FIAC week in Paris is a truly exciting time of the year. For four days, we lived in a contemporary art and culture marathon!

Navigating through “VIP” openings and unavailable artworks, I met many individuals that were looking to find the importance of all. Why do we like these art fairs and art activations during the fairs so much? What makes this all so exciting?

Trying to find the answers to my questions, I listed the highlight as the past week in Paris to give some insight into all the excitement. In this article I discuss my favorite booths at the fairs in Paris, the artist you should be paying attention to and recap some interesting events and exhibitions!

First Stop: FIAC Art Fair Opening

Seasoned collectors and first-time visitors came from all over the world to look at and “invest” in important modern and contemporary art. When you visit these large art fairs, I highly suggest you go see the fair twice, or perhaps even three times. It is impossible to take it all in at once, you might stumble upon great work that had not caught your eye on the first visit.

After every major art fair, you will hear the phrases ‘it was not that good this year,’ or ‘other years were better,’ please do not believe these empty judgments. Instead, I would like you to form your own opinion and wait till you collected your impressions. Galleries are showing their best artists, do not confuse art fairs with museum shows, they serve a completely different purpose.

Art fairs are about business and not about education or preservation, do not romanticize it. Most of the works that caught my interest were sold before the event opened, and so I got to go and enjoy the art and make new connections. My personal goal was to find exciting artists without a ‘super hype!’

My Highlights of the Fair

1) Gallery – Metro Pictures
Artist – Jim Shaw

2) Gallery – Kaufman Repetto
Artist – Sadie Benning

3) Gallery – Esther Schipper
Artist – Tomás Saraceno (One of the best living artists!)

4) Gallery – CapitainPetzel
Artist – Ross Bleckner

5) Gallery – Anton Kern
Artist – Julie Curtis

Second Stop: David Zwirner New Gallery Opening

David Zwirner proudly opened doors to their new gallery in Paris with an exhibition of new and historical works by Raymond Pettibon. The exhibition, titled ‘Frenchette,’ highlighted Raymond’s impeccable storytelling and included some of his most iconic series such as the waves. Other themes of the drawing on display were; Gumby, baseball, US presidents, animals, totalitarian dictators, and more.

The waves were the works I was most excited about and if you know Raymond’s work you know how difficult it is to find them. Raymond’s ‘Waves’ reflect on the life of the artist, his ego, fame, naiveness, braveness, loveliness but also subjects such as mortality.

The asking price for the works is around 1.2 million dollars (no discounts). The gallery organized two official openings and two official after-parties around the opening of the new gallery and the exhibition.

Third Stop: The 5th edition of Paris Internationale

The 5th edition of Paris Internationale was one of the best and honest art fairs I have seen. Paris Internationale is a relatively new fair that was established in 2015 as an innovative and alternative art fair in support of a younger generation of galleries.

The fair is a good place to discover new artists and buy under-appreciated yet very promising artists. The fair is dedicated to change the discourse of the content of the art fairs. By keeping the participation cost low, the fair invited younger emerging artists and galleries. This set up encourages the visitors to take a risk and pay attention to artwork from lesser-known yet pioneering artists of our contemporary culture.

In response to our current political and social climate, the fair advocates for inclusivity by opening its doors to the public with free admission.

My highlights of PI:

1) Gallery – Bodega
Artist – Zoe Barcza

2) Gallery – Capsule Shanghai
Artist – Cai Zebin

3) Gallery – Antoine Levi, Paris
Artist – Srijon Chowdhury

4) Gallery – Tanya Leighton
Artist – Jimmy Robert, AleksandraDomanović

Fourth Stop: ‘Bacon: Books and Paintings’ – Centre Pompidou

’Beacon: Books and Paintings’ exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris is on view till January 20th. The exhibition includes over 60 works of the artist, investigation the influence of literature in the artist’s practice.

Francis Bacon is one of the most important artists of our contemporary art history and holds a special place in my heart. The exhibition is by far one of the best museum shows I have seen. The show is beautifully curated and gives the audience great insight into the artist’s life and mind.

I learned that Bacon had an enormous library in his studio in London, books were scattered among the shelves and on the floor. He also had a difficult relationship with his family, especially with his father, who never approved of his sexuality. Always looking out for life stories similar to his gave Bacon an escape but also helped him with his self-expression in his artwork.

Fifth Stop: The Art Gorgeous

At the beginning of FIAC Week, The Art Gorgeous Magazine organized a thoughtful gather in collaboration with Holidermie as part of the launch of their latest issue #7.

The well-organized event included a detox breakfast, a facial and a yoga session. The Art Gorgeous Magazine created a very fashionable platform to network and meet young and ambitious women in the arts with an impeccable passion for their profession.

 

Writing by Daria Borisova