ART FAIRS:Art Paris 2021

After being the first art fair in the world to open its doors in September 2020 after lockdown restrictions ended, Art Paris will also be the first art fair to take up residence in the Grand Palais Éphémère on the Champ-de-Mars from 9 to 12 September. Designed by reknown architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this temporary structure which is situated in front of the École Militaire and close to the Eiffel Tower, will host events scheduled at the Grand Palais until the building reopens for the Olympic Games in 2024.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Art Paris Archive

The Art Paris 202 forthcoming edition will bring together 140 galleries from over twenty countries, displaying art spanning post-war to the contemporary period. Whilst Art Paris is a place for discovery, its distinctive feature is a special emphasis on the European scene combined with the exploration of new horizons of international creative hubs in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The 2021 edition counts 40% of new participants and is marked by the arrival of leading international galleries. The 2021 General Sector selection includes more than twenty modern art galleries, not forgetting those contemporary art galleries that now prefer to establish a dialogue between their artists and key historical figures.  Helene Bailly Gallery has given over her entire booth to works by Pablo Picasso. This monographic exhibit is comprised of an ensemble – paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics , produced between 1919 and 1969 and which conveys the sheer diversity and scope of Picasso’s creative talent.  Addressing the theme of Venus and women, Galerie Anne-Sarah Bénichou is juxtaposing the work of its contemporary artists (Marion Baruch, Mireille Blanc, Julien Discrit, Chourouk Hriech and Massinissa Selmani) with a rare, historical piece by Jean Arp, who co-founded the dada movement in Zurich in 1916 and was close to surrealism. Galerie AB is presenting Victor Vasarely’s “B.1950”, a rare oil on panel from this period marked by the tensions between the partisans of figurative and abstract art. The rhythm of the lines and the curved surfaces that are almost threatening in their forcefulness, in addition to a limited palette of blue and black, give rise to tensions between the apparent verticality of the stacked shapes and the sensation of depth. The 2021 edition will feature 27 Solo shows. These monographic exhibitions spread throughout the fair allow visitors to discover or rediscover the work of modern and contemporary artists in depth. Galerie de las Misiones puts the spotlight on Virgilio Villalba and more particularly his Parisian production from the 1970s. Galerie Capazza is presenting a solo show of works by Georges Jeanclos that follows on from the exhibition mounted in 2020 in partnership with the Musée Rodin and finally the Galerie Italienne is showing a rare selection of Polaroids and black and white photos by Andy Warhol. Amongst the solo shows by foreign artists, visitors could discover the textile installations by Zimbabwean artist Georgina Maxim (31 Project); the colourful and gestural abstract paintings of Iranian-born artist Mojé Assefjah (Galerie Tanit); the naïve, narrative landscapes of American artist Jessie Homer French (MASSIMODICARLO) that teem with unusual details; and the post-minimalist objects of German artist Gerold Miller that revisit the heritage of geometric abstraction (Un-Spaced). Promises, the sector that focuses on young galleries created less than six years ago, provides a forward-looking analysis of cutting-edge contemporary art, whether it hails from Guatemala with La Galería Rebelde, Africa on the stands of 31 Project and Véronique Rieffel, China with Galerie Marguo, or Europe with two galleries from Marseille (France), Double V Gallery and Le Cabinet d’Ulysse, and Parisian exhibitors Hors-Cadre, Pauline Pavec and Septieme Gallery. Participating galleries can present up to three artists and Art Paris finances 45% of the exhibitor costs. Special Project: In March 2021, with the Japanese artist Kohei Nawa, Danae.io has won the public competition launched by the local authority Département des Hauts-de-Seine to build a 25 meters tall Equality statue on the Seguin Island in Paris. It will be a unique public art monument towering at the center of the Seine river. A scaled model of the statue will be exclusively shown at Art Paris. The Equality statue, inspired by Kohei Nawa’s series Ether, is the representation of the fall of a drop of water and symbolizes our equality in the face of the force of gravity.  Danae.io will develop a free Augmented Reality experience equally focused on education and entertainment.

Photo: Art Paris 2020, Photo: Marc Domage, Courtesy Art Paris Art Fair Archive

Info: Artistic Director: Guillaume Piens, Art Paris 2021, Grand Palais Éphémère, Plateau Joffre, Paris, France, Duration: 9-12/9/2021, Days & Hours: Thu (9/9) 12:00-20:00, Fri (10/9) 12:00-21:00, Sat-Sun (11-12/9) 12:00-20:00,  Admission: Thu-Fri (9-10/9) 25 € / 14 € for students and groups; Sat-Sun (11-12/9) 30 € / 16 € for students and groups; 2 day pass: 35 € / 20 € for students and groups; Free entry for children under 10 years old, www.artparis.com