The shows and work we're most looking forward to seeing

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Los Angeles Art Week 2025 Preview

The shows and work we’re most looking forward to seeing

Afrodet Zuri

14 February 2025

As the 2025 edition of Frieze Los Angeles approaches, the city transforms into a vibrant hub for contemporary art with an array of satellite fairs, special projects, and significant gallery openings complementing the main event. This year’s anticipation is layered with a profound sense of resilience. Following the recent wildfire devastation that impacted many areas in and around the city, the Los Angeles art community has found solidarity and strength. Artists, galleries, and institutions have come together to rebuild and reaffirm the cultural identity that defines this unique city. Here is a preview of what to expect at the upcoming fairs and installations.

Frieze Los Angeles (20-23 February 2025)

Frieze Los Angeles returns to Santa Monica Airport, bringing together over 95 galleries from around the globe alongside local participants. This year, the fair broadens its public programming with new initiatives designed to connect directly with artists and communities navigating recent challenges. Exhibitions include a mix of ambitious solo presentations and curated booths, with many highlighting the creativity of Los Angeles-based artists and the dynamic energy of the city’s art scene. 

Highlights include Chris Burden’s Nomadic Folly, a large scale installation presented by Gagosian, a dual exhibition featuring Lee Bae and Kishio Suga presented by Johyun Gallery,  a solo booth featuring Ambera Wellmann‘s work presented by Hauser & Wirth together with Company Gallery, Diana Al-Hadid’s solo exhibition presented by Kasmin Gallery,  Max Hooper Schneider’s sculpture Fossil Epizoon (dyrosaurus) presented by François Ghebaly and Roberts Projects’ presentation of Betye Saar’s mixed media works including Critter Chair: The Seat of the Spirit. 

Focus at Frieze, as always, spotlights emerging contemporary artists through innovative solo presentations from 12 up-and-coming galleries, including Superposition, Tyler Park Presents, Dominique Gallery, and Ochi Gallery. This year, a unique collaboration with LA-based artist Shaniqwa Jarvis, presented by  Sow & Tailor, will see an exclusive staff uniform specially designed for the fair, worn by all personnel.

The Art Production Fund’s public program presents site-specific works by artists including Lita Albuquerque, Jackie Amézquita, Claire Chambless, Joel Gaitan, Madeline Hollander, Greg Ito, Ozzie Juarez, and Dominique Moody. These installations will be showcased throughout the Santa Monica Airport campus, with sculptures placed across the athletic fields and park. Open to all, these projects are free to the public and do not require a ticket to the fair. 

Frieze also presents a city-wide project by interdisciplinary artist Coco Fusco, in collaboration with Mendes Wood DM and Orange Barrel Media. Fusco’s work, Only in Darkness, addresses themes of race, gender, and colonialism through public billboards and digital screens across Los Angeles. These displays, featuring impactful written messages, invite collective reflection on critical societal and environmental issues. 

Felix Art Fair LA (19-23 February 2025)

Felix LA, held annually since 2019, returns to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Drawing inspiration from the intimate ’90s hotel art fair model, visitors are welcomed into hotel rooms, each one taken over by an individual gallery. Featuring over 60 galleries from around the globe, this year the fair introduces more than 30 first-time participants.

The fair stands apart with a relaxed, unconventional format designed to avoid the typical trade show atmosphere, prioritizing collaboration, community, and an elevated visitor experience. Felix has established the Felix Wildfire Fund For Grief and Hope supporting victims, artists, and art workers affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires.

Future Fair (21-23 February 2025)

Future Fair hosts Villa Tigertail, an invitational group exhibition taking place at a private residence in Los Angeles. The event is curated by Los Angeles-based art advisor and curator Thea Smolinski and features works by 28 mostly local artists.

Proceeds from certain artworks will directly support For Freedoms’ Fundraiser for Artist Relief. Throughout the weekend, a series of small, catered art salon events will be held, creating opportunities for artists and attendees to engage in dialogue about the works and related themes.

Post-Fair (20-22 February 2025)

Post-Fair (1248 5th Street, Santa Monica), previously known as Santa Monica Post Office, is set to unveil its debut edition in an historic 1938 Art Deco venue—a former post office. Prioritizing accessibility, simplicity, and strong solo presentations in an open-plan format, it will showcase a diverse lineup of 29 galleries and project spaces featuring local and international participants. 

Chris Sharp, the founder of Post-Fair, developed the fair as a way to offer a more accessible and cost-effective approach, aiming to create a platform that reduces expenses for galleries and attendees while promoting a focus on strong artistic presentations. 

The MOCA Los Angeles (20 to March 16, 2025)

The MOCA Los Angeles presents the U.S. premiere of Wael Shawky’s acclaimed film installation Drama 1882 as part of Wonmi’s WAREHOUSE Programs at The Geffen Contemporary at MoCA. This eight-part opera, performed in classical Arabic, revisits the 1882 populist revolution led by Colonel Ahmed Urabi against European imperialism.

Originally commissioned for the Egyptian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Shawky’s work examines historical events, questioning whether a minor café altercation was an orchestrated pretext for British intervention and subsequent colonial occupation. Featuring handmade costumes, expressionist sets, and a striking original score, Drama 1882 challenges conventional historical narratives while exploring the complexities of conflict and storytelling. 

MAK Center for Art and Architecture (February 19 to May 4, 2005)

The MAK Center for Art and Architecture (Schindler House, 835 N Kings Road, West Hollywood) presents What Remains Behind, Helmut Lang’s first solo institutional exhibition in Los Angeles, held at the historic Schindler House. Using repurposed materials rich with history, Lang creates freestanding sculptures that echo themes of memory and transformation. The minimalist space amplifies the interplay between visible forms and unseen narratives, bringing collective pasts and imagined futures to life. 

LACMA (19 February 2025)

LACMA’s Digital Leaders (LDL) hosts a panel featuring artists and curators to explore the shifting dynamics of digital art and its influence on creativity and cultural institutions. Across three discussions, prominent figures such as Hans Ulrich Obrist, Joel Ferree, and Britt Salvesen will join artists including Refik Anadol, Nancy Baker Cahill, and Sarah Rosalena. 

Topics will include the societal impact of new media, the role of digital artists, and how digital platforms are leveraged for social movements. LDL continues to promote conversations in the digital art realm, with its next program scheduled in Hong Kong during Art Basel in March 2025.