The Rising Stars of Focus Shine at Frieze New York 2025
Highlights from the international lineup of emerging galleries.
New York Art Week has arrived and with it comes the much-anticipated 2025 edition of Frieze New York. Staged at The Shed through May 11, the fair brings together 67 galleries from over 25 countries – everything from blue-chip heavyweights to the next wave of contemporary artists.
The spotlight shines brightly on the Focus which is turning heads for its most expansive edition yet. Co-presented by Stone Island and curated for the second year by Lumi Tan — the former curatorial director of Luna Luna’s revival — the section serves as a launchpad for younger galleries and emerging talent, with a notable shift toward international voices, first-time participants and the synergy shared between artists and galleries.
Video art makes a welcome return to Focus this year. Tech meets tenderness as Berlin-based Danielle Braithwaithe-Shirley’s “CLICK TO ENTER” takes over Public Gallery. Braithwaithe-Shirley, whose immersive installations took over Berghain last summer, braids video games, sound, performance, sculpture and drawing to bring light to the Black trans experience and center ideas of care, empathy and accountability by challenging viewers’ prejudices.
Also making waves is G Gallery’s presentation of “The Bewitched Surfers and the Holy Barnacles” by South Korean artist Yehwan Song. Through a network of tiny cardboard screens, Song critiques the internet’s role in shaping identity through algorithmic echo chambers, offering a refreshing take on the digital discourse with her lo-fi, high concept.
Galeria Madragoa from Lisbon debuts seven oil paintings by Rodrigo Hernández, expanding on his charming bat series. Inspired by Meso-American iconography and Aesop’s fable, “The Bat, the Birds and the Beasts,” the artist plays out the winged creature’s indecisiveness in poetic and floral scenes, decentering the human as protagonist in the journey of belonging.
Meanwhile, Citra Sasmita breaks new ground with Yeo Workshop, the first Southeast Asian gallery to show in the section. The omega-shaped “Vortex in the Land of Liberation,” reclaims traditional Balinese painting techniques to center female narratives long erased within traditional stories. Suspended from above, the work incorporates antique textile, beads and cowhide paintings, taking cues from Balinese spiritual philosophy and a sacred relationship to nature.
The latest edition of Frieze Focus expands on Stone Island’s longstanding partnership with the global art fair. The Italian label came together with Management starlet Tahir Karmali for a series uniform t-shirts sported by fair personnel, alongside dyed and hand-painted limited editions. Moving beyond The Shed, a suite of Karmali’s large-scale installations will also be on view at the brand’s SoHo flagship through May 12.
Tickets and program details are available on the fair’s website.
