Notes From Frieze New York 2024

Art has been essential to the heart of what Manic Metallic is since its inception. We are a fashion media company that creates from the standpoint of fashion being an art, discipline, and societal force for change.

Fashion that draws from the energy of art drives who we are and who we want to be, and we were thrilled to cover Frieze New York — one of the most prestigious art fairs in the world.

The 2024 edition of the Manhattan-based fair, held at The Shed in Hudson Yards, hosted 68 galleries from 25 countries.

The galleries were all located on Levels 2, 4, and 6 with special exhibitions on Level 8 and extra events being held off premises.

Here are some notable moments and observations from the fair:

Galleries

Massimodecarlo displayed a 2023 work by artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset – artistically known as Elmgreen & Dragset – titled “Social Media (White Poodle)”. A merry-go-round combined with a black-and-white spiral hastens feelings of dizziness in the viewer, almost as if to describe the confusing descent that many of us take into an endless social media pit daily. The white poodle becomes a welcome distraction from this continual downward trend. But, animals are used by humans alternately as a form of online entertainment and as an escape from the online sphere.

White Cube had a work from 2024 by Philadelphia-based artist Tiona Nekkia McClodden titled “Never Let Me Go | XIII.steady now”. Made from materials such as jute rope, Saphir shoe polish, leather, and leather dye, it was indicative of how White Cube’s work took on a more innovative role at Frieze and engaged in the use of mixed media well.

Gagosian hosted some of artist Sterling Ruby’s work from both Ruby’s TURBINE series and the DRFTRS series. In reference to the TURBINE series, two of which are pictured at the top of this page, the viewer can feel a universal conflict taking place — a spirit of devastation and formation sharing space on the same canvas. The TURBINE works, according to the gallery, all sold during the fair.

Mendes Wood DM had multiple pieces that caught my eye. A painting by artist Pol Taburet — “Silver Spoon” (2024) — carried a compelling sense of unease reminiscent of art from the first half of the twentieth century. Artist Paulo Nazareth’s artwork “Balanzsa & Rasga” (2024) poked fun at designer handbags. Created from oil on nylon bags; the fact that these were plastic and made in China was an irony that was not lost on me. With “Balanzsa & Rasga”, Nazareth makes the argument that many designer bags have similar origins and aren’t made in a quality manner; he isn’t necessarily wrong. Additionally, Antonio Obá’s “kurú keré: antebellum/estripulia” (2024) imbues its human subject with such a powerful aura that the painting is impossible to ignore.

Proyectos Ultravioleta, a gallery from Guatemala City, Guatemala, was a surprise favorite here at Manic Metallic. The works — which consistently made use of blues, greens, and oranges — were filled with emotion and held a strong connection with nature that asked the viewer to do the same.

Style Of Dress

Visitors at Freeze were clearly there to purchase art, not to make extravagant fashion statements. This isn’t to say that Frieze attendees were not dressed well; to the contrary, they were groomed meticulously. There was not a sloppy patron in the house (well, the shed). The fashion was casual but pulled together, and no one wore heels. The closest that anyone got to heeled footwear was a block heel or pair of boots 1-2″ high. More common, however, were flatter shoes like ballet flats and tidy sneakers.

For women, I saw plenty of long pleated skirts and dresses with simple cuts and luxury fabrics. If pants were worn, it was with a crisp button-down shirt or a dressy blouse. Men were more traditional, for the most part, often opting for a blazer but dressing it down with a nice pair of slacks.

Could you call the style ‘quiet luxury’? Sure, in some cases, which makes sense given the context and the clientele. Frieze fashion would be better described, however, as a vast grouping of art lovers who appreciate the value of quality work both on their bodies and their walls.

I would expect nothing less.

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