The French capital is ready to welcome visitors back to FIAC with a new location, new exhibitors, and a new status as an art marketplace. The Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC), Paris' premier contemporary art fair, has returned after a hiatus caused by the pandemic. This time, instead of the Grand Palais, which is closed for renovations, the event will take place at the Grand Palais Éphémère, a temporary structure at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
This year's FIAC will have 171 exhibitors, and the 40 million euro ($46 million) structure, designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, will have an additional wing to accommodate them all (down from 199 in 2019). According to FIAC's director, Jennifer Flay, that's still 30 percent less floor space than usual for FIAC. As Ms. Flay put it, "France and Paris pulled out all the stops so that a prestigious venue in the epicenter can house events that usually take place in the Grand Palais benefit from a prestigious venue in France and Paris."
As she put it, "We all need these real-life exchanges." "We are desperate for them and have a strong desire for them. In a way that may have been previously underestimated, the role of art in people's lives has been revealed." The Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York and Marfa' Projects in Beirut, Lebanon will be among the more than 30 new exhibitors at FIAC this year. This program also includes a Jean Claracq exhibition at the Musée National Eugène Delacroix, performance art at the Pompidou Center and other venues, as well as outdoor sculptures in Tuileries Gardens and Place Vendôme, two of Paris' most famous landmarks.
Currently on display in the Place Vendôme is "Flying Dragon," a monumental work by Alexander Calder completed in 1975, the year before his death. It has the appearance of a giant toy airplane because of the bright red sheet metal. If you compare it to Paul McCarthy's "Tree" in 2014, which was displayed in the same location as part of the festival's outdoor program but later vandalized and removed, this one is a no-brainer.
It's the first time FIAC has been held since the United Kingdom left the European Union, also known as Brexit. Meanwhile, France, which is still a part of the EU, has seen an improvement in its reputation as a center for the art market. Several galleries from around the world now have Paris outposts. Private museums like the Bourse de Commerce, inaugurated this year by billionaire collector and Christie's owner François Pinault, have added to the allure of the capital as a travel destination.
"Until recently, London had a slight advantage over Paris in terms of global influence. But after that, London opted for Brexit, according to French academic Alain Quemin, author of "Le Monde des Galeries," a book about art galleries. It hates uncertainty, he said, and Brexit introduces a significant dose of it to the art marketplace.
According to Mr. Quemin, Britain needs to introduce low-tax, low-regulation measures to help London bounce back after Brexit because "all of the import-export paperwork in the art market is happening in London, not in continental Europe," as things stand now. In October 2019, German-born dealer David Zwirner, who has a prominent gallery in New York and London, opened a Paris outpost. A second European gallery seemed like an obvious choice after the 2016 Brexit vote, according to Henriksen.
Ahead of Brexit, Gagosian is opening a third location in Paris: a striking boutique space in a historic shopping arcade leading to Place Vendôme, near some of Paris's most prestigious museums and hotels. The gallery's first exhibition will feature a maquette of Alexander Calder's "Flying Dragon" as well as archival materials associated with it (which Gagosian is exhibiting). A 50-foot vitrine at street level and high ceilings allow for artworks of all shapes and sizes, according to Serena Cattaneo Adorno, director of Gagosian Paris. The space recently became free, and it was taken over for these reasons: its attractive, central location; and its architectural flexibility.
Private museums in Paris are being established by "sophisticated collectors of enormous wealth and taste," according to Andrew Fabricant, chief operating officer of the Gagosian gallery. We're also expanding in tandem with them, he said: "because I think that kind of collecting will inspire other people to get involved and make Paris more profitable and more interesting as an art world destination."
As a result of "postpartum spasms from Brexit," Mr. Fabricant called the current situation in London "dire." It has become necessary for Gagosian to hire additional staff because the company is "losing more and more time" due to paperwork related to the import and export of artwork that is more than 50 years old. Although the British government had promised an open-trade environment, he said, "a lot of growing pains must be overcome before we get even close" to that point.
Also based in both London and Paris, Thaddaeus Ropac confirms that doing business in London after Brexit has been logistically "complicated," though he describes it as "not the end of the world." City life, he said, was like a cycle. Before World War II, Paris was regarded as the international art world's epicenter. Paris "could never reclaim" its position as the global financial center after World War II, he claimed.
For a long time London was even less of an art hub than Paris until the 1980s when the rise of Young British Artists "took center stage" in the British capital. Paris, he recalled, "started to fade" as people became increasingly focused on the cities of London and New York. "As London grew in stature, Paris fell out of favor."
He noted that things are different now than they were a year ago. There will be no loss of market share to London this time, because the entire market is growing, and Paris now demands a share of it. "I don't believe London will suffer a defeat," said the author.
FIAC's Flay expressed a similar point of view. It's something I consider to be very sad," she said, referring to the British people's decision to withdraw from the European Union. As a result, "the greatness of one city should not be at the expense of another."
LA FIAC AT THE GRAND PALAIS ÉPHÉMÈRE (Plateau Joffre, 75007 Paris, France), October 21-24, 2021
Jean Dubreil