Frieze New York: ‘Palpable Enthusiasm’ on Preview Day

Frieze New York 2026 13–17 May 2026

It appears looming tariff threats and market contractions haven’t tempered enthusiasm for New York’s art week, with mainstay fair Frieze’s preview day attracting keen interest from collectors.

Dealers reported energetic sales yesterday as the 65-gallery-strong fair returned to The Shed to host vital arts patrons like Agnes Gund, Jon & Lizzie Tisch, and Suzanne Deal Booth.

On the high end, White Cube sold a Tracey Emin painting for £1,200,000 ($1,600,000 USD) and bronze for £80,000 ($106,000), two Antony Gormley sculptures for £325,000 ($432,000) each, and placed a painting by Christine Ay Tjoe with an institution for $280,000.

Emin, who is up for a retrospective at London’s Tate Modern next year, was in attendance, alongside rising Balinese artist Citra Sasmita, with work on view with Yeo Workshop.

By early afternoon, Hauser & Wirth reported selling over 25 works ranging from $20,000 to $1.2 million, including Lorna Simpson’s Vista (2025) (ahead of the artist’s Met retrospective opening this May) and Rashid Johnson’s Soul Painting “The Jungle” (2025).

Gagosian reported a ‘phenomenal response’ to their array of Jeff Koons works, with ‘strong interest’ in its three ‘Hulk Elvis’ sculptures and an early sale of Hulk (Tubas) (2004–2018)—a bronze of the Marvel character carrying five tubas.

Pace’s two-artist booth curated by artist Adam Pendleton also saw keen collector interest, with all six of the artist’s paintings selling ($165,000–$425,000) alongside multiple works by Lynda Benglis at $275,000 to $300,000.

Similarly, Perrotin sold out its presentation of paintings by Claire Tabouret, the artist recently commissioned by the French government to bring a contemporary flair to the vitrines of cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris. Her paintings sold for prices ranging from $65,000 to $200,000.

Thaddaeus Ropac’s 17-artist booth sold works by Liza Lou, Joan Snyder, David Salle, and Martha Jungwirth in the range of $95,000 to $225,000.

With a booth dedicated to women and mostly South Korean artists, Tina Kim Gallery sold Lee ShinJa’s hanging tapestry Growth (1980s), alongside works by Ghada Amer, Pacita Abad, and Suki Seokyeong Kang, who died last month at 48, for $80,000 to $200,000.

Now 94, Lee is set to open her first U.S. survey at Berkeley Art Museum in August.

Highlights among sales also included Mendes Wood DM, who placed a sliced stone installation of eight pieces by Kishio Suga in the range of $200,000 to $300,000. (Suga is due for a solo show at Dia Beacon upstate this July.)

Meanwhile, James Cohan sold multiple sculptures by Tuan Andrew Nguyen ($85,000–$185,000), placing two with institutions in the U.S. and Europe, and one with a private collector.

Finally, mor charpentier sold out their booth dedicated to young French painter Malo Chapuy, whose gothic and religious history-inspired paintings went for €12,000 ($13,600) to €22,000 ($24,900).

Frieze New York is on until Sunday 11 May. —[O]

Main image: Pace, Frieze New York (7–11 May 2025). Courtesy Frieze and CKA. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh.