Such instability made the Armory Show ripe for replacement as a leading fair, and, nine months ago, Frieze announced that it was going to spread its wings and land in New York. Its directors, Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, had been thinking about a New York fair since 2008. Since they opened the London fair, virtually obliterating the long-standing Art Cologne in the process, they have earned a reputation as merciless opportunists, “always looking for a gap in the market (and to crush the competition)”, according to Art Review magazine. But, says Slotover, “the initial idea came from our exhibitors”, who had reservations about the overly commercial directions that the fairs in New York and Miami were going in.