{"id":5893,"date":"2025-05-09T14:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/observers-top-five-must-see-artworks-at-frieze-new-york\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T14:08:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:08:05","slug":"observers-top-five-must-see-artworks-at-frieze-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/observers-top-five-must-see-artworks-at-frieze-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Observer\u2019s Top Five Must-See Artworks at Frieze New York"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The most resonant pieces at Frieze revel in their ambiguity. Casey Kelbaugh\/CKA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Every year, New Yorkers eager to see what\u2019s new at the city\u2019s edition of Frieze<\/a> trek out to The Shed at Hudson Yards, a building used for this art fair, a silly play about Robert Moses<\/a> and presumably other purposes. Standing in the VIP lounge on the top floor, I gazed out on Thomas Heatherwick<\/a>\u2019s Vessel<\/i>, newly reopened with suicide nets<\/a>, and wondered aloud to my colleagues whether said nets would save more lives than an encouraging slogan from Lady Gaga<\/a>. Art can be quite powerful, you know.<\/p>\n

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I should clarify that none of us wanted to kill ourselves. As for the dealers, it\u2019s always hard to get solid information out of them. (\u201cFrieze New York leads high-stakes month for U.S. art market,\u201d read the front page of the edition of the Art Newspaper distributed at the fair.) I truly wish them all possible success\u2014much of their material was good, but these are the five works I liked best at the fair.<\/p>\n

Jeff Koons\u2019 Hulk (Tubas)<\/i> (2004-18) at Gagosian<\/h3>\n
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Jeff Koons, Hulk (Tubas)<\/em> (2004-18). Dan Duray for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It feels as though we haven\u2019t seen these Hulks in some time, perhaps because of the way Marvel abducted and murdered the film industry<\/a>\u2014bad associations. But these are major works by the artist, and the associations are part of the reason why. Though it looks like a blow-up doll, it\u2019s actually made of polychromed bronze and brass, the same objects that created the instruments that adorn its neck. Since his early vacuum cleaners, Koons has been into the symbolism of airflow. Bruce Banner\u2019s dual nature references this falsely inflated nature better than the artist\u2019s balloon dogs<\/a>. It is wonderful that this work has a face with features that are only drawn. Someone snapped up this work right away, even though the price tag was likely in the millions.<\/p>\n

Eunnam Hong\u2019s Patient<\/i> (2025) at Mendes Wood DM<\/h3>\n
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Eunnam Hong\u2019s Patient<\/em> (2025). Dan Duray for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This intimate moment will resonate with anyone who\u2019s had to care for an ailing loved one or a clone. Though the arrangement of the tableau is cinematic, it is so flooded with light that we feel we\u2019re not watching a movie but the filming of a scene. The white is dominant to the point where this work would be hard to look at if there were not so many other hooks to bring you in. Why are the characters wearing wigs, and why are these the most detailed parts of the painting? The subject matter feels classical, though the coffee cup and MacBook are so modern that we\u2019re forced to confront the fact that maybe the real world has, in fact, become this dramatic.<\/p>\n

P. Staff\u2019s On My Death Bed \/ An Opus On Love \/ On Venus (telephone)<\/i> (2025) at Sultana<\/h3>\n
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P. Staff\u2019s On My Death Bed \/ An Opus On Love \/ On Venus (telephone)<\/em> (2025). Dan Duray for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMicrodosing grief on my deathbed,\u201d begins the first poem in this trilogy, if you call the number listed here. I wondered what that lovely orange plasticky material was, but it\u2019s not on the label, so it\u2019s probably not important. In the spirit of John Giorno<\/a>, the poems and the phone numbers are the work, and they\u2019re all very strong, as is the performance. \u201cI want to go through your likes \/ I want to eat your hands,\u201d says the artist, breathless. All three of the poems are related. \u201cNew organs for everyone,\u201d he promises of life on Venus. An Opus On Love<\/i> becomes quite emotional at times. \u201cI cannot replace you, creme de la creme<\/i>.\u201d Maybe it really isn\u2019t important, but let me also say that I like the use of the Sharpie.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Deller\u2019s Stickered Door Retrospective<\/i> (2021) at The Modern Institute<\/h3>\n
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Jeremy Deller\u2019s Stickered Door Retrospective<\/em> (2021). Dan Duray for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The buyer of this work receives a complete set of these stickers to recreate this effect on the door of their choice. Of course, this resembles a door on a college dorm room, but it also reminds you why it\u2019s a good idea that those stickers are usually cleaned away, because the political opinions expressed here are hilariously quaint. Pray for the fictional people who slapped \u201cFuck you 2016\u201d and \u201cFuck Brexit\u201d on here because they have only had a rougher time since then. Another wonderful aspect of these stickers is their self-satisfied impotence. \u201cCome friendly bombs and fall on Eton,\u201d modifies a poem by John Betjeman<\/a> so that it\u2019s now a subtle dig at the upper classes. Yeah, that one\u2019s sure to start the revolution.<\/p>\n

Alvaro Barrington\u2019s Carnival Truck<\/i> (2024) at Anton Kern<\/h3>\n
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Alvaro Barrington\u2019s Carnival Truck<\/em> (2024). Dan Duray for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve been following Barrington since he was invited to bring his studio to MoMA PS1 in 2017. The Venezuelan artist manages to conjure fantastic imagery with nothing more than geometry, bright colors and simple materials, in this case acrylic and flashe on burlap. Now based in London, he is commissioned to make works for carnival trucks there<\/a>, which speaks to the upbeat and universal qualities of his work. They tend to feel three-dimensional, in this case because he lets so much of that burlap come through. This work is pleasant to be around. You look at the chunky way that blue was slathered on there and feel like you\u2019re getting ready for the party yourself. Even if you didn\u2019t know that this one was painted with an event in mind, its temporality is palpable.<\/p>\n

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