Los Angeles Art Fairs Return to a Changed Landscape

In 2025, the fairs came on the heels of devastating wildfires that displaced artists and collectors, destroyed homes and artwork, and left the art community uncertain how to proceed. Some international exhibitors opted to stay home, unsure whether participation would feel appropriate.

“Last year was hard. So many friends — artists, collectors — lost homes, lost archives. It’s still reverberating and so sad,” said Sam Gordon, co-founder of New York’s Gordon Robichaux gallery, in an interview. The gallery will participate in both Frieze and Post-Fair this year. 

In 2026, the challenges have shifted. Fair organizers and exhibitors cite a divisive political climate, rising costs, and potential visa complications for international galleries as concerns. “We’re used to working internationally, but this year requires a bit more foresight and adaptability,” Felix Art Fair co-founder Mills Morán wrote in an email. “We’ve been encouraging galleries to plan earlier and stay in close contact with us, especially around shipping and visas.”

Gordon, who is also serving on Frieze LA’s selection committee, echoed that sentiment, noting a perceptible change in energy. While many in the art community last year needed the sense of support and solidarity the fairs provided, this year people seem genuinely excited to return.

Frieze director of Americas Christine Messineo agrees. “We’re reflecting on what we learned last year so we can continue to be a resource for our Los Angeles community,” she said in an interview. While Messineo is unsure to what extent overt political themes will dominate the fair, she pointed to Los Angeles artist Patrick Martinez’s neon works — installed at the fair’s entrance — which address immigration and ICE raids and reflect the city’s current cultural climate. 

That climate was one factor prompting artist Ray Beldner to revive the Startup Art Fair Los Angeles after a six-year hiatus. Held in a Venice hotel, Startup is described by Beldner as “an art fair for artists by artists,” with participants retaining 100 percent of their sales. “I hate to get political,” Beldner said in an interview, “but the re-election of Donald Trump made me feel like this was a moment when we need more art — and more light and love — in the world.”

Economic realities also shaped his timing. “When COVID hit, it was a big blow,” Beldner said. “And between 2022 and 2024, fairs were bad — disappointing.” Last year, however, marked a turning point. “I’ve seen a real increase in interest and sales,” he added. “People are ready to go out again and buy art.”

A similar recalibration is underway at Post-Fair, which returns for its second edition at the Art Deco building that once housed the Santa Monica Post Office. Founded by gallerist Chris Sharp, the 2025 fair attracted attention for its modest scale, low admission price, and focus on solo presentations.

For Sharp, the fair’s genesis was largely economic. Last year, he rented the entire post office for roughly the cost of two booths at Frieze. “Doing an art fair shouldn’t potentially bankrupt your business,” Sharp said. “The model needs to be reevaluated, and to some degree, that’s what we’re doing.” Morán agrees that scale matters. “The economics were important, but it was also about tone,” he wrote. “Things had become so big and so rigid that the art itself often felt secondary.”

Felix, now in its eighth edition, continues to distinguish itself through its hotel format, which Morán described as an antidote to the frenetic pace of a convention center. “It slows people down,” he wrote. “You’re entering a room, not passing a booth, and that changes how you look at the work and how long you stay with it.”

Frieze’s Messineo loves the ecosystem that has grown around Frieze, noting that galleries are increasingly strategic about where — and what — they show. “Galleries are very intentional about what they’re presenting at Post-Fair versus what they’re doing at Frieze.”

Despite lingering uncertainty, few dispute the role these fairs continue to play. Beldner describes the Los Angeles art fairs as an essential part of the city’s art ecosystem, a sentiment echoed by Lee Foley, co-director of the Los Angeles gallery Bel Ami, which is participating in both Post-Fair and Frieze.

“(The fairs) celebrate the vitality of the Los Angeles art scene in different ways,” Foley wrote in an email. “Art fairs can, perhaps surprisingly, be really interesting sites for unique encounters and experiences with art.”