The English word February derives from the Latin februa, which—somewhat appropriately for a city used to unashamedly epicurean tendencies—means “to cleanse.” And so it was that the local art merry-go-round officially kicked off that very month with Frieze Los Angeles out at the Santa Monica Airport—a regional aviation center catering year-round to amateur pilots, artists, and dog walkers. Arguably a sign of things to come in the art market writ large, the fair downsized from 120 galleries in 2023 to 95 in 2024. But the contraction at the city’s most exclusive and star-studded art event was offset by a strong showing of artists from the Asia Pacific region at both small and large exhibitions throughout the year.