Frieze, one of the world’s leading art fair companies, has bought the Armory Show in New York and is set to buy Expo Chicago. Both events are among the most attended independent art fairs in the United States. Terms of the deals were not immediately available, but both events will continue to operate under their existing brands and retain their current teams.
The acquisitions represent a tremendous coup for Frieze, which already operates salons in London, New York, Los Angeles and Seoul, and is itself a subsidiary of sports, fashion, events and media conglomerate IMG. , whose parent company is global sports and entertainment. Endeavor megalith. “These are two iconic and historic shows with deep roots in their communities,” said Frieze CEO Simon Fox. New York Times. “It was a wonderful opportunity for us to invest more in the American art scene and play a bigger role in it.”
The Armory Show was founded in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair. Conceived by a loose collective of dealers, it was initially held in rooms at the Gramercy Park Hotel; it has since expanded to support the Jacob Javits Center on the far west side of town each fall. Expo Chicago grew out of Art Chicago, which was established in 1980; the new fair rose from the ashes in 2012. Frieze currently runs its own New York art fair out of New York nonprofit The Shed in the city’s Tony Hudson Yards neighborhood; Chicago represents a brand new market for the show organizer.
The twin takeovers come just over a year after Frieze Art Basel competitor, which at the time held annual fairs in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong, announced the launch of its new Paris+ event, which moved French art fair FIAC from its longtime iconic Parisian home, the Grand Palais.
“We have grown and innovated in all parts of our organization,” Fox said. art news. “I see many future growth opportunities for us, thinking of Frieze as a whole rather than just a lounge operator.”
