ARTISTS
Top 10 things to see during FIAC week in Paris (with videos)
Following the art feast on offer in London during Frieze week, the action crosses the Channel to the French capital, where the ambitious FIAC art fair opens for its 37th year
黑料不打烊
19 Oct, 2010
Following the art feast offered up in London during Frieze week, the action crosses the Channel to the French capital, where the ambitious FIAC art fair opens for its 37th year. Catering to all tastes, Paris offers a wide and rich program of events, from a blockbuster Impressionist exhibition to a contemporary Japanese take on the Ch芒teau de Versailles.
Here is our top 10:
1) FIAC 2010: Located in the heart of Paris in some of the city鈥檚 most prestigious and emblematic sites 鈥� the Grand Palais, the Cour Carr茅e du Louvre, and the Tuilleries Gardens 鈥� from October 21st to the 24th - this long-established art fair presents a wide panorama of modern, contemporary and emerging art.
FIAC 2010 brings together the work of a staggering 3,500 artists represented by 195 art galleries from 24 countries. In addition to the veteran European participants such as Germany, Italy and Belgium, this year welcomes art from Japan, Mexico, Korea and Ireland, which will be represented for the first time.
Watch out for the bold solo show of Algerian-born of Adel Abdessemed鈥檚 at David Zwirner鈥檚 space: among the highlights are Taxidermia, a cube (1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 meters) composed of taxidermied animals intertwined using steel and wire, and Silent Warriors, a wall-mounted installation of over a hundred masks, each uniquely colored and patterned to resemble those used in Mexican wrestling, or lucha libre. Also, don鈥檛 miss exhibits at prestigious international galleries such as Francesca Minini, Galerie Schleicher+Lange, and Spr眉th Magers and Gagosian Gallery, which has just opened a new branch in the French capital to coincide with the fair.
For the fifth consecutive year, in collaboration with the Mus茅e du Louvre, visitors will also be able to explore outdoor projects in the Jardin des Tuileries. The fair has brought together over 27 projects, including sculptures, installations and creations, on display throughout the garden's fountains, basins, lawns, alleys and groves.
The winner of the 2010 Marcel Duchamp Prize will also be announced at the fair. The nominees are Celeste Boursier-Mougenot, Cyprien Gaillard, Camille Henrot and Anne-Marie Schneider
The art fair is accompanied by a varied cultural programme, which includes daily short film screenings at the Cin茅ph猫m猫re in the Tuilleries Gardens as well as a vast menu of theatre and music performances.
2) Monet--1840-1926-/9CD398683F0A4A44" target="_blank">Claude Monet, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais: Just next door to FIAC is the largest-ever exhibition dedicated to the French Impressionist master (1840-1926). Richard Thompson, the exhibition co-curator, stresses that with almost 200 works, this is the largest single collection of Monets the world has ever seen. The exhibition spans 60 years of painting, from the realism of the 1860s to the early 20th century impressionism. To see the eight giant paintings from Monet鈥檚 famed water lily series 鈥� completed shortly before the artist鈥檚 death 鈥� simply cross the Place de la Concorde to the Orangie Museum.
3) Show Off: Set in a luminous, elegant tent a few steps away from the Grand Palais and the banks of the Champs Elysees, this curiously named art fair showcases a wide selection of paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures, videos, and installations. Now in its fifth edition, Show Off also includes an emerging Solo Show section for young galleries.
4) Basquiat, Musee d鈥橝rt Moderne de la Ville de Paris: Marking the 50th anniversary of Jean-Michel Basquiat鈥檚 birth, this is the first exhibition of this scale in France devoted to the work of the rebellious American artist. Comprising of a hundred major pieces 鈥� paintings, drawings, objects 鈥� from numerous museums and private collections in the United States and Europe, this major retrospective offers a chronological overview of Basquiat鈥檚 career and the chance to assess his importance to art history since the 1980s.
5) Murakami Versailles, Ch芒teau de Versailles: in the words of curator Laurent le Bon, the exhibition is 鈥渁 walk, a trail through the landscape area of Versailles. For his first major retrospective in France, in the 15 rooms of the Ch芒teau and in the gardens, the artist presents 22 major works, of which 11 have been created exclusively for this exhibition. The allegories and myths of Versailles thus carry on a dialogue with the dreamlike creatures of Takashi Murakami, sometimes inspired by traditional Japanese art.鈥�
6) Counterpoint, Contemporary Russian Art 鈥� From the Icon to the Avant-Garde by way of the Museum, Mus茅e du Louvre: conceived as part of the 鈥淵ear of Russia鈥� celebrations, this exhibition draws a portrait of contemporary Russian art by showcasing the work of around fifteen artists from a variety of generations and movements. The subterranean space of the Louvre Medieval galleries houses works by artists such as Alexe茂 Kallima, Valery Koshlyakov and Vadim Zakharov, as well as Yuri Albert, who invites visitors to tour his collections blindfolded.
7) Nancy Spero, Centre Pompidou: Nancy Spero (1926-2009) was an actress and activist who stood alongside Louise Bourgeois as a key figure of 20th century American art. For her "the brush was mightier than the pen" in her fierce opposition to America's involvement in the Vietnam war in the 1960s, as well as her staunch defense of the 鈥渟econd sex鈥�. Bringing together sixty drawings, this is the first retrospective dedicated to Spero鈥檚 work in France. Also in homage to the late American artist is 鈥楴ancy Spero: Woman in Motion鈥� at Galerie Lelong.
8) Chic Art Fair: Located in the Cit茅 de la Mode et du Design and intended to coincide with Fiac, Chic Art fair comprises fifty contemporary art galleries, the up-and-coming in addition to more established and historic galleries, as well as a section for innovative contemporary design. Perhaps designed to challenge the increasingly health-conscious 21st century public is 鈥淒ocks in the Sky鈥�, a smoking area installation that offers a spectacular podium for smokers, with a sound performance by Mildred Simantov and Nils Thornander.
9) Cy Twombly: Camino Real, Gagosian Gallery: Five new paintings by the American artist are showcased to inaugurate Gagosian鈥檚 Paris gallery on October 20th. Each illustrates the exuberant painterly gestures and highly-keyed palette typical of his recent paintings. 鈥楥amino Real鈥� refers to the play by Tennessee Williams, first performed in New York in 1953. The cast of characters, which includes Don Quixote, Lord Byron and Casanova, represents a romantic vision of life, complete with 鈥漮ld knights, dreamers and troublemakers鈥�.
10) Moebius-Transforme, Fondation Cartier pour l鈥檃rt contemporain: Moebius is the pseudonym of Jean Giraud, a brilliant cartoonist and the visionary inventor of extraordinary forms. According to the artist鈥檚 wishes, his first major Paris exhibition explores the theme of metamorphosis, a leitmotif that runs throughout his comics, drawings, and film projects. In relation to this theme, the exhibition also presents 鈥楲a Plan猫te encore鈥�, the first 3-D animated film directed by the artist, along with the stories from the original comic boards.
...and for those with an insatiable art appetite, there is plenty more on offer such as Andr茅 Kert茅sz at Jeu de Paume, Jean-L茅on G茅r么me at Mus茅e d'Orsay, and Let鈥檚 dance at MAC/VAL.
Browse through 166 current or upcoming events in Paris >>>
Written by 黑料不打烊.com staff
