What to Look for at Frieze New York 2025
Director Christine Messineo shares her top picks from the fair’s upcoming 13th edition, which kicks off May 7 at The Shed in Hudson Yards
The 13th edition of Frieze New York kicks off at The Shed in Hudson Yards this week with over 65 galleries from around the world showcasing ambitious solo, group, and themed presentations by pioneering artists. This year, the acclaimed Focus section—overseen for a second year by curator Lumi Tan—will feature 12 exhibitors showing solo presentations by emerging artists.
“Each year, Frieze New York brings together art galleries, artists, and collectors from around the world,” said Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of Americas. “Dynamic voices that shape today’s art world engage with the best and the brightest in New York City’s rich cultural landscape. The result is an experience that deepens one’s understanding and enjoyment of contemporary art.”
Below, Messineo shares her top picks from this year’s fair:
1. Artist Plate Project
One of the most meaningful initiatives at the fair this year is the Artist Plate Project, a collaboration with Coalition for the Homeless that brings together over 40 extraordinary artists—including Cindy Sherman, Rashid Johnson and Takashi Murakami—who’ve created limited-edition plates to support New York’s most vulnerable communities. It’s art with purpose—and a beautiful way to take something home while giving back.
2. Performance
This year’s program continues to explore how performance can animate the fair, bringing together artists who work across sound, body and space in compelling ways. We’re excited to collaborate once again with High Line Art to present a co-commissioned work by Pilvi Takala curated by Taylor Zakarin, Associate Curator of High Line Art. At The Shed, Asad Raza invites visitors to take part in a living installation, and Carlos Reyes transforms the building into an uncanny soundscape of bird calls, echoing through passageways, escalators and even the coat check to create a series of unexpected sonic encounters. These playful, cerebral pieces unfold beyond the booth and into the city.
3. Focus
The Focus section, dedicated to galleries 12 years and younger, is always a destination at the fair—where visitors gravitate to discover emerging talent and fresh perspectives. This year, it’s once again curated by Lumi Tan and supported by Stone Island, who’ve partnered with artist Tahir Carl Karmali on an exclusive limited-edition T-shirt commission. Highlights include Luana Vitra at Mitre Galeria, whose powerful sculptural language—rooted in her home region of Minas Gerais, Brazil—also anchors her solo exhibition opening at SculptureCenter during fair week.
4. Christine Sun Kim at François Ghebaly
At François Ghebaly, don’t miss Christine Sun Kim’s sharp, conceptual practice in a standout group presentation. Her work—probing sound, language and power structures—feels especially timely as it coincides with her major solo show at the Whitney Museum. A moment not to be missed.
5. Jennie C. Jones at Alexander Gray Associates
Jennie C. Jones appears in a striking two-person presentation at Alexander Gray Associates, perfectly timed with her installation on the Met Museum’s rooftop. Her sonic minimalism and pared-down abstraction offer a subtle but resonant counterpoint to the bustle of the fair—and speak to a much larger cultural moment.