From 30 March to 2 Avril once again the Grand Palais was home to the Art Paris Art Fair, bringing together galleries from around the world with the spotlight this year on Africa.
In this exceptional setting 29 countries were represented by 139 different galleries exhibiting modern art works as well as contemporary artists. International emerging creations were also exposed. Sculptures, paintings, photos, installations, diversity was the name of the game. Innovations, eccentricity and even some peculiar creations.
Perhaps the largest gathering in France of art galleries behind the FIAC. Art Paris Art Fair differs thanks to its accessibility and spirit of discovery. We went for a walk under the magnificent glass dome through all the wide alleys which made for a free flowing and pleasant experience. The stands for the galleries were spacious and the set up varied. Certain galleries stood out because of their name, some with their collection and others with a sometimes amazing museography. All of which provided us with some fabulous surprises
The following is a run-down of what we saw and liked in images
Gao Xingjian, Brume, 2007 (Galerie Claude Bernard)
Gao Xingiian was one of the highlights of the Art Fair. When we arrived, most of his paintings were already sold. Artist, writer and playwright, this 77 year old Chinaman obtained the prix nobel for literature in 2000. His paintings are in China ink, playing with a chiaroscuro and attempting to lose the spectator on a voyage thanks to the balance between abstract and figurative present in his works.
Galerie Pleters – Art Fair
A great composition at the Guy Pleters Gallery where we found (from left to right) a Niki Saint Phalie, a Simon Hantal and an Yves Klein.
Takehiko Sugawara (Galerie Taménaga)
Sugawara works the construction as well as the deconstruction of space in his monumental canvasses. A real visual wake-up. The painter says that through his painting he wants to give the perception of the ‘wonderful’ dimension.
Sonja Braas, An abundance of Caution Container, 2015 (Galerie Tanit)
Sonja Braas works on nature’s majestic and dramatic perspectives or extremely detailed structures. This photograph figures in a series which deals with how fear and the widespread feeling that our demise is imminent have colonized our lives.
Above, the Espace Meyer Zafra and below, the Paris-Beijing gallery.
Some artists even go to the extent of setting up the stand itself as a work. In the Espace Meyer Zafra we found an installation by Manuel Merida composed of kinetic circles, in perpetual movement and full of sand, pigment and bits of wood etc. In the Paris-Beijing gallery Mehmet Ali Uysal transformed a classic white wall by hanging clothes pegs (Skin Series 3) or by making it slide (peel series 1)
Ilhwa KIM, Seed universe 11, 2015 (Kàlmàn Maklàry Fine arts).
Two artists from Seoul, coming from two different galleries, used a similar procedure that was quite astonishing. Ilhwa KIM cut out, hand painted and folded thousands of Korean Blackberry leaves to create a piece in 3D. The work, the colours and the shapes all change depending on where one is standing. Lucio LIM used nearly the same technique to make geometric compositions in black and white using China ink.
Lucio LIM, Story, 2017 (Gallery Tableau).
