ART FAIRS: Paris Internationale 2024

Born from the utopian vision of creating a contemporary art fair on a human scale, where gathering, discovery, content, and a shared set of values are as important as commercial success, Paris Internationale is an independent structure whose main goal is to promote contemporary art. The fair offers an alternative and much-needed model: a strong marketplace in which a cutting-edge selection of participants from all over the world – both commercial galleries and guest project spaces – come together in one rich cultural program. The fair offers a new aesthetic between the literary salons of the 18th century and a self-managed contemporary art fair.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Paris Internationale Archive

This year, Paris Internationale has invited 75 galleries from 19 countries, celebrating the return of long-standing collaborators such as Chapter NY (New York), Derosia (New York), Empty Gallery (Honk Kong), greengrassi (London), KOW (Berlin), Martins&Montero, São Paulo/Brussels or Stereo (Warsaw), as well as the arrival of 25 newcomers, including Bel Ami (Los Angeles), Lo Brutto Stahl (Paris), Tomio Koyama (Tokyo), and Ulrik (New York), who will be exhibiting alongside the founding galleries. All the selected galleries share a particular vision of their profession, one that goes beyond the purely commercial aspect. As cultural ambassadors for their regions, they are firmly rooted in their local communities, while at the same time working to promote the international reputation of the artists they represent. Paris Internationale encourages ambitious projects conceived in the style of an exhibition, enabling new artists of all generations to be revealed as well as for- gotten figures to be rediscovered. Paris Internationale offers projects that maintain a sense a sense of avant-garde that is hardly possible in other fairs, thereby contributing to the vitality of the Parisian art scene and the city’s appeal to artists and the international art community as a whole. This year it is once again offering a rich public program designed to facilitate exchanges and conversations between all those involved in the art world. The program includes the inclusion of non-profit spaces invited free of charge, guided tours and conversations with select personalities, an exhibition featuring the work of CNAP-supported artists, and other events that will all be free and open to the general public. Paris Internationale was born in the sum-mer of 2015 on the initiative of a group of gallerists who came together with the vision of creating an intimate and daring contemporary art fair. Its name and identity are borrowed from Guy Debord’s Situationist International, to whom it owes its philosophy of self-management, drifting, hijacking and emancipation. Created by and for galleries, with a spirit of independence and collegiality, it was conceived as a multi-generational platform, offering more advantageous conditions than traditional fairs, thus encouraging bolder proposals. Paris Internationale has helped to create a distinctive, original format that makes sense for both very young galleries and more established ones that have been loyal to the fair for many years. Emerging and established galleries coexist in the same space, deliberately mixed, as a counterpoint to the usual sectorization of fairs, thus creating a more enriching and powerful program in direct contact with the public. The collaboration with Swiss architects Christ & Gantenbein has led to a radical scenography that challenges the cubic, inward-looking booths typical of art fairs, as well as the principle of the aisle as the main organizational unit of the fair in favor of wandering through the building to come into contact with the works. Paris Internationale is also a community, a place to meet and exchange ideas, favoring a  collective  spirit  over  a  competitive climate. This is the result of a strong decision to limit the number of participating galleries (75) and to offer them more space. The contemporary art world is becoming increasingly crystallized. The mega-galleries are taking a very large share of the market in an increasingly concentrated and monopolistic fair landscape.  In this context, the existence of independant projects like Paris Internationale is both vital and necessary if artists are to continue to be able to present their work outside the – if not strict, then at least formatted – framework of these megastructures. Since its creation, Paris Internationale has paid particular attention to representativeness and inclusivity in its selection of galleries and projects. In addition to the multi-generational aspect, the fair brings to the fore galleries and artists from 19 countries, including 17 from Northen America and 9 from Asia. Female and male artists are equally represented (50% women, 50% men). The utmost attention is paid to the conditions in which galleries and artists are hosted, with a welcoming team that is very present and available, in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The fair’s ambition is to lay the foundations of a new contemporary art ecosystem built on sharing and discovery rather than competition, while remaining in touch with market realities and trends, artistic cultural research and the production and working conditions of artists and art professionals.

Photo: Good Weather / Kai Matsumiya, Craig Kalpakjian, Naturalis Pulchritudo – (Level) 7h}LwbFb3qeb17, 2024, UV pigment on dibond with custom frame, laser level, hardware

Info: Paris Internationale, 17 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière, Paris, France, Duration: 16-20/10/2024, Days & Hours: Tue (15/10) 17:00-20:00, Wed-Thu (16-17/10) 12:00-19:00, Fri-Sat (18-19/10) 12:00-20;00, Sun )20/10) 12:00-18:00, Admission free with registration, https://parisinternationale.com/