Frieze New York to Include Whitney Biennial Commission

In just over a month, Frieze New York will open its 2026 edition, which will include several institutional collaborations and a new acquisition fund.

Scheduled to run May 13­–17 at the Shed with more than 65 exhibitors, Frieze New York will partner will the Whitney Museum, the Dia Art Foundation, and the Counterpublic triennial, to present a suite of performances and installations both in and out of the fair.

The most high-profile of these is Frieze’s collaboration with this year’s Whitney Biennial. At the fair, artist Jonathan González will present Body Configurations (2023­–25), a photographic installation of six C-prints commissioned for the Biennial that will be displayed on the sixth floor of the Shed.

During the fair’s run, from May 15–17, González will also realize the durational performance magic hour–golden time (2026), which will be staged on some of the Whitney’s exterior terraces, including ones not accessible to the public, as well as the High Line.

“An important and compelling young voice in contemporary performance, Jonathan González creates durational works that often engage architecture and environment,” Whitney Biennial cocurator Drew Sawyer said in a statement. “It is especially exciting to present his new work in the Biennial, where these concerns resonate with the exhibition’s broader themes of infrastructure and relationality. Copresented with Frieze New York, the work extends the exhibition beyond the gallery into a shared encounter on the Museum’s balconies.”

The 2026 edition will also introduce a new acquisition fund for its Focus section, courtesy of collector Michael Sherman and the Sherman Family Foundation. Endowed for five years, the fund will dole out $50,000 each year: $20,000 for two artworks (each) and a $5,000 unrestricted award going directly to each artist who made the acquired work.

The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum will each receive one work for the 2026 round of acquisitions. “Our hope is to build relationships for artists with museums and continue to support new voices in this space,” Sherman, who is also a trustee of the Baltimore Museum, said in a statement.

Additionally, Counterpublic, which will mount its third edition in September under the title “Coyote Time,” will present a site-responsive installation and performance by Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta), whileDia will present a suite of moving image works by conceptual artist David Lamelas, who is currently the subject of a survey at the institution’s Chelsea space. The latter presentation will include To Pour Milk into a Glass (1972) and Time As Activity (1969­–ongoing).

“Just as Lamelas approaches place and time as non-linear and iterative, presenting these moving-image works at Frieze expands the resonances of both the works and the exhibition at Dia Chelsea, located just a few blocks away, inviting audiences to encounter Lamelas’s practice within the broader cultural ecosystem of the neighborhood,” Dia deputy director of program Humberto Moro said in a statement.

“At Frieze New York 2026, visitors will encounter a range of performances and site-specific works that extend beyond gallery walls into the city itself,” Christine Messieno, Frieze’s Americas director, said in a statement, adding, “these commissions invite audiences to reflect on the evolving relationship between bodies, environments and time.”