Once upon a time, Santa Monica Airport was fully disguised as a model suburb, with false facades created by Hollywood set designers. This fascinating episode informs the themes of this year’s Frieze Projects, curated by Art Production Fund. Featuring artists like Sharif Farrag and Matt Johnson, this initiative reflects director Christine Messineo’s vision for the fair to channel Los Angeles’s unique creative landscape: see also, the innovative Focus section, curated by Essence Harden, which includes a raft of progressive, local galleries. A recently re-championed artist, Pippa Garner, will be very visible at the airport this year, and thinking about how Garner plays with illusion and the unexpected inspired our decision to commission Carlijn Jacobs to create this issue’s cover image. Jacobs’s visual essay, in turn, reminds me of Lana Del Rey singing about “handmade beauty sealed up by two manmade walls.” To misquote the song, did you know that there’s a Lalanne topiary dinosaur beside Ocean Avenue? On the Westside, it seems, there are surprises lurking behind every corner and curtain.
- Matthew McLean, Creative Director, Frieze Studios & Editor, Frieze Week
