Frieze Los Angeles 2025 closed its sixth edition on Sunday, February 23rd, capping off a buoyant L.A. Art Week, which saw collectors, celebrities, and institutions turn out in force across the city. The fair took place following concerns that recent wildfires might impact turnout. Yet the event witnessed a substantial gathering of visitors, with high-profile collectors and celebrities, including Adrien Brody, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kid Cudi, and Julia Fox.
This year’s Frieze Los Angeles hosted some 97 galleries from 20 countries at the Santa Monica Airport, and took place during a week of exhibitions and other art fairs across the city, including Felix and Post-Fair. The total number of exhibitors at Frieze was identical to last year’s edition and slightly lower than the 2023 count of 120 galleries. Robust dealmaking across the fair reflected an optimistic attitude among galleries, reinforcing a sense of resilience in the L.A. art market. “The energy, interest, and enthusiasm were palpable, with a strong showing of collectors, institutions, and artists,” said Angela Brazda, director of White Cube.
Leading the reported sales across the fair was a $2.8 million Elizabeth Peyton painting at David Zwirner’s booth during the flurry of first-day transactions. The sale surpassed last year’s most expensive reported transaction of $2 million for a Richard Serra drawing at Gladstone Gallery. This year’s fair also saw several sold-out presentations from David Kordansky Gallery and Casey Kaplan, among others.
“I was rooting for this fair to happen,” said Tim Blum of the Los Angeles–founded gallery BLUM. “I knew quite clearly that it would be an important event—it always is, but ever more so this year after the devastating fires. I kept my expectations in check, given the circumstances, but I was heartened when I walked up on opening day to see a serpentine line winding down the entrance ramp. Ultimately, there was a very vibrant, energetic crowd at the start of the fair as well as in days that followed. Frieze Los Angeles this year was a win.”
A noteworthy new acquisition program was the Mohn Art Collective (MAC3), a joint initiative by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MOCA, and the Hammer Museum. This fund, amounting to $75,000, acquired two works from the Focus section: Shaniqwa Jarvis’s Slowly, Surely (2025) from Sow & Tailor and Edgar Arceneaux’s Skinning the Mirror (Summer 1) (2025) from Dreamsong—one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair.
“Frieze Los Angeles was a resounding success,” said Christine Messineo, director of Americas for Frieze. “Collectors and institutions engaged with real intent, purchasing with sustained interest throughout the fair, from the opening moments to the final hours on Sunday afternoon. The market has proven its resilience. In the face of recent challenges, the global art community has recognized the vital role of investing in the creative economy.”
Here, we round up the key sales reported by galleries at Frieze Los Angeles 2025.
Following the recent wildfires in L.A. County, Frieze Los Angeles this year featured several initiatives to direct support to those affected. These included partnerships with organizations including the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums as well as the inauguration of the Frieze Arts Alliance, where major institutions committed to supporting local artists and galleries. At Victoria Miro’s group presentation “Galleries Together,” exhibitors and artists across the fair were invited to contribute works, with proceeds benefitting the L.A. Arts Community Fire Relief Fund. Works sold through this initiative included:
- Victoria Miro sold Tidawhitney Lek’s Made in Cambodia (2024) and Jemima Murphy’s Life in Violet (2024) for $15,000–$20,000 apiece.
- Lehmann Maupin sold Liza Lou’s Sunday Afternoon (2013) for $25,000.
- David Kordansky Gallery sold Maia Cruz Palileo’s Spotted Aspin (2024) for $8,000.
- Kaikai Kiki Gallery sold Tomoyumi’s Sunday Afternoon (2023) for $17,000, Chinatsu Ban’s Baptism in Mexico (2022) for $5,700, Ban’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for $1,900, and works by Shin Murata and Takashi Murakami for $3,000 each.
- L.A. Louver sold Rebecca Campbell’s Salmon River Gold (2023) for $8,500.
- Galerie Lelong & Co. sold Tariku Shiferaw’s Keep Ya Head Up (Tupac) (2019) for $5,000.
- 303 Gallery sold Erin Falls and Sam Falls’s Concord (2025) for $3,000.
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