Frieze has revealed details of the Los Angeles Edition of Frieze Viewing Room that will take place July 27th through to August 1st. Featuring 47 leading galleries, the initiative will run concurrent to the first-ever Gallery Weekend Los Angeles and be supported by a city-wide program of events and activations for Frieze members and audiences.
The Los Angeles edition will also introduce a new section of digital art, curated by Venus Lau, including commissions by artists Liu Chuang, Nik Kosmas, Peng Ke, aaajiao and Lu Yang. All works in the curated section will also be available to purchase as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and will be delivered on RNDR, a blockchain GPU computing and 3D marketplace developed by pioneering Los Angeles-based company OTOY. RNDR leverages Layer 2 technology to reduce carbon emissions.
‘Digital and virtual existence is more than what appears on a screen, it is no longer opposed to the real, instead it is a part of, or an anamorphosis, of reality. Artists aaajiao, Nik Kosmas, Liu Chuang, Lu Yang and Peng Ke rethink the mechanisms of digital existence in the artworks presented in the digital section of Frieze Los Angeles 2021.’
Venus Lau, independent curator and writer
Digital Art Section
Venus Lau, who previously oversaw the Frieze Film program at Frieze Los Angeles 2020, curates the digital art section of the Frieze Viewing Room. This new section is intended to showcase artists who have made digital media central to their practice in recent years. Including five commissions by artists Liu Chuang, Nik Kosmas, Peng Ke, aaajiao and Lu Yang, the works will also be available to purchase as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform will reflect recent developments in this sphere and explore how NFTs could be a useful tool for artists, directly connecting the work they make with the market in digital space.
Frieze Viewing Room will employ OTOY’s pioneering technologies to mint the NFTs on the RNDR network where information about the work will be registered in a blockchain database and verified using RNDR’s authentication technology.
Helen Johnson Basic Needs, 2020 Synthetic polymer on canvas, wood 96 x 72 in / 244 x 183 cm Recto view Image courtesy of the artist and Chateau Shatto
World-Leading Galleries
The fourth edition of Frieze Viewing Room will feature 47 leading galleries and reflect the vibrant cultural landscape of Los Angeles with a line-up of the city’s defining spaces: Blum & Poe, Château Shatto, Jeffrey Deitch, Kayne Griffin, David Kordansky Gallery, L.A. Louver, Regen Projects and Various Small Fires (VSF), alongside major international exhibitors: Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Karma, Lehmann Maupin, Nara Roesler, Thaddaeus Ropac, Venus Over Manhattan and White Cube. The Viewing Room platform will benefit from enhanced search, filter, navigation and content curation features, elevating visitor experience and promoting discovery.
In 2022, Frieze Los Angeles will introduce a new location at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, adjacent to the Beverly Hilton Hotel, from February 17th – 20th. frieze.com
