If one were interested in spotting celebrities among the booths and aisles of Frieze Los Angeles, the fair’s new venue at the Santa Monica Airport might be the ideal environment.
The place is flush with bright, diffused light, so bright in fact, that one gallery assistant told ARTnews she wished she could wear sunglasses. “But that’s not very inviting, is it,” she said, before asking that her name not be used.
Surprisingly, the light did not make it any easier to spy out the Hollywood elite as they prowled the space, moving through the aisles with an ease that is typical only in places like Santa Monica. While ARTnews caught few celebrities firsthand, a bevy of reliable sources saw famous fairgoers taking in the art.
Actor Owen Wilson, a staple at Frieze LA, was seen admiring the work at the Pace Gallery booth. The easy-going Wilson will soon appear in the Bob Ross–inspired Paint as a good-natured, frizzy-haired fictional painter, Carl Nargle, star of Vermont’s highest-rated painting show.
Gwyneth Paltrow, another Frieze LA regular, was also spotted among the booths. Evidence of her attendance at the fair was posted to Instagram by artist Ryan Gander.
ARTnews heard that Margot Robbie, star of Babylon and the forthcoming Barbie, was gracefully walking about the exhibition early in the afternoon on VIP day. Meanwhile, later that day, Piper Perabo, who reportedly did not phone in her kiss with Kevin Costner on the fourth season of Paramount’s Yellowstone, was seen snapping pictures of works that caught her eye.
Two musical geniuses from different generations were also said to be on the scene: Tyler the Creator and Lionel Ritchie.
Art aficionado and hotheaded tennis legend John McEnroe was also observed among the crowd, as was German American supermodel Heidi Klum, who looked both casual and glamorous in a long khaki trench coat.
