Gearing Up for Frieze

Businesses in and around Beverly Hills are gearing up to host tens of thousands of visitors from around the world this month with the highly anticipated Super Bowl LVI and Frieze Los Angeles just weeks away. Running from Feb. 17-20, Frieze Week will take place in Beverly Hills for the first time, with headquarters across from the Beverly Hilton hotel at 9900 Wilshire Blvd. With the acclaimed art fair bringing over 100 art galleries from 17 countries, newly opened boutiques, Frieze inspired exclusive pop- ups, artist and brand collaborations, local exhibits and hotel offerings also await this month in Beverly Hills. From a full weekend of art with Frieze Week, to programming, parties, discounts and more, here are some unofficial events planned in tandem with the fair to look for.

On Rodeo Drive, luxury retailers have planned their own art exhibits around Frieze Week. An exhibition entitled “55 Sunrises” by Japanese artist Sho Shibuya is on display at the Saint Laurent Rive Droite stores. Of Shibuya’s 55 paintings, 28 are unique to the Rodeo Drive store, where they are on sale through Feb. 16.

At Fendi, a pop-up installation featur- ing the newest arrivals for men set against a colorful backdrop is set to run through Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. At the Balenciaga and Gucci Rodeo Drive boutiques, pieces from an ongoing collaboration called “The Hacker Project,” created by Balenciaga’s Creative Director Demna Gvasalia and Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, are available.

At 9570 Wilshire Blvd., in the vacant storefront windows previously occupied by Barney’s New York, will be populated with video art by American artist William Wegman. The project comes in collabora- tion with Saks Fifth Avenue, who owns the building, and Marc Selwyn Fine Art. The multi-screen video installation will span six storefront windows, with two video pieces titles “Up Down Up” and “Harmonics.” Wegman’s trademark Weimaraner dogs are featured prominently in both. “The Wegman thing is perfect for COVID, because you’re engaging people outdoors without going inside,” Selwyn told the Courier. Once installed in mid-February, the works will be on view for six weeks, from 5:30 p.m. to midnight daily.

Another prominent exhibition opens on Feb. 6 at UCLA’s Hammer Museum in Westwood. “Ulysses Jenkins: Without Your Interpretation” is a traveling show by Jenkins, who is recognized as a pioneer of video and performance art. It is the American artist’s first major retrospective.