see you.
SPEAKER_05As we conclude here at Freeze LA, we want to go ahead and thank you for listening. And thank you so much for continuing to support the podcast. So many great conversations happening here. Can't wait to see what the feature holds for some of these galleries and artists. But this wasn't just a walkthrough, it was a pulse check. I'm Phoenix, and this is Members Past Podcast.
