ART FAIRS: Art Paris Art Fair 2022

Since it was inaugurated in 1998, Art Paris Art Fair has become a highlight on the International Art calendar and a major event on the Paris scene. A meeting point for professionals of the Modern and Contemporary Art Markets, the Fair each year draws a growing number of Collectors and visitors. Open to all forms of artistic expression, Art Paris Art Fair provides an overview of art from the postwar years to the current day.

By Efi MIchalarou
Photo: Art Paris Art Fair Archive

With a selection of 130 modern and contemporary galleries from some twenty different countries, the 24th edition of Art Paris Art Fair 2022 is characterized by its commitment in favour of the environment with two themes – “Natural Histories” and “Art & Environment”- combined with an innovative and sustainable approach to organising an art fair. “Promises”, a sector focusing on young galleries created less than six years ago, provides a forward-looking analysis of cutting-edge contemporary art. Participating galleries can present up to three artists and Art Paris finances 45 % of the exhibitor costs. In 2022, this sector will play host to nine galleries around half of which are new for this edition. Galería Rebelde offers a rare perspective on the emerging art scene in Guatemala with the floral still life photos of Andrès Asturias – which function both as altars and reliquaries in memory of the victims of the pandemic – and textile works by Sandra Monterroso and Angélica Serech that point to the post-colonial and intercultural processes at work in Guatemala, which lead to frictions and deviations from a growing feminist consciousness. Double V Gallery brings together three artists whose practices are characterised by their use of mediums steeped in references: ceramics for Maximilien Pellet, concrete for Ugo Schiavi (who has begun to address environmental questions) and paper and canvas for Arsène Welkin. Seventeen solo shows spread throughout the fair allow visitors to discover or rediscover in depth the work of modern, contemporary or emerging artists. Galerie Eric Linard is shining a light on the psychedelic pop period of Antoine de Margerie and more particularly his gradual transition towards abstraction in the 1960s/70s. Exploring abstraction and the whole gamut of possibilities offered by painting is at the heart of the work of Spanish artist Carlos Léon on the stand of Galeria Fernando Pradilla. Ernest Pignon Ernest pays tribute to poets from Rimbaud to René Char with a selection of drawings and portraits at Art to Be Gallery, whereas Galerie Catherine Issert has given carte blanche to Jean Charles Blais, who has selected an ensemble of works in which “each painting follows on from the previous one, producing its continuation by combining all that has gone before”. Questions of politics and identity are expressed in the photographic portraits of migrants veiled in boldly patterned fabrics by Yemeni artist Alia Ali at 193 Gallery. Shagha Ariannia addresses the same questions in her brightly coloured paintings that scrutinise the body and its desires on the stand of SEPTIEME Gallery. “Natural Histories: A Focus on the French Scene”: Since 2018, Art Paris has consistently supported the French contemporary art scene by inviting curators to lend a subjective, historical and critical eye on a selection of specific projects by French artists presented by participating galleries. With “Natural Histories: A Focus on the French Scene”:, independent exhibition curator Alfred Pacquement will share his perspective on the French scene with a selection of 20 artists from different generations, whilst considering the way in which these artists see the natural world and how plants and animals have once again found their place in the contemporary aesthetic. “Art & Environment”: Independent exhibitor curator, environmental specialist and Art of Change 21 founder Alice Audouin, will orchestrate a selection of seventeen French and international artists (selected from amongst the exhibiting galleries), whose work tackles environmental issues such as global warming and the loss of biodiversity.

Photo: Carlos Cruz Diez, Physichromie 1805, 2012, Galerie Denise René

Info: Fair director: Guillaume Piens, Art Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais Éphémère, 2 Plateau Joffre, Paris, France, Duration: 7-10/4/2022, Days & Hours: Tue & Sat-Sun ( 7 & 9-10/4) 12:00-20:00, Fri (8/4) 12:00-21:00, Admission: Tur & Fri 25€ / 14€ for students and groups Sat & Sun 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