The 44th edition of the Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain or FIAC will be held at the Grand Palais in Paris from October 19 to 22, 2017. One of the largest international art fairs showcasing modern and contemporary artworks from established and emerging artists, this year’s edition of FIAC will feature shows by 192 modern and contemporary art galleries (with 40 new exhibitors added this year) from 29 countries from around the world. These include first-time representations by six countries – Egypt, Kosovo, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Tunisia – this year.
FIAC 2017 at the Grand Palais
Of the 192 participating galleries, the Nave will host exhibitions by 106 international galleries, including Blum & Poe, Gagosian Gallery, 303 Gallery, Dvir Gallery, kamel mennour, Pace, Daniel Templon and White Cube. The Salon d’honneur will bring together 20 galleries specialised in discovery and promotion of groundbreaking artists. The Upper Galleries of the Grand Palais will focus on contemporary and emerging art galleries, while the recently inaugurated Salon Jean Perrin will host seven exhibitors.
A new design sector
In 2004, FIAC was the first international art fair to include a design section. The 44th edition of FIAC reinforces the art fair’s focus on modern and contemporary design with the reintroduction of a design sector. This year will see the participation of five Paris-based design galleries – Patrick Seguin, Jousse Entreprise, LAFFANOUR – Galerie Downtown, Patrick Seguin and Eric Philippe – who focus on 20th and 21st-century design.
The Lafayette Sector
Created in 2009 in partnership with the Galeries Lafayette Group, the Lafayette sector financially supports the participation of young international galleries that nurture emerging artists. For this year’s programme, ten galleries from eight countries have been selected for their dynamism and commitment to emerging artists, seven of whicH will present solo exhibitions. The galleries selected are Bernhard (Zürich, Switzