NEW YORK—For Frieze's London incarnation, the temporary sculpture park that accompanies the fair in Regent's Park is always a highlight. Today, the hotly anticipated new Frieze New York announced the international slate of artists who will be included in its own outdoor sculpture garden on Randall's Island next month. Expect fireworks — literally: The selection, curated by Tom Eccles, executive director of Bard's Center for Curatorial Studies, will include some arty pyrotechnics by Cerith Wyn Evans on the night of the fair's preview.
The Frieze sculpture park will be sited a short two-minute walk from the fair's snaking pavilion designed by SO-IL, on the banks of the East River. The list of seven artists contributing new pieces includes some heavy hitters: James Angus, Rathin Barman, Christoph Büchel, Ernesto Neto, Tomás Saraceno, and Katja Strunz. Existing works by Louise Bourgeois, Joshua Callaghan, Subodh Gupta, Ryan Gander, Jeppe Hein, Gabriel Kuri, Susan Philipsz, and Jaume Plensa will also be on view.
There are some fortunitious inclusions. May will be a busy month for the Argentine sculptor and installation artist Saraceno, who after installing his new piece "Pollux" (2012) on Randall's Island for Frieze's May 4 opening, will go to work completing his rooftop installation at the Metropolitan Museum, "Cloud City," which opens on May 15.
New Yorkers might already be familiar with Jaime Plensa's work from his enormous head sculpture in Madison Square Park last summer. For Frieze, he will show off another side of his practice via "Yorkshire Soul III" (2010), a large seated figure made of metal cut-out letters.
Meanwhile, the Indian artist Subodh Gupta's playful, monumental "Et tu, Duchamp?" (2009/2010), a bust of Marcel Duchamp dressed in drag as Leonardo's "Mona Lisa," promises to add a touch of humor to the pop-up sculpture park — one more reason to make the pilgrimmage to Randall's Island.