Frieze Los Angeles Diary: Joe Cool, cold juice and hot desert art – The Art Newspaper

Frieze scores celebrity touchdown

The mighty Frieze tent rapidly filled with collectors, advisers, curators and celebrities who had lined up to get into the aisles first thing on Thursday. Among the A-list fairgoers were the Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud, Emma Watson and Fiona Shaw of Harry Potter fame, Deadwood star Timothy Olyphant, Red Hot Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis, Inglourious Basterds villain Christoph Waltz and Joker director Todd Phillips. Meanwhile, the legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana spent a long time in the Frieze Impact Prize stand, where prize-winner Napoles Marty is showing works on paper and large wooden sculptures—no word yet on whether Joe Cool snapped one up.

Shelf life

Erewhon’s cold-pressed, glass-bottled organic juices can seem like the ultimate bougie accessory in Los Angeles—a must-have for all the Alo-clad yoga moms running errands in Brentwood. And yet these juices are also delicious and heartening. (We are partial to their Heavenly blend of Granny Smith apple, cucumber, pineapple, kiwi, spinach and broccoli.) Now, in a gently questioning sort of homage, the Brooklyn-based artist Stephanie H. Shih, known for replicating dumplings and other Asian comfort foods, has made beautiful painted ceramic knock-offs of Erewhon’s juice line, complete with their recognisable orange caps.

Cheap thrills

In 2024, the retail chain 99 Cents Only liquidated its 371 stores along the West Coast. The chain’s now-defunct 19,000sq.-ft location at 6121 Wilshire Boulevard is the unlikely site of one of Frieze Week’s can’t-miss events. 99Cent (until 1 March) is a group exhibition featuring more than 200 artists led by the street-art legend Barry McGee and Tom Franco, co-organised with The Hole and Jeffrey Deitch galleries. Sunday’s opening attracted a behemoth crowd of around 2,400 people. Attendees included Franco’s actor brother James, who brought their mother, Betsy.

Toast to Paul McCarthy

On Monday night, as a celebration for Paul McCarthy’s new exhibition at Journal Gallery in West Hollywood, the actress Celesta Hodge and the Mexico City-based collector Eugenio López Alonso hosted an array of guests at López’s home in Beverly Hills’ historic Trousdale Estates. Early arrivals for dinner included the collectors Beth Rudin DeWoody and Keith Rivers, the artists Lauren Quin and Umar Rashid, and the Borat screenwriter Anthony Hines. Others, including the ubiquitous collector and Disaster Artist star James Franco and his mom, joined as the night progressed. Also in attendance was the artist Zhanna Kadyrova, who will be co-representing Ukraine at this year’s Venice Biennale and is currently in town for a one-week exhibition at the Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades.

X marks the spot

It’s convertible season in Los Angeles. A parade of vintage 1990s BMWs and Jaguars cruised down Santa Monica Boulevard on Wednesday morning. A crowd in white linen, turquoise jewellery and neon Issey Miyake pleats gathered at the home of designer Mónica Calderón and architect Ezequiel Farca to celebrate the upcoming tenth anniversary of Desert X, the biennial of large outdoor art. Amid remarks given by Susan L. Davis, the founder and president, executive director Jenny Gil and curator Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, guests including artistic director Neville Wakefield and board member Zoe Lukov sipped tequila and champagne in the sun-dappled backyard of the 1926 Spanish-style cottage. Over molé chilaquiles, the artist Lita Albuquerque discussed keeping time with the sun out in the Mojave Desert. At the end of the table sat Alison Saar, whose SOUL SERVICE STATION (2025) is located near Desert Hot Springs.