Frieze LA festivities kick off with a celebration of handcrafted vessels
To have and to hold: the vessel takes centre stage in a new show in Los Angeles, which also highlights the art of ikebana
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

‘I think everybody has felt rather enclosed recently – whether mentally or physically – and the vessel, as a medium for holding, references that contemporary conversation,’ says Sized Studio founder and creative director Alexander May on the theme of his new show opening this week as Frieze LA kicks off.
Alma Allen
‘Vessels’ takes place at Sized Studio’s 7,000 sq ft new home in Hollywood. Over 200 vessels are on display, from artists and makers including Alma Allen, Rick Owens Furniture, Commune Design, Jim McDowell, Pia Camil, Grace Prince, Jonny Ribeiro, Kazunori Hamana, The Future Perfect, Donna Green, and Thomas Barger among many more. ‘It's an exploration of material and form,’ says May. Sized’s inaugural exhibition in June 2021 showcased contemporary design objects and celebrated the power of in-person events.
Vessel by Grace Prince
‘I'm constantly sourcing, so I had a few things in mind, but of course commissions and additions come along the way,' says May. New works made especially for the exhibition include a large vase by Gaetano Pesce created out of stacked and compacted heart shapes, while Leena Similu, who explores femininity and fertility, is showing a new large-scale vessel alongside several existing smaller works. Musician and multidisciplinary designer Fai Khadra has created a site-specific work at Sized Studio.
There is also a large-scale, site-specific ikebana installation comprising intricate floral work created by Ravi GuneWardena and Tory J Lowitz of the Sogetsu Ikebana Los Angeles branch, the West Coast outpost of the Tokyo-based Sogetsu ikebana school founded by ikebana master Sōfū Teshigahara.
Vessel by Donna Green
In the exhibition, May expands on the concept of a vessel as a multifunctional object – looking beyond vases and planters to a chair, a cabinet, a table – considering them all structures that hold or contain something. In doing so, he draws a parallel with the boundary-bending approach of Teshigahara.
Sogetsu Ikebana Los Angeles has previously collaborated with artists including Isamu Noguchi, Nikki de Saint Phalle, and Merce Cunningham. Teshigahara was known as a radical thinker in ikebana, rejecting the traditions of the centuries-old craft. ‘He was a radical maker – and an enfant terrible – who broke moulds of historical work,’ says May. He opened the Sogetsu school in Tokyo when he was just 27 years old. ‘Sogetsu’s exploration of scale and architecture within space goes hand-in-hand with the vessel’s role in design for promising a broad range of possibilities,’ says May.
Concurrently, the MatchesFashion booth onsite at the new Frieze LA Wilshire Boulevard location is curated by Alexander May and features 12 further vessels by artists and makers including Jim McDowell, LS Gomma and Ben Medansky.
Red glass vessel by Gaetano Pesce
Metal pot by Kwangho Lee
Site-specific ikebana by Ravi GuneWardena and Tory J Lowitz of the Sogetsu Ikebana Los Angeles
Exhibition view, including Alma Allen’s wooden sculpture, and a Murano glass vessel by designer Luca Nichetto, the first in an ongoing design collaboration series commissioned by Mortlach Single Malt Scotch Whiskey.
INFORMATION
'Vessels’, 16 – 27 February 2022, at Sized Studio, 526 N Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004
sized.ltd (opens in new tab)
Tilly is a British writer, editor and digital consultant based in New York, covering luxury fashion, jewellery, design, culture, art, travel, wellness and more. An alumna of Central Saint Martins, she is Contributing Editor for Wallpaper* and has interviewed a cross section of design legends including Sir David Adjaye, Samuel Ross, Pamela Shamshiri and Piet Oudolf for the magazine.
-
Molteni&C presents its first outdoor furniture collection
Molteni&C translates its signature craftsmanship and style for outdoor living
By Simon Mills • Published
-
The globe-trotting Cruise 2024 shows: what to expect
Everything you need to know about the upcoming Cruise 2024 shows, which see fashion brands jetting around the world, from Seoul to Los Angeles
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Oikos reimagines the door as ‘entrance architecture’
Italian security door manufacturer Oikos knows how to make an entrance
By Simon Mills • Published
-
New York art exhibitions: what to see in 2023
Stay up-to-date with our ongoing guide to the best New York art exhibitions 2023 for your diary
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Published
-
Stephen Shore book ‘Topographies’ sees the photographer take his eye to the USA’s skies
Stephen Shore book ‘Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape’ offers a fresh photographic view of the USA’s vast and varied idiosyncrasies
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
As Frieze Los Angeles 2023 opens, here's your ultimate guide to the fair and shows around the city
As Frieze LA 2023 opens for preview day (16 – 19 February 2023), we spotlight the 11 most exciting shows to see under the California sun
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
In LA, Patrick Jackson’s subversive sculptures ooze nostalgia and consumer culture
Timed to Frieze Los Angeles 2023, Patrick Jackson’s uncanny new exhibition 'Liquid Clay' at François Ghebaly’s disused warehouse space probes tactility, architecture and commerce
By Osman Can Yerebakan • Published
-
Stanya Kahn’s Frieze Los Angeles commission to unearth the ‘understory’ of human intervention in nature
We speak to multidisciplinary artist Stanya Kahn, whose ‘Understory’ installation will be unveiled at Frieze Los Angeles for the 2023 R.U.in.ART Commission
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
The art fair personality test: what type of Frieze Los Angeles visitor are you?
Are you a selfie seeker or a champagne visualist? Take our art fair personality test to identify yourself at Frieze Los Angeles (16-19 February 2023)
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Last updated
-
Francis Gallery Los Angeles is a haven of harmony, natural materials and Korean art
We speak to gallerist Rosa Park, founder of the new Francis Gallery Los Angeles, which has opened with a show of six emerging and established Korean artists
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Last updated
-
Lucy McRae on gene editing, human intimacy, and tangible science fiction
We explore the universe of sci-fi artist and ‘body architect’ Lucy McRae, whose science fiction works fuse human intimacy, biological perfection and speculative, yet eerily familiar futures
By Billie Muraben • Last updated