Held from 29th March to 1st April 2012, ART PARIS ART FAIR is the springtime event for modern and contemporary art in France that brings together 120 galleries from 15 countries under the majestic glass roof of the Grand Palais.
Under a new leadership, the fair has been renamed ART PARIS ART FAIR and has undergone a complete transformation. This year sees 56% of newcomers to the fair, with some 40% of participating galleries from abroad. Also new is a VIP programme of visits entitled “Springtime in Paris,” a series of talks, a new section dedicated to cutting edge contemporary design called “Limited Edition.” Another novelty is “Large Format”, a project presenting close to a dozen monumental works within the fair itself.
Fresh ambitions
- A high quality European fair with a focus on the international art scene
As an event aimed at the general public, Art Paris Art Fair is working to promote what is a wide A variety of arts scenes from around Europe - from Marseille to Helsinki and from Lisbon to Vienna. EUR The objective is to discover and highlight some of the more singular local scenes such as that of Hungary which is exceptionally well represented this year with seven modern and contemporary galleries.
Particular attention is also paid to the present trend which sees contemporary artists questioning the heritage of European modernism and reassessing recent historical movements. Art Paris Art Fair also gives pride of place to modern work: a surrealist cabinet at Levy Gallery (Berlin), Viennese actionism at Konzett (Vienna) and Zimmerman Kratochwill (Graz). Also on show are examples of cinetism and research into optical phenomena at Lélia Mordoch (Paris) and Meyer Zafra as well as geometrical abstraction at Anne Lahumière (Paris) and Müller and Gimpel (Paris/London). Amateurs of lyrical abstraction will find much to see at the French galleries Berthet Aittouarès (Paris) and Jacques Elbaz (Paris).
Contemporary work also has its place, in particular with a number of leading galleries that are taking part in Art Paris Art Fair for the first time, notably Filles du Calvaire (Paris), Laurent Godin (Paris), Bertrand Grimont (Paris), l’Espace Beaumont (Luxemburg) which is unveiling a monumental work entitled « Monument » from the Atelier Van Lieshout, Germany’s Bourouina, Stefan Roepke and Anna Klinkammer....
Photography is well represented with the arrival of Priska Pasquer (Cologne) who is specialized in Japanese photography but is also showing paintings by Peter Halley and Philip Taff. Other photography specialists include Michèle Chomette (Paris), Flatland (Utrecht) and Confluence (Nantes). Art Paris Art Fair 2012 also provides an unprecedented platform for galleries to showcase trends on the international art scene with a particular focus on Asia with two Chinese and four Korean galleries. These come in addition to Europeans specialized in Asian and particularly Chinese art such as Paris-Beijing (Paris). The Middle Eastern scene is showcased by Paris galleries Imane Farès (who brings a solo exhibition by Iraqi artist Halim Al Karim), Patrice Trigano and Albert Banamou and Brigitte Schenk Gallery from Cologne, as well as Beirut’s Alice Mogabgab. For Latin America, Inception Gallery et Vanessa Quang will show artists such as Argentina’s Marina de Caro who attracted considerable attention at the last Biennale de Lyon and is the subject of a solo exhibition by Quang.
The “Limited Edition”
- section aims to explore the relationship between art and contemporary design
Open to all forms of artistic expression, Art Paris Art Fair 2012 is launching a new section showcasing design. Curated by expert Bénédicte Colpin, this “Limited Edition” section brings together a selection of five cutting edge galleries such as Pierre Alain Challier, Domeau & Pérès, Galerie Matignon, Slott Galerie and White Moon Gallery who will show exclusive pieces made by top contemporary designers.
Les Echos Série Limitée magazine is supporting this initiative and is launching the «Prototype» Série Limitée Prize to reward a piece of work that is emblematic of a unique, specific skill.
“Springtime in Paris”
- a tour of the best of what’s on in town
Art Paris Art Fair has organised a programme of visits for its invited VIP guests entitled « Springtime in Paris » which will offer private access to the major events on the arts scene this spring. This includes exhibitions such as “Neon: who’s afraid of red, yellow and blue” at La Maison Rouge, “Joel-Peter Witkin: Enfer ou ciel” (Hell or Heaven) at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, “Ai Wei Wei : Entrelacs” at the Jeu de Paume, “Resisting the Present, Mexico 2000/2012” at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. These come in addition to the specialized fairs taking place at the same time, in particular the Salon du Dessin 2012 and Drawing Now.
The new ART PARIS ART FAIR Team
Julien Lecêtre,CEO
Guillaume Piens, Fair Manager
Catherine Vauselle, Director of Communication
The 2012 selection committee members
Bernard Ceysson,
Ernst Hilger,
Catherine Issert,
Priska Pasquer,
Barbara Polla Martine Schneider-Speller.
Practical information
ART PARIS ART FAIR
29th March – 1st April 2012
Grand Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris
Preview (by invitation only) on Wednesday 28th March 2012 from 6pm to 10pm
Opening hours :
Thursday 29th March and Saturday 31st March from 11:30 am to 8pm,
Friday 30th March from 11:30 am to 10pm,
and Satur- day 1st April from 11:30 to 7pm.
Entrance fee: 20 € /10 € for students
Travel: for travel arrangements and accommodation,
please take advantage of our partnership with www.TuronTravel.com –
E-mail: info@turontravel.com
