Frieze Commissions Pilvi Takala and Asad Raza for Performance Pieces


Frieze New York is set to return for its 13th edition on May 7 to 11 in Chelsea, featuring newly commissioned performances and public art projects by Pilvi Takala and Asad Raza.

This year’s lineup includes a new performance by Takala, who is based between Helsinki and Berlin, and is known for videos and performative pieces that deal with unraveling social conventions.

The 44-year-old artist, who represented Finland at the Venice Biennale in 2022, has gained a following abroad for pieces that deal with social discomfort. According to press materials for a show she did at Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, in London, Takala’s work has been described as a “stress test” on the constructs of normal day-to-day interactions. (Details about the plot of the piece by Takala, titled the The Pin haven’t been disclosed.)

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People visit the Hauser & Wirth booth at the Frieze London art fair in London.

Frieze will also stage a new participatory installation in collaboration with High Line Art by New York-based Asad Raza. For the work Immortal Coil, on May 10, performers will distribute plant seedlings, cuttings, and clippings from the High Line to audience members for a procession that will take place along the length of the park. Audio composed by musician Kelsey Lu and a lecture by writer Zoë Schlanger will be featured as part of Raza’s piece. Participants will take home the seedlings at the end of the performance.

Another immersive sound-based piece, titled Freestyle Hard, by Carlos Reyes will be installed at The Shed, the event space where Frieze holds its annual New York fair, using live performances of bird calls by bird callers. Reyes was recently featured in last year’s La Trienal at El Museo del Barrio.

The fair will also partner again with the Artist Plate Project, for which 50 artists have designed limited-edition plates in support of Coalition for the Homeless. Among the artists participating are Amoako Boafo, Amy Sherald, Anna Weyant, Barkley L. Hendricks, Danielle McKinney, and others.

The plates, produced in editions of 250 and sold for $250 each, will be available on site at Frieze in select designs. Since launching in 2020, the Artist Plate Project has raised over $7 million to support homeless New Yorkers.

Frieze New York opens for its VIP preview day on May 7.

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