Frieze New York Offers a Thrilling Experience With New Talent and Interactive Works

Frieze New York is always imagining new possibilities. With a lineup of over 65 exhibitors from more than 25 countries, the 2025 fair boasts an increasing breadth of creative talent—and even greater international reach. To be held from May 7 through 11 at The Shed in New York, the fair will bring together a vast range of contemporary greats and rising artistic talents.

“This year’s Frieze New York will bring an invigorating energy through our expanded Frieze projects, including three new performance commissions by international artists,” Director Christine Messineo tells L’OFFICIEL. “The live elements of the fair will disrupt expectations and unfold in real time—often appearing in unpredictable places, prompting visitors to navigate the fair differently and experience it in a heightened, more playful way.” Possible happenings for attendees: Stumbling upon a performance that continues artist Pilvi Takala’s practice of playing with social codes in public spaces; participating in a “plant parade” for Asad Raza’s native plant installation along the High Line; and witnessing as bird callers descend on The Shed for Carlos Reyes’s surprising project.

Frieze New York 2025: Galleries Section Highlights

What makes Frieze unique is its diverse composition of gallery powerhouses Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Perrotin, and White Cube, plus global presences Tomio Koyama Gallery from Tokyo, Kukje Gallery from Seoul and Busan, and OMR from Mexico City. Among the notable New York galleries are 303 Gallery, Miguel Abreu Gallery, Chapter NY, and Casey Kaplan.

Works shown run the full gamut of form and style. Union Pacific’s Jin Han Lee brings vivid, colorful abstraction to life, and Apalazzogallery’s Nathlie Provosty calls on subdued tones in her geometric-infused compositions. Figuration, too, takes center stage, in Jesse Darling’s witty piece at Sultana, as well as in Karol Palczak’s detail-driven work at Emalin, while Proyectos Ultravioleta’s Claudia Alarcón & Silät signal a craft feel in their aesthetic approaches.

“Alongside a strong showing from returning exhibitors who are reinterpreting artists’ legacies—such as Gordon Robichaux, which presents a comprehensive look at artist, curator, and gallery director Jenni Crain, who passed away at 30 due to complications from Covid—there is a real momentum around younger voices: galleries and artists who are redefining the language of contemporary art, including Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s interactive video works at Public,” explains Messineo. “Many presentations explore presence and materiality, often in ways that directly engage the viewer. The balance of established and emerging perspectives makes for a compelling, layered experience.”

Frieze New York 2025: Focus Section Highlights

Focus will spotlight twelve younger galleries with solo presentations of emerging artists, including seven new galleries—Champ Lacombe, G Gallery, King’s Leap, Management, Public, Voloshyn Gallery, Yeo Workshop—among the 2025 presenters. Curator Lumi Tan returns for a second year to oversee this key component of the fair, embodying her visionary creative ethos and gift for discovering the next generation of talent.

“The international presence is a huge highlight of Focus this year. These are young galleries with real ambition,” Tan tells L’OFFICIEL. “There is impressive reach and material exploration. The artists are not shying away from complexity or scale in interactive video and sculptural installations.”

Focus highlights include the aforementioned Jenni Crain exhibit, which reflects on her artwork and important support of New York’s artistic scene, as well as an installation of antique textiles from Citra Sasmita at Yeo Workshop, blending traditional cultural narratives and contemporary empowerment.

“Focus offers Frieze a different perspective with its mission built around discovery. We see more risk-taking, experimentation, and concentration within these solo presentations,” explains Tan. “They tackle some of the most pressing political and social topics. This is an important moment when artists feel they can make a statement, and here, they are being given a platform for that.”

Frieze New York 2025: Programs and Collaborations

The Artist Plate Project returns, emphasizing the fair’s vision beyond the traditional gallery setting. With specially crafted, artist-designed plates available for purchase, the project supports the Coalition for the Homeless. It is precisely this bridge between worlds—artistic, political, philanthropic, and imaginative—that defines the Frieze experience.

“We all share a creative drive and look to each other for inspiration. So many creatives respond to visual and performance artists,” says Messineo. “Fairs are often the places for spotting new fashion and inventive styles across generations. There is a renewed interest and exploration of textiles and ceramics, crossing traditional boundaries between craft and art.”

Cultural Happenings During Frieze Week New York 2025

With a full program of special events, Frieze Week holds a range of must-see offerings to complement the fair. Perhaps most notably, The Met’s Costume Institute will host its annual showcase with Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, a discovery of the Black dandy figure in history and culture. Also important on the agenda are Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, which surveys 30 years of the artist’s evocative, multidisciplinary practice at the Guggenheim New York, and Amy Sherald: American Sublime, an exploration of the painter’s iconic, history-making portraiture at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Perfect for spring, MoMA presents Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers with modern botanical views, in addition to Sandra Poulson, a sculptural meditation on Angolan life at MoMA PS1.

Alongside Frieze, several satellite fairs offer even more creative views for art lovers, including TEFAF New York with fine art, antiques, and design, and NADA New York and Independent New York with contemporary art. Additional fairs around the city worth scoping out are Future Fair, Esther, the American Art Fair, and the Contemporary African Art Fair.