The Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) have jointly acquired two works by Los Angeles-based artists from this year’s edition of Frieze: a mixed-media canvas by Edgar Arceneaux from the stand of the Minneapolis-based gallery Dreamsong, and a digital photo print on silk by Shaniqwa Jarvis from the local gallery Sow & Tailor. The partnership, known as the Mohn Art Collective, is supported by the Los Angeles-based collectors Jarl and Pamela Mohn.
“The three directors of these three major institutions here in Los Angeles were walking through the fair, looking at artwork to make this selection alongside Jarl Mohn,” says Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director in the US. “It was just a beautiful thing to witness, how collaborative they were; it’s really such a rare and wonderful thing to see.”
Last year, the Mohns and the Hammer, Lacma and Moca launched the Mohn Art Collective so that the three institutions could jointly acquire around 350 works from their collection—which is especially strong in works by Los Angeles artists. “Jarl is an ambitious thinker and philanthropist whose energy and commitment to the Los Angeles art world is transformative,” Messineo adds. “Three institutions sharing work, collecting together—it’s really unprecedented and an indicator of our LA community.”
Another work on Dreamsong's stand from Arceneaux's series, Skinning the Mirror (Winter 9) (2025), was acquired at the fair by the Santa Monica Art Bank. “This work we knew belonged in a museum or special collection,” says Rebecca Heidenberg, the gallery's founding partner, referring to the Arceneaux series.
The series was made during Arceneaux’s residency in Minneapolis under the auspices of the Walker Art Center, and is part of a series in which he peels off the silver nitrate from the backs of mirrors and transfers them to canvas. Heidenberg points out the reflective quality of the remaining silver patches and adds that the work is at least partly inspired by the sacred land at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.