More than 100 galleries participating in Frieze New York have donated publications for a new initiative called Frieze Library, building up a collection that will be donated to the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The project was created by the New York-based dealer Gordon Robichaux, which is showing works by the Burkina Faso-born artist Sanou Oumar in the Frame section of the fair.
“We pitched the idea to Frieze, say Sam Gordon and Jacob Robichaux, the founders of Gordon Robichaux. "They were enthusiastic and supportive, and it developed quickly. We’re both artists and have made our own artists’ books, so when we opened the gallery it was something we wanted to do: produce and support publications.”
During the fair, visitors can browse the collection in the Frieze Reading Room, located near the south entrance. “At the end of the fair, they’ll find a home in the Met’s Watson Library,” the pair add. "We compiled a bibliography that’s available online and distributed during the fair. It’s an archive and microcosm of Frieze.” Their contribution to the Frieze Library is Sanou Oumar, Drawings, which is published by Pre-Echo Press.
Other titles in the library include a publication dedicated to the Turner Prize nominee Lawrence Abu Hamdan, donated by Maureen Paley gallery in London, and Amalia Ulman: Excellences & Perfections, given by James Fuentes Gallery.