The Focus section at Frieze New York is a gateway for younger galleries, visual risk-takers and underrepresented artists to take a seat at a highly competitive artistic table.
Most, understandably, come starved for artistic acknowledgment. Others are fueled by a deep personalization or connection to the work being exhibited. Three presenting gallery owners shared their thoughts about being part of this year’s fair.
For the husband-and-wife team Julia and Maksym Voloshyn, who own two namesake galleries — one in Kyiv, Ukraine, where the couple are from, and another in Miami — being able to showcase the Ukrainian artist Nikita Kadan was a nod to his survival skills and to his experience during a time of war. It’s also the first time a Ukrainian gallery is participating in Frieze.
The Kyiv location, which opened in 2016, was closed for almost a year in 2022 at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During that time, a handful of artists were invited to shelter in the space. Kadan was one of those artists.
“This work was created in our gallery during the war and reflects on his experience during that time,” said Maksym Voloshyn, 39. “It’s about resistance and resiliency.”
The exhibition includes nine charcoal drawings featuring Kyiv sirens, a reminder, he said, of the loss of culture and people; and progressive sculptures made from debris Kadan collected from the war zone — metal, pieces of fences, doors from houses and shrapnel from explosions.
“I have a responsibility to show this to a wider audience and professionals,” Voloshyn explained. “Ukrainians are familiar with his work. Frieze gives him a chance for professionals and people from around the world, who would never see his work, to do so.”
Gordon Robichaux is an eight-year-old, off-the-beaten-path gallery in the Union Square district of Manhattan. It’s owned by friends and artists, Sam Gordon and Jacob Robichaux. Fifth-time presenters, who currently represent 20 artists, they are the only gallery owners at Frieze’s Focus section to exhibit an artist posthumously.
In 2021, Jenni Crain, an artist and curator, died from Covid complications. She was only 30.
“Showing Jenni’s work felt urgent, important and personal,” said Gordon, 52. “Her narrative, her life, this work, is something we can give honor to and celebrate. This fair is a catalyst that activates audiences and amplifies artists. Having her work exposed here, our hope is to develop institutional interest for 2026. And to make sure people don’t forget her.”
Approximately seven of Crain’s pieces will be available for viewing, including sculptures using wood and glass and paint.
“All of her work has a minimal aesthetic. She was interested in how things were made, almost like puzzles,” said Gordon, of work that was produced from 2015 up until Crain’s death. “There’s a lot of excitement around her and this work, and our booth. An art fair like this keeps her present.”
King’s Leap, an eight-year-old gallery on Henry Street in Manhattan, and Audrey Gair, a New York-based abstract painter — one of six artists it represents — are both making their Frieze debut.
“Audrey and I have worked very hard together to get to this place,” said Alec Petty, 31, the gallery’s owner and director, who has worked with Gair since 2019. “It’s not just an introduction to her practice, but to the ethos and the story behind the gallery. For us, this is a moment to showcase her work, and to make a statement about the artistic identity she’s trying to project.”
Gair works in large-scale abstract paintings. Her core themes include modern but nostalgic and childlike playful subject matters — a bookshelf or couch for example — whose repeated shapes are referred to within the painting.
Petty said that Frieze New York embodied an element of anticipation and excitement.
“There will be people looking at her work for the first time,” he said, adding that the fair “allows us to introduce her art and this gallery to new people, in a new context, and with an authorial voice.”
Petty added that this event was not just a place to sell, but to showcase how “King’s Leap approaches art fairs.”
“This is our first blue chip fair. That’s a big deal for me. I’m looking forward to meeting collectors and the people who go to Frieze that don’t go downtown.”
The post Frieze New York Is a Special Opportunity for First-Time Artists and Galleries appeared first on New York Times.
