“We want Frieze New York to be for and of its host city. This will be most plainly evident in the site and structure of the fair itself," says Amanda Sharp, who cofounded the flagship London art fair with Matthew Slotover, and who will direct  the first New York edition of the  fair with Slotover May 3  through 6. She acknowledges some New Yorkers may not think of the fair's home on Randalls Island—a park located in the East River at the juncture of three boroughs: Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx —as definitively New York. "Once we found Randall's Island, we knew we had an exciting, flexible location that’s easy to reach and, at the same time, a bit of an adventure for New York residents, who will perhaps be visiting for the first time." Luring the uninitiated will be 170 contemporary art dealers, with an especially strong showing of Americans and Europeans, housed in a bespoke structure designed by the Brooklyn-based architectural firm SO-IL.

Among the more established galleries, Anthony Reynolds, of London, will bring Mark Wallinger's Self-Portrait (Sim Sum), 2008, for £60,000; as well as his sculpture The White Horse, 2011, right, for  £10,000. Berlin's Eigen + Art will offer a multihued curtain by Olaf Nicolai titled Why Women Like to Buy Textiles That Feel Nice, 2010, tagged at $280,000. And Cheim & Read, of New York, will have Jack Pierson's metal and wood My Star, 2011, in the  $150,000 to $200,000 range. 

Like the London edition, Frieze New York will have a special Frame section set aside for galleries less than six years old to present solo exhibitions. In that area, Lüttgenmeijer, of Berlin, will bring Ryan McLaughlin; Night Gallery, of Los Angeles, will show Samara Golden; and Misako & Rosen, of Tokyo, will exhibit Shimon Minamikawa. 

A version of this article appeared in the May 2012 issue of Art+Auction.

To see a preview of the highlights of the first-ever Frieze New York, click on the slide show.