A Gallery Director's Frieze Week Diet
How Hannah Root of Pace Gallery balances fair madness with meal times on a whirlwind visit to L.A.
In the art world, major fairs like Art Basel and Frieze amount to an utter frenzy of a week measured in sales and filled with openings, parties, dinners, and in the case of Los Angeles, getting across town during rush hour. This week was Frieze, our city’s biggest art week of the year, and one of my oldest friends, Hannah Root, came to visit.
Hannah is a New York-based director at Pace Gallery, where she’s been for the last nine years. Pace, which also has galleries in New York, London, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Geneva (with Tokyo coming soon), opened their Los Angeles gallery in Mid-Wilshire two years ago — in a building designed by famous Light and Space artist James Turrell.
Since she and I have shared a passion for food since we met (as five year olds) and since I’ve been a Grub Street Diet reader since I was in high school, I thought it’d be fun to invite Hannah on The Angel this week to recount what she ate, saw, and loved throughout the mayhem of Frieze, the 45th fair week of her career thus far. (Note: this is an estimate, she’s lost track.)
Sunday, February 25, 8:30 p.m.
I didn’t eat anything on the plane because I knew we were going to get tacos as soon as I landed. We went to Tire Shop Taqueria, which is in a parking lot in South Central and feels very family-oriented. I had a quesadilla with al pastor, which had strong cinnamon notes, and carne asada tacos. I really liked how bright the salsas were, specifically the tomatillo.
Monday, February 26
I woke up and had a coffee and a toasted English muffin with avocado and Meredith Dairy’s marinated sheep and goat cheese. Then we went on a walk around Los Feliz to get the blood pumping and I had some kumquats and kishus from the neighborhood’s citrus trees.
I went to visit Maysha Mohamedi at her studio downtown. She had these crispy crunchy white cheddar cheese doodles from Erewhon, and trail mix with dried mulberries in it. After that I caught up on emails and made a few calls before dinner at Camphor.
I’m not normally a lobster person, but the table behind us at Camphor ordered the lobster tail and it looked so delectable and decadent, and so we ordered it, too. It came on top of a saffron risotto with a creamy red sauce. The bread and butter was another highlight—they mix the butter with a rich, brie-like cheese, and along with a toasted baguette and honey, it was a really nice way to start the meal. For dessert, we had this crazy chocolate fondant.
Tuesday, February 27
I had another English muffin with more Meredith’s dairy while on my computer. Then for lunch, we went to All Time where I had the salmon bowl and an iced tea. I heard the blackberry-raspberry scone was not to be missed, so I grabbed one on the way out, and I can say it is the all time best. I am fully changed. I ate half and put the rest in my purse for later.
Afterwards, I stopped by Pace to catch up with some of my L.A. colleagues and sat in the James Turrell room for a few minutes, which was really nice. Then we went to David Kordansky down the street where associate diretor Rosa Chung gave us a tour of the back rooms. Their space is sprawling and has a lot of natural light. Together Pace and Kordansky share representation of the Sam Gilliam estate, which was the current exhibition on view there. Having just had a Gilliam show at Pace New York, I loved getting to see the installation on the West Coast.
Everyone should feel empowered to walk into a gallery and ask what the price range is, in addition to if there’s anything not on view that the person behind the desk is excited by. Usually there are some fun works in the back rooms that you can’t see online. The gallery might not have the time or availability to show you, but when they do, you might get an unexpected treat or learn about a new artist.
After that, I wanted to visit more galleries, both to see how different spaces are set up, in addition to the exhibits on display. We went to Clearing, Sargent’s Daughters, and SHRINE, which are situated right next to one another in Melose Hill.
That evening, I had drinks with a college friend at Baby Battista before heading to an art advisor’s house for dinner. I had a spritz with blackcurrant cassis and coconut cream, which was a bit too heavy on the coconut cream for my taste, and a glass of pet-nat. On my way out, I grabbed two bottles of wine from Nico’s upstairs to bring to dinner. The art advisor had invited a few other gallerists, and her husband cooked a variety of dishes: shrimp, salmon, pasta, potatoes, and pizza. He was well aware that we needed all the energy we could get! They served Magpies ice cream pie for dessert.
I ended the night at a party in the Hollywood Hills hosted by 56 Henry, One Trick Pony, and Sebastian Gladstone. There were a lot of industry people there from New York and all over the world. A lot of the job happens through social media and email, so it’s really nice to get some face-to-face time.
Wednesday, February 28
We went for coffee at Maru, where I had a cortado and ran into Hannah Gottlieb-Graham and Andrew Samuels of ALMA Communications. They do really great work with galleries like Jack Shainman Gallery and James Fuentes Gallery [the latter of which opened a space in Melrose Hill last spring]. Once I got home it was back to emailing and lucky for me, I had the remainder of yesterday’s scone—still in perfect condition—to finish.
By lunch time, I was starving. We went to Sushi Fumi before visiting some galleries in West Hollywood. During art fair weeks you need energy, but you don’t want to have big meals that weigh you down. You’re online for so long during the day that it’s good to have continuous light bites to power you through. Sushi for lunch was perfect for this reason. I especially liked the scallop nigiri with yuzu kosho.
Then we saw Omari Douglin’s show at Matthew Brown. I own a painting of his, so it was cool to see his work that was more installation-based, less domesticated. He always skews perspective in a really cool way. Summer Wheat is on display at Nazarian / Curcio, she makes beautiful paintings where she pushes the paint through the back of the loosely woven canvas, which creates really strong, unexpected textures. At Moskowitz Bayse, we made friends with the owners, and I was particularly taken by Anthony Leopore’s work, a Los Angeles-based photographer whose composite pictures feel three-dimensional. I asked to see their back viewing rooms, where there was a really cool acrylic, clay, and cloth piece by Anthony Miserendino, which he incorporated handmade pasta into.
