Ulla Johnson’s Top Picks from Frieze New York Viewing Room
The renowned New York fashion designer chooses colour-rich works by Olafur Eliasson, Jeremy Frey and Antonio Obá, among others
The renowned New York fashion designer chooses colour-rich works by Olafur Eliasson, Jeremy Frey and Antonio Obá, among others
Antonio Obá, Uma alegoria / morte-vida: coragem (An Allegory / Life-Death: Courage), 2024
Oil on canvas, 200 × 160 cm, presented by Mendes Wood DM. $100k – $250k
I am a longtime admirer of Obá’s work and am deeply drawn to his singular mystical visions. The expressive use of colour and pattern in his richly hued haunting pastorals evoke dreams and narratives just beyond the reach of our memories. This painting, with its poetic landscape and arresting figures, is particularly powerful in its dialogue with the civil rights and women’s emancipation movements.
Manoucher Yektai, Blue Table, 1960
Oil on canvas, 27 × 33 cm. Presented by Karma. $100k – $250k
I love still life works in all their myriad forms and am especially drawn to the lush impasto brushstrokes and cool colour field punctuated with pops of heat in this work. Looking at it, I feel the heat of summer, the taste and smell of ripe fruit, perhaps the sea close at hand. It would be very easy to live with this painting.
Jeremy Frey, Enchanted, 2025
Ash, sweet grass and synthetic dye, 3 × 2 × 2 cm. Presented by Karma. $20k – $50k
As a collector of baskets and textile arts from around the world, I find Jeremy Frey’s reinvigoration of his cultural heritage profoundly resonant. I am obsessed with craft and the manner in which weaving traditions and expertise are taught, held and transformed between generations. Frey is a true master of his craft: the intricacy of this braiding is part of the continuum of Wabanaki baskets, but in colour and form it becomes something entirely new.
Olafur Eliasson, Cold light heating flare, 2025
Silvered coloured glass (shades of blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple), composite board, aluminium, 155 × 203 × 3.5 cm. Presented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. $250k – $500k
I love the way that Olafur Eliasson explodes the optics of seeing colour. His continual explorations of light, reflection and refraction are as captivating as they are transcendent. I am a lover of colour, and of both harmonious and unexpected juxtapositions. I am also forever drawn to the phenomenon of the lens flare that this work depicts, and play with it often in our own still and moving images. I could get lost in this work, a child again amid a kaleidoscopic fantasy.
Jim Lambie, Infinity Mirror, 2024
Sunglasses lenses, lead came, 62 × 72 × 4.5 cm. Presented by Anton Kern. $58k
Jim Lambie is a superb colourist, working between the space of sound and sight. I am drawn to the way he utilizes and transforms the most humble of materials, among them coloured gaffer tape and, here, cheap plastic sunglasses to create a work that’s both exuberant and optimistic. The blend of transparent and mirrored surfaces is captivating, reverberating with psychedelic prismatic energy. In viewing it we see ourselves anew.
About Ulla Johnson
Ulla Johnson founded her eponymous fashion line in 1999 in her native New York City, which has since grown to a global brand. A passionate advocate of design, arts and craft preservation, Johnson frequently partners with artists to shape the brand’s unique collections and runway shows - past collaborators include Shara Hughes, Nacho Carbonell, the Lee Krasner estate, and the sculptor Julie Hamisky. Johnson is also known for her art collection of fibre-art and sculpture, which includes works by Kathleen Ryan, Sheila Hicks, Ugo Rondinone and Alma Allen.
Read more Curated Picks from Frieze New York 2025, including Paris Starn, Sight Unseen, Margot Norton and Paul Baker Prindle.
About Frieze Viewing Room
Open to all from 30 April – 16 May 2025, Frieze Viewing Room is the online catalogue for Frieze New York, giving global audiences access to gallery presentations at the fair. Visitors can search artworks by artist, price, date and medium, save favourite artworks and presentations, chat with galleries and much more.
Further Information
Frieze New York, The Shed, 7 – 11 May, 2025. Tickets are on sale – don’t miss out, buy yours now. Alternatively, become a member to enjoy premier access, exclusive guided tours and more.
Frieze New York is supported by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, continuing its legacy of celebrating artistic excellence on an international scale.
Main image: Olafur Eliasson, Cold light heating flare, 2025. Silvered coloured glass (shades of blue, turquoise, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple), composite board, aluminium, 155 × 203 × 3.5 cm. Courtesy: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
