In September 2020, Art Paris was the first in-person art fair since the beginning of COVID-19, offering important support for the art scene and galleries. This year, the fair continues to be a trailblazer, inaugurating, from 9-12 September, the Grand Palais Éphémère at Champs-de-Mars, Paris. This temporary structure imagined by the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, planted at the foot of the École Militaire and in line with the Eiffel Tower, will host Parisian events until the reopening of the Grand Palais in 2024.
For its 23rd edition, Art Paris will host a promising programme with no less than 140 participating galleries, 65% of which are French galleries and 35% international galleries. Among them, 57 are joining Art Paris for the first time or are returning, bringing the renewal rate to 40% compared to 2020.
Known for its diversity and support for the international scene, the fair will host modern and contemporary art galleries from about twenty different countries, mostly from Europe, but also from Colombia, South Korea, Cote d'Ivoire and Guatemala. Prestigious galleries like Almine Reich, Continua and Ropac will join the faithful (Nathalie Obadia, Lahumière, Templon), the 'author galleries' (Martine Aboucaya, Jean Fournier, Anne-Sarah Bénichou), and the emerging brands (Derouillon, Galerie Pact, Stems).
This year, modern art figures prominently in the selection. Indeed, the fair announced the participation of more than twenty specialised galleries who will unveil pieces of exceptional and museum quality: masterpieces of outsider art, Cubist works, totemic sculptures and abstract paintings will punctuate the exhibition spaces.
This year, independent curator Hervé Mikaeloff is organising "Portraiture and Figuration, a focus on the French scene", a selection of twenty artists whose work echoes the question of portraiture and the renewal of figurative painting in France. “In a 'post-medium' era, art is more than ever questioning its relationship to the image, "said Mikaeloff in a press release. "In my focus on the French scene, by choosing the theme of portraiture I am aiming to show the renewal of figurative art. Above and beyond a simple stylistic effect, portraits are a means by which artists can develop a new relationship with the world."
The 'Solo Show' project, whose success is well established, will come back in force with a total of 27 monographic exhibitions scattered around the fair. As every year, the project aims to make discover or rediscover in depth the work of modern and contemporary artists. Helene Bailly Gallery will honour modern art by dedicating its entire stand to Pablo Picasso, where a body of works from 1919 to 1969 will be presented. Andy Warhol will be found at Galerie Italienne (with a selection of rare polaroids and black-and-white photos), Guy de Lussigny at Galerie Wagner, Rose Barberat at Galerie Pact and Georgina Maxim at 31 Project.
Finally, the 'Promises' section will enable nine galleries that are less than six years old to spotlight three artists at each gallery. The 2021 selection shines with its diversity and brings together brands from around the world.
This remarkable edition, both in terms of its programme and its venue, will also be the scene of an unprecedented collaboration between Art Paris and the NFTs platform Danae.io. The fair will exclusively present The Ether (Equality) project, a monumental work (80 ft high) produced by the artist Kohei Nawa and Danae.io. This public art installation, unique in the world, materialises the fall of a drop of water, symbolising the equality of all things in the face of gravity.
The 23rd edition of the Art Paris fair, one of the leading cultural events in Europe, will take place from 9-12 September at the Grand Palais Éphémère. Find all the information relating to the fair on the Art Paris website.
