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Bette Midler \u2191
Actor, Manhattan<\/p>\n
Do you have anything that you think is highbrow or despicable this week?
I\u2019m going to be very disciplined and keep my big mouth shut. There\u2019s hardly any brilliant, there\u2019s not a lot of highbrow, but I tell you there\u2019s a lot of despicable that has overwhelmed the world.<\/p>\n
What would you tell someone who\u2019s never come to Frieze before?
They should keep their eyes and their minds open because it\u2019s very different. Some of it is very hard to take, and a lot of it reflects what we\u2019re living. And if you\u2019re not used to that, if you\u2019re not prepared for that, it can stun you.<\/p>\n
Michael Stipe<\/p>\n
Singer, songwriter, and artist, Clinton Hill\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tell me about your hat and pin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hat is not ironic. The Claire Valdez pin is even less so. I\u2019m a big fan of hers. She\u2019s amazing, please vote. The only thing my friends talk about is how to help save the world because we\u2019re really at a kind of pretty awful place right now. But I think we can do it. I think we can do it.<\/p>\n
Is there a piece that has affected you recently? <\/p>\n
I fly through La Guardia a lot, and every time I come down the escalator, I see the Rashid Johnson. I think it\u2019s the biggest piece he ever made, and it\u2019s so inspiring to see it there in the airport. It makes me proud to be a New Yorker.<\/p>\n
Ajani Russell<\/p>\n
Artist, Fort Greene<\/p>\n
What kind of art do you make? <\/p>\n
I\u2019m a visual artist, ceramist, painter, and professor. Shooting tintypes is my favorite medium, but I can\u2019t afford to do that right now. I\u2019m trying to get a paper residency to make these creatures \u2026 I\u2019ve made puppets of them, and I have dreams about them. <\/p>\n
What kind of creatures are they? <\/p>\n
Imagine if plants were the highest form of human evolution. They\u2019re like mutated people.<\/p>\n
Yera Park<\/p>\n
Director of partnerships, Chelsea<\/p>\n
Do you collect art?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve started. I love post\u2013Cultural Revolution Chinese artists. I\u2019m from Korea and China; my family has a collection in China. We can\u2019t get it out right now. That\u2019s a whole other story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Laetitia Ky<\/p>\n
Artist, Chelsea<\/p>\n
When do you do your best work? <\/p>\n
I work better at night, but I\u2019m trying to fix that. My sleeping schedule is really messed up. A lot of artists function the same way. Is it the quiet; is it because it\u2019s a spiritual thing? No one knows, but for some reason during the night, there is this urge to create.<\/p>\n
Kristen Bateman (left)<\/p>\n
Writer and designer, Bay Ridge<\/p>\n
Karen Resta (right)<\/p>\n
Writer, Bay Ridge<\/p>\n
Kristen, tell me about your green necklace. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a locket inspired by antique dolls. I feel like this has been creeping people out at Art Week. To me, that\u2019s a success, because the Art Week people are the final barrier.<\/p>\n
Paul and Judith Fried<\/p>\n
Super and retiree, Brooklyn Heights<\/p>\n
Yvonne Force Villareal<\/p>\n
Curatorial consultant, West Village<\/p>\n
Lee Mary Manning<\/p>\n
Photographer, Lower East Side<\/p>\n
Do you have a favorite part of the city you like to shoot in? <\/p>\n
Central Park, but really anywhere. Any dirty little street is fine.<\/p>\n
Evelyn Aimis<\/p>\n
Art dealer, Miami, Florida, and Toronto, Canada<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best piece you\u2019ve sold?\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Picasso painting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alex Mor<\/p>\n
Gallerist, Paris, France<\/p>\n
What\u2019s in the air in Paris right now? <\/p>\n
The nightlife has really changed. Now you can go into neighborhoods outside of Paris that have massive parties in warehouses close to the airport \u2014 not just downtown.<\/p>\n
April Zhang-Autio<\/p>\n
Gallery owner, Murray Hill<\/p>\n
Kyle O\u2019Donnell<\/p>\n
TV producer and podcaster, Carroll Gardens<\/p>\n
Why are you here today? <\/p>\n
I\u2019m a big people watcher, and this has the best people watching in the world. I\u2019m also trying to find a rich husband here, let\u2019s be honest. The guy working the front door was really cute. Maybe I\u2019ll ask for his number on the way out.<\/p>\n
Eloise Crist<\/p>\n
Museum development officer, Lower East Side<\/p>\n
Joyce Leveston<\/p>\n
CEO, Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/p>\n
Christy Ferer<\/p>\n
Collector, Upper East Side<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the most recent piece of art you bought? <\/p>\n
A Carol Bove. She\u2019s also a good friend and currently has a show at the Guggenheim that is a blockbuster. So I\u2019m very happy for her.<\/p>\n
Terri Holoman<\/p>\n
Museum board member, Los Angeles, California<\/p>\n
Dee Kerrison<\/p>\n
Wealth manager, Newport Beach, California<\/p>\n
How did you become a collector? <\/p>\n
I was born and raised in Harlem. My dad was a Baptist minister, and he collected antique furniture. He always wore custom clothes. My aunt was a world-class opera singer. Big cities, art, music \u2014 it\u2019s all in my DNA.<\/p>\n
Mackenzie Maisel<\/p>\n
Artist, Upper East Side<\/p>\n
Mayra Hern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n
Entrepreneur, Upper West Side<\/p>\n
Benjamin Godsill<\/p>\n
Art adviser, Harlem<\/p>\n
Thomas Hallissey<\/p>\n
Vice-president of marketing, Nassau<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the last work of art you bought? <\/p>\n
A piece by David Welker. It was blotter art, which is on blotter paper, like LSD \u2014 but not the drug, just that size. He\u2019s an artist for Phish, who I\u2019ve seen 150 times.<\/p>\n
Jing Yang<\/p>\n
Membership-club director, Nolita<\/p>\n
Glori Cohen<\/p>\n
Art adviser, Midtown<\/p>\n
Allen Robinson<\/p>\n
Architect, Financial District<\/p>\n
Maynard Monrow<\/p>\n
Curator and artist, Long Island City<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Fiore<\/p>\n
Art adviser, Gramercy<\/p>\n
Jeff Magid<\/p>\n
Cultural theorist, Lower East Side<\/p>\n
Do collectors get competitive? <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of competition for the best artworks, but the most in-demand works will have sold weeks or months ago. The people you see at all the dinners or flying to every art fair are not the real insiders.<\/p>\n
Adam Okrasinski<\/p>\n
Creative director, Chinatown<\/p>\n
Do you have any tips on how to start collecting? <\/p>\n
Buy your friends\u2019 art.<\/p>\n
Scott Ziegler<\/p>\n
Attorney, Upper East Side<\/p>\n
Any specific artists whose work you\u2019re excited about seeing? <\/p>\n
I can\u2019t give those names. Then I wouldn\u2019t be able to afford them.<\/p>\n
\n Photographs by Frankie Alduino\n <\/p>\n
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\n If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the May 18, 2026, issue of
\n New York\u00a0Magazine.<\/p>\n
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