Frieze Los Angeles will be held from February 26 to March 1, 2026, at Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles, California.
 
Now in its seventh edition since its launch in 2019, the fair has established itself as the largest contemporary art platform on the U.S. West Coast, with more than 95 international galleries participating. The schedule, centered on a VIP preview, reflects the structure of the global art market, where early contact with collectors and institutional representatives plays a significant role in market formation.

Los Angeles differs in character from the New York-centered East Coast market. The city brings together collectors connected to the entertainment industry, networks of private foundations and museums, and a culture receptive to experimentation.
 
Frieze Week programs linked with major institutions such as Getty, Hammer Museum, MOCA, and The Broad demonstrate that the event operates not merely as a site of transactions but as a city-wide cultural network. In this context, the participation of major Korean galleries carries meaning beyond short-term sales, suggesting sustained positioning within the West Coast market.
 
 
 
Kukje Gallery: A Generational Lineup Including Kim Yun Shin, Kim Yong-Ik, and Haegue Yang
 
Kukje Gallery presents a booth structured around a generational spectrum. In sculpture, works by Kim Yun Shin take center stage. Since the 1970s, Kim has explored the structure of “union” and “division” through wood and stone, combining materiality and formal tension in a sustained ontological inquiry. Her recent exhibitions in Latin America and Europe have contributed to renewed international attention.

In painting, works by Kim Yong-Ik are prominently featured. Belonging to the post-Dansaekhwa generation, Kim has inscribed performativity and temporality onto the surface through repetitive actions and the accumulation of thin layers of pigment. The restrained surface can be read as a continued questioning of the conditions of painting itself.

Contemporary artists including Haegue Yang, Lee Ki-Bong, Kim Hong-Seok, and Lee Kwang-Ho are also presented.
 
Haegue Yang has established a strong international presence through installations using blinds and industrial materials, with participation in major biennials and museum exhibitions. Lee Ki-Bong creates sensorial environments mediated by fog and light. Kim Hong-Seok critically engages institutional structures through the combination of language and objects, while Lee Kwang-Ho reinterprets figures and botanical imagery through hyperrealistic painting.

Gallery Hyundai: A Focused Solo Presentation of Yoo Geun-Taek
 
Gallery Hyundai presents a solo booth dedicated to Yoo Geun-Taek, concentrating on the artist’s painterly world. Yoo has long transformed everyday scenes into psychological spaces using ink, gouache, and tempera on hanji.
 
The ‘Fountain’ and ‘Swimming Pool’ series explore layers of memory and the unconscious through the motif of water. The use of bleeding and layering preserves the material qualities of traditional ink painting while establishing a contemporary spatial composition.

Johyun Gallery: Material-Centered Practice Focused on Lee Bae
 
Based in Busan, Johyun Gallery centers its presentation on materiality and contemplative form. Notably, works by Lee Bae featuring charcoal are included. Through the material of charcoal, Lee visualizes the tension between emptiness and substance, extending the aesthetics that follow from Dansaekhwa through repetitive arrangement and the depth of black surfaces. His recent exhibitions in Paris and New York indicate how his practice is being reconsidered within the international contemporary context.

At this year’s Frieze Los Angeles, Korean galleries engaged the international market directly through their respective programs and artists rather than relying on a national image. Kukje Gallery’s generational structure, Gallery Hyundai’s concentrated focus on painting, and Johyun Gallery’s emphasis on materiality reveal distinct approaches while collectively outlining the complex terrain of contemporary Korean art.

References

• • Frieze Official Website, Frieze Los Angeles 2026 Information & VIP Programme
  • Financial Times, Coverage on Frieze Los Angeles VIP Structure
  • Wallpaper*, Guide to Frieze Los Angeles Week
  • Artnet News, Frieze Los Angeles Sales Report