Felix Art Fair Checks Back into Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Last year, if Frieze Los Angeles was the party, Felix Art Fair almost became the ‘pre-drinks’.

Its founders, the art collector Dean Valentine alongside Al and Mills Morán, the brothers behind Los Angeles-based gallery Morán Morán had moved its preview from Thursday to Wednesday, a whole free day for Frieze’s glitterati to descend on the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel before Frieze and Santa Monica Airport opened its doors.

Its 2023 VIP preview welcomed 4,000 guests—a new attendance record—and in turn, was a sales triumph for a fair that touts itself as the intimate, more curated alternative to Frieze L.A., prioritising ‘conversation, collaboration, and community.’

Now back for its sixth edition, Felix Art Fair (28 February–3 March 2024) has 66 galleries set to participate, with about half returning from 2023.

‘I love Felix, and was thrilled to be invited to the fair,’ quips Freddie Powell, founder and director of London-based gallery Ginny on Frederick, a first-time participant at Felix.

‘I will never complain about being in the company of galleries such as King’s Leap, LOMEX, Sans Titre, and Tara Downs,’ he continues.

One of two gallerists showing from London, Freddie brings sculptures by New York-based Alexandra Metcalf, paintings by Royal College of Art graduate Kiki Xuebing Wang, and work by Alex Margo Arden, a London artist included in our Four Artists to Scout when in Marseille for Art-o-rama 2023.

A strong suite of New York dealers return to the pool-side venue, including LOMEX, Fridman Gallery, and Charles Moffett. The latter returns to the fair for a third year after selling all 25 paintings by Yale School of Art graduate Keiran Brennan Hinton on the preview day last year.

Next week, Moffett brings a two-person presentation of new sculptures by Los Angeles-based artist Bari Ziperstein and new paintings by New York-based artist Julia Jo.

Among the long-timers is Tanya Leighton who was one of 41 gallerists to participate in Felix’s inaugural 2019 edition. Since then, the Berlin dealer has set up a Los Angeles branch, opened in 2022, that has hosted shows with Gerasimos Floratos, Antonio Ballester Moreno, and most recently Sara Issakharian.

‘As with every year, Felix provides us with an excellent opportunity to grow our Los Angeles audience,’ notes Andrew McNeely, Associate Director, Tanya Leighton Los Angeles.

‘It also provides an unconventional context that helps our collectors imagine how the work can live beyond the white cube framing of the gallery.’

For Felix 2024, the gallery is spotlighting new metal engravings by Oliver Laric, alongside new works by Nicole Ondre, Alejandro Cesarco, Dan Rees, Jonas Lipps, and Oliver Osborne, who has a solo exhibition in their Berlin gallery from 6 July to 17 August 2024.

As for the venue: ‘There’s the iconic pool, what could be more perfect,’ quips Freddie.

Main image: Alex Margo Arden, Late Great (I) (2024). Oil on canvas. 30.48cm x 40.64cm. Courtesy Ginny on Frederick.