I don’ think you can blame me for being confused. Off I went to the Paris Art Show the other day, convinced that it was the FIAC which l had seen in October last year. Re-reading the Blog chapter this morning, l understood why the confusion.
TO SORT IT OUT
The FIAC is the rich collectors outlet and I had certainly been snubbed in quite a few of the galleries. The Art Paris Art Fair shows many more of the French artists (l was shocked by the lack of them at the FIAC). There were over 143 exhibitors from the Hexagon and although names which meant something to gallery visitors they didn’t mean much to me.
I hadn’t been to the previous show in 2015 which was defined as « curious » as there was a real focus on China and Singapour artists. This year it was Korea with some 90 artists exhibiting. There were other countries too which were represented. Azerbaïdjan, Colombia, Iran Hong Kong, Hungary…. ! I would think that if you were a collector you should do your homework first and pick the galleries in function of what you were looking for. I am not a collector. Versus the Fiac, the atmosphere is much more friendly and the exhibition itself is not so large. Last years figures were:-
55.735 visitors in 2015 with 17.000 visitors on the opening night • 6,500m2 at the Grand Palais in the heart of Paris • 143 exhibitors from 22 countries • 2.200 artists represented • 48% foreign participants • 52% French galleries • 40% newcomers in 2016
One of the newcomers was Stephane Jacob whom l met straight after a trip to Australia. A coincidence and not a planned meeting. If I told you what his margins were on paintings you would either be flabbergasted or put off. The aborigines or agents following them in Australia make a fortune….I wonder what the aborigine painters have in their pockets? I had just acquired two painting when I was in the Centre and thrilled with my purchases. It was the « dot period » which was in vogue at the time - l didn’t particularly like it. What l had bought was « unfashionable » so the prices were in my range….Jacob exposes his purchases in his Parisian flat. I would not be visiting it…..
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| Nina Puruntatameri - Kulama Design - 2014 |
do you remember these? And which is the father's painting and which is the son's?
The first gallery l went into was filled with art from Azerbaïdjan or that area. I recognized one artist immediately Shaffic Abboud. I had seen a retrospective of his work at the Arab Institute in 2011 with Laurent and was very excited about his work.
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| Shafic Abboud - The Divan, 1979 |
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| Shafic Abboud - Nostalgic colours, 1989 |
A couple of artists shown in the same gallery interested me too.
We were off to a good start.
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| Abdallah Benanteur - The Dunes, 1990 |
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| Abdallah Benanteur |
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| Abdallah Benanteur- Morning Dew, 1986 |
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| Abdallah Benanteur - Naïde, 1992 |
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| Dia Al-Azzawi "Blue Landscape," 2016 (on wood) |
My wandering in such a show are not focussed. It’s the painting which catches my attention and then l look further. This did……but not for A very good reason. This can't be art.....
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| Rise and Rise again until lambs become lions : 2016 by The Kid |
Who doesn't smile at Geluck?
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| This was on the floor ! |
These caught my eye.....
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| Michel Macreau "Bussiere" - 1965 |
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| Ilha KIM - seed 14 : 2016 (hand dyed hanji) |
Suddenly it seemed that l was looking at a lot of « déjà-vu ». Certain pictures caught my eye at once and then l saw that l knew the artist. Others seem to be so much of a copy of what we know.
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| Sam Francis(1923-1994) |
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| Maria Helena Viera da Silva - 1955 |
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| Antonio Saura "Repitition" 1961 |
Some of the Asian artists showed a little originality but there were not too many in my book. The difference versus the FIAC was that the people supervising the stands at Paris Art Fair were ready to chat about the work displayed. When the prices were shown, many were affordable but still there was nothing l wanted on my « minimalist walls ».
This is a small selection of the Asian work that I stopped to look at
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| Zao Wpu-Ki - 2005 |
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| Bang Hai Ja - "Light Dance" 2015 |
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| Won Wou-Yeol - 1994 |
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| Ren Rong, "Passion Hope", 2015 |
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| Fu Zi - 2014 |
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| Mao Lizi "A flower is not a flower" 2012 |
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| Kim Whanki, - 1970 |
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| Sung-Hy Shin - "Toward a Space" , 1999 |
And a couple of Europeans
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| Matthieu Dorval - The Genius of Space - 2016 |
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| Barbara Macfarfane "Blue Paris with Gold" - 2015 (€7,800) |
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These I had to go past
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| Bachelot Caron "Table Centre and white nuns" - Ceramic 2016 |
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| Vincent Corpet - 2015 |
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| Really very suprising : Jan Haworth 1962-2016 |
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| Jan Haworth (that is a shadow crossing the person...) |
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| Jan Haworth |
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| Jan Haworth |
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| Hervé Di Rosa |
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| Sacha Goldberger "Portrit of young woman with a rabbit who drinks tea" -2013 |
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| Sacha Goldberger "Anna" |
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| Sacha Goldberger |
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| Rubue Rumie (I think) |
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| And no it is not Jeff Koons | |
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Perhaps you understand why I really ask myself often "Is this art?"
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