Drinks were with my Pace colleagues at Melanie. Their tater tots were insane. They top them with Parmesan and chives. I also had roasted broccoli rabe, because I wasn’t sure when I’d encounter a vegetable for the rest of the day. After, we went to a party at Genghis Cohen hosted by KARMA and Mendes Wood DM. Apparently there was an RSVP list of 700 people, but we got there on the early side, which is key because you get to chat with people when they’re still sober. I had an MSG margarita and sampled the New York-style Chinese food buffett. The firecracker shrimp were fantastic.
My final stop was at my friend Sally Eaves Hughes’s birthday party at Musso & Frank Grill. She works at Hauser & Wirth, and there were some collectors, art advisors, and gallerists. There was a huge spread of classic steakhouse dishes and the room was gorgeous. I wasn’t really hungry because of the strange smattering of things I ate all day, but I did have some bread and butter because who can say no to that.
Thursday, February 29
I went to Sqirl for breakfast and had the sorrel pesto rice bowl. I had it for the last time in 2018 and think about it all the time. I ended up buying their cookbook and realized that half of the components you have to make days in advanced, which is unfortunately not the way I cook, but that makes it more special to have when I’m here.
Then we hit the ground running. Frieze started on Thursday and goes until Sunday but I didn’t have to work the fair this year, so I was able to hit more galleries and the satellite fair SPRING/BREAK before heading to the Santa Monica Airport. First we went to Sea View in Mount Washington. New York’s art world started in people’s apartments, so it was really cool to see that same idea in Los Angeles, of people showing what they’re passionate about where they can. I really liked the mosaic chairs by James Herman on the balcony. Then we went to Chinatown to Bel Ami, another space that I loved, where the painter Olivia Hill has a show up, and to Charlie James Gallery, which has a great group show in the basement. I really liked this small ceramic work by Christopher Suárez of two people boxing. We also stopped by the fragrance and food shop Sesame, where they were serving samples of this amazing passionfruit tea.
On the way to SPRING/BREAK in Culver City, we stopped at Erewhon for energy. I had garlic kelp noodles and eggplant lasagna, which I couldn’t believe was vegan.
After visiting the Pace booth at Frieze, I was thinking a glass of Champagne would be fun but it was $40, which was completely irresponsible to even think about. We did a very logical weave so we didn’t miss anything. I loved the Ken Price drawings and ceramics at Matthew Marks Gallery, I’ve loved his work for a long time.
Then we went to The Georgian Hotel where Michael McGregor was having an opening and book release party with Hashimoto Contemporary, showcasing 60 drawings he did on hotel stationary. I ended up scooping up one of the works for myself: a crocodile on a billing envelope from Chateau Marmont. I had a glass of prosecco at the bar in preparation for an hour drive to Dunsmoor for dinner.
I was so zonked, but I’m glad I pushed through, because the meal was phenomenal. We had some green tea to revitalize ourselves as we waited for our table. The cornbread was insane. I don’t normally order meat when I go out to eat, but we got ribeye, which was really good with the cheddar-chive mashed potatoes. I’m not a big chocolate cake person, I’ve had too many bad ones in my life, so I approach all chocolate cake with hesitance, but the chocolate-mayonnaise cake was fantastic. It was so layered and the frosting ratio was perfect. They also served us these excellent chocolate-covered heirloom peanuts.
Friday, March 1
I was supposed to go to Felix Art Fair at the Roosevelt, but I was way too tired. It’s good to take the opportunity to realize you’re not going to do yourself any favors by over-exerting yourself. Instead, I caught up on emails before going back to All Time for coffee and to revisit that scone. I also had the breakfast burrito, which was carried by the tomatillo salsa.
I checked into my flight for Saturday morning and realized I’d have to be up at 4 a.m., so I went to Erewhon in Silver Lake to pick up a few prepared sides, which will save me from the airplane food. I also got an Energy Elixir smoothie while I was there.
I wanted to recharge my batteries for the Pace Frieze party that night, put on by my colleague Simone Shields in conjunction with the Museum of Santa Barbara so I took the afternoon to spend time closing out my week on emails and packing until the event. Fifteen works by Marina Perez Simão, an abstract landscape painter based in São Paulo, are currently on view.
On the way, we stopped by Saffy’s when they opened at 5 p.m. for a drink and some snacks: scallop crudo served in the shell and tempura mushrooms with a fermented mango dip, both excellent. Next time I’m in L.A., I want to come back for a full meal.
It was a good crowd at the gallery and a nice way to connect with everybody in a space that’s not as overwhelming as the fairs. Marina Perez Simão’s paintings are beyond beautiful, she brings such immense depth to her landscapes through color. I mostly hung out in the back room and drank cava with the friends I had invited. I love a back room. Everyone should be empowered to walk into a gallery and ask what the price range is, in addition to if there’s anything not on view that the person behind the desk is excited by. Usually there are some fun works in the back rooms that you can’t see online. The gallery might not have the time or availability to show you, but when they do, you might get an unexpected treat or learn about a new artist. Our Los Angeles team took such care curating our back rooms for Frieze week, so I was happy to get to share their vision with my guests.
For my final meal, we ordered pizzas from Shins Pizza on our way home, one plain and one pepperoni, and it was like I was back in New York. In fact, I’m a six-hour flight with a 7 a.m. take-off away. Until next time, L.A.
whatta week!