Overview
- Returning to Santa Monica Airport for its seventh edition, the fair hosted more than 100 galleries from 24 countries and welcomed roughly 32,000 visitors alongside representatives from about 160 museums and institutions.
- Blue-chip dealers reported robust buying, including David Zwirner’s $2.8 million sale of a Njideka Akunyili Crosby and a $1.5 million Lynette Yiadom‑Boakye, White Cube’s placements of Antony Gormley sculptures, and Pace’s $950,000 James Turrell installation.
- Energy concentrated in Focus, curated by Essence Harden, where emerging programs saw traction such as Hannah Traore Gallery’s sell‑out of Turiya Adkins’s paintings priced between $5,000 and $11,000.
- Institutional engagement extended to acquisitions by MAC3, which bought works by Sharif Farrag, Clarissa Tossin and Zenobia Lee, as public programming included Amanda Ross‑Ho’s inflatable‑globe performance on the fairgrounds.
- Brands leaned in through artist‑led collaborations—Stone Island’s Jamal Cyrus–designed staff tees offered for purchase and Staud’s limited‑edition Tommy Bag with Merikokeb Berhanu—as executives emphasized thoughtful, art‑centered integration, while a wider circuit from Felix to The Other Art Fair and nightlife like Silencio amplified the week.