Matthew Day Jackson, The Way We Were, 2010. All photos by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed unless otherwise noted
While pension strikes increasingly paralyze all other aspects of life in Paris, the activities at FIAC have seemingly managed to go on unbothered. Two days into the fair, visitors have already lauded this year’s success. According to ArtInfo, a new physical layout of the venue  has dramatically improved the experience. Surly other changes, namely the headlining debuts of Gagosian and the Rosenblum Collection, as well as healthy sales at such galleries as Hauser & Wirth, Thaddeus Ropac, Blum and Poe, and David Zwirner have fueled this sentiment. Details on sales and the first in a series of two comprehensive photo sets follow the jump.
Jean Michel Othoniel and Emmanuel Perrotin
More text and images after the jump…
Tracey Emin, I Promise to Love You, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin Gallery
Notable early sales by gallery:
David Zwirner via (Art Info)
– Adel Abdessemed’s “Go On,” a pair of cement boxing gloves from an edition of five, sold four at $50,000 each.
– The artist’s 2010 wall-sized installation, “Silent Warriors,” comprised of approximately 200 handmade metal masks sold for $280,000 to a major Swiss collection.
Lehmann Maupin
– The gallery sold the last edition of Tracey Emin’s ” I promise to love you” to a collector in the Middle East.
– Editions of Tracey Emin’s “You Made Me Love You” sold to a private Swiss collector and a collector in Brazil.
– Mickalene Thomas’ “Left Behind” and “Portrait of Mickalena” sold to a private italian collector and a private American collector, respectively.
– Teresita Fernández graphite panel sold to an American collector .
Hauser & Wirth (via Art Info)
– Matthew Day Jackson’s “The Way we Wereâ€, a series of scultped skulls done in titanium, aluminum, bronze, copper, iron, lead, and steel (photo above), a 2010 edition of three, sold for $130,000 each.
– Jacksons’s vision of the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic-bomb attack, “August 6, 1945†in scorched, found, and painted wood sold for $125,000.
– Another of Jackson’s work which was inspired by a Life magazine cover, “August 8, 1969â€, celebrating the exploits of moon-walker Neil Armstrong in gypsum plaster and found, painted, and scorched wood sold for $120,000.
– Paul McCarthy’s 2009 bronze pirate “Shit Face Fucked Up,” part of an edition of two plus one artist proof, saw two from its edition sell at $750,000 apiece.
Thaddeus Ropac (via Art Info)
- “Glaube Versetzt Berge” and “Kein Schatten, Aber Coellinblau,” Two paintings by Georg Baselitz sold for $602,000 and $560,000, respectively.
-Â “Quantum Void V,” a prickly stainless-steel bar sculpture by Antony Gormley, sold for $410,000.
– A 2010 floral and fruit still life by Mark Quinn, “Elementary Particles,” sold for $197,000.
A Selection from FIACÂ 2010, Photos by Tiphaine Popesco and Nathaly Stern for Art Observed
At the Grand Palais:
Installment view, photo by Nathaly Stern
David Adamo, Untitled, Grand Palais, 2010
Xavier Veilhan. Jean Nouvel, Grand Palais, 2010
Mona Hatoum, Paravent, Grand Palais galleries, 2010
At Cour Carree du Louvre:
Ugo Rondinone
Jonathan Meese, photo by Tiphaine Popesco
Jitish Kallat
Related Links:
Market Fireworks Dazzle at FIAC as Gagosian Sends Shivers and Parisians Strike [ArtInfo]
Pinault Browses Paris Art Fair as $2.8 Million Fontana Sells [Bloomberg]
Hauser & Wirth [Gallery Site]
Galerie Thaddeus Ropac [Gallery Site]
David Zwirner Gallery [Gallery Site]
Blum and Poe [Gallery Site]
Gagosian Gallery [Gallery Site]
AO On Site – Paris: FIAC 2010 begins at the Grand Palais and the Cour Carrée du Louvre through Sunday October 24th [ArtObserved]
