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FIAC 2011 at the Grand Palais in Paris. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.
FIAC 2011 (The Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain) opens this weekend in Paris for its 38th year. The international art fair, which boasts an impressive array of 168 galleries from 21 countries, will show the work of some 2,800+ artists. Running October 20–23rd, the exposition comes at the tail end of Frieze Art Fair, drawing artists, collectors, gallerists, and enthusiasts eastward from London. While the focus of Frieze leans toward contemporary, FIAC includes both contemporary and modern, including works from Picasso, Calder, and Matisse. The fair has been building momentum since 2006; Jennifer Flay, appointed general director in 2010, credits this boost to the fair’s move to the Grand Palais, one of the city’s most cherished architectural gems. The fair also expands this year to the Jardin des Tuileries, the Jardin des Plantes, the Museum of Natural History, and other venues around the city. Another innovation, a mobile application (in French) is available through Windows Phone which enables visitors to book tickets directly from their phone, as well as receive realtime news updates from the fair, find exhibitors and artists, and access videos and photos of the show.
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Jay Jopling of White Cube, which is exhibiting Damien Hirst’s Where Will It End.
More on site coverage and images after the jump…
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Damien Hirst, Where will it end (1993) at White Cube, sold for $2.8 million in the first day according to Bloomberg
Flay commented to the New York Times that “Interaction among the artists, the public, dealers and museums takes place in the broadest sense. There are so many ways of acquiring art from the financial to the emotional. It’s a real moment of cultural effervescence. Imagine how lovely it is to wander in the gardens and see works by artists like Lynda Benglis, Antony Gormley, Mathieu Mercier among the fountains, basins, lawns, and groves.†According to the Wall Street Journal, “works centered on the theme of man, nature, and biodiversity will be placed in the garden, its greenhouses and the Ménagerie—its zoo—as well as in the museum’s exhibition halls.”
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Richard Jackson, Bad Dog (2007) at Hauser and Wirth
Film programs hosted with FIAC will be shown at the Auditorium of the Grand Palais and the Louvre, as well as Cinéphémère (Ephemeral Cinema) in the Tuileries Garden. Located inside a refurbished shipping container, Cinéphémère is a 14-seat theater screening films under 30 minutes.
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Victoria Miro booth
The fair will also offer children what the fair’s website calls “a voyage through perception and imagination by means of contemporary artworks specially conceived for their age group.” Mobile Museum features a shipping container designed by Adam Kalkin, in which internationally renowned artists explore the theme “Living Together.†Some of the artists included are James Turrell, Paul McCarthy, Daniel Buren, Maurizio Cattelan, Pierre Huyghe, and Adel Abdessemed. This exhibition, nicknamed MuMo, will travel from France to Cameroon, Benin, and Senegal, ending at the Dakar Biennial in June of 2012.
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Work by Pilar Albarracin at Gallerie Vallois
As with all large art fairs, FIAC has partnered with several other venues throughout the city to offer visitors a larger variety of cultural activity. The Centre Pompidou will show monographic exhibitions of Edvard Munch and Yayoi Kusama; the Jeu de Parme will exhibit Diane Arbus; the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris will show Ryan Trecartin and Georg Baselitz. The Swiss Cultural Center will show Les Freres Chapuisat; MAC/VAL (Musée d’art contemporain du Val-de-Marne) will show Jesper Just; the Credac in Ivry will show Mircea Cantor. In addition, many Parisian galleries will be open late on Thursday, October 20th from 6–10 pm in what is called Nocturne des Galeries (Galleries Night Out). A portion of these galleries, dubbed Design in Paris, specialize in modern and contemporary design.
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Yves Klein at Gmurzynska Gallery
There are also several prizes associated with the fair: the Marcel Duchamp Prize, the Lafayette Prize, and the sixth annual YCI (Young Curators Invitational). In its 11th year, the Marcel Duchamp Prize was established by the Adiaf (Association pour la Diffusion Internationale de l’Art Français) in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in order to promote the international recognition of artists working in France. Nominated this year are Damien Cabanes (Eric Dupont Gallery), Mircea Cantor (Yvon Lambert Gallery), Guillaume Leblon (Galerie Jocelyn Wolff), and Samuel Rousseau (Galerie Guy Bartschi). Previous winners include Cyprien Gaillard (2010) and Thomas Hirschhorn (2000–2001), among others. It is announced Saturday, October 22nd.
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Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2011) at Lisson Gallery
The Lafayette Prize, in its third year, is a partnership between FIAC and the Groupe Galeries Lafayette, whose purpose is to support emerging galleries in this area of Paris. From ten galleries, which have been selected by a jury, one will be chosen. Previous winners include Morag Keil of Neue Alte Brücke Gallery (Frankfurt) in 2010, and Carol Bove of Hotel Gallery (London) in 2009. On the jury this year is mega-curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, among others. It is announced Thursday, October 20th.
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Mircea Cantor, Monument for the end of the world (2006) and André Cadere, Barre de Bois Rond (1975)
Developed with the support of the Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, the Young Curators Invitational brings together a young, international group of critics and curators. Selected from proposals, participants are invited to five days of encounters with the Paris art scene.
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Sarkis, Monocycles des années zéro (2011) at Galerie Nathalie Obadia
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The booth by Pace Gallery, a first time FIAC participant.
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Work by Michal Rovner at Pace Gallery
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Mona Hatoum, Untitled (Rock) (2011) at White Cube
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Artist Xavier Veilhan at White Cube
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Work by Dan Flavin at David Zwirner Gallery
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The Gmurzynska Gallery booth, designed by Karl Lagerfield
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Artist Scott Campbell in front of one of his works
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Onlookers in front of Scott Campbell’s Huge Revolver (2011) and Andy Warhol’s Sylvester Stallone (1980) at Gmurzynska Gallery
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French politician Jack Lang with gallerist Daniel Lelong at his booth
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Jaume Plensa, Chloé (2011) at Galerie Lelong’s booth
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Artist Barthélémy Toguo at Galerie Lelong’s booth
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Thomas Dryll, director of Galerie Almine Rech with artist Samuel Boutruche from artist group Kolkoz
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Artists Nate Lowman and Hanna Liden, represented by Half Gallery
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Works by Doug Aitken at Simon Lee Gallery
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Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2011) at Lisson Gallery
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Tunga, Boneco de esponjas com périolas (2010–2011) at Galerie Daniel Templon
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Gallerist Daniel Templon in his booth
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Louise Bourgeois, Untitled (2004) at Cheim & Read Gallery
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Mark Hogan in front of works by Richard Prince and Ugo Rondinone at Almine Rech Gallery
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Work by Georg Herold at Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin
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303 Gallery booth
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Andro Wekua, Neon with Arches (2010–2011) at Gladstone Gallery
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Andro Wekua, Should be titled (2010–2011) at Gladstone Gallery
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Barbara Gladstone in her booth
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Not Vital, 385 (2011) at Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery
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Booth of Gallery Art:Concept Paris
– J. Lindblad
Related Links:
Fair Site [FIAC]
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Annual Art Fair Sprawls Across Paris [NYT]
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Next Up at the Grand Palais [WSJ]
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Picasso, Hirst Paintings Boost Paris Fightback as Fairs Compete for Sales [Bloomberg]
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A Hirst Fetches $2.8M as Pinault, Arnault Browse [Bloomberg]
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FIAC vs. Frieze [Art Media Agency]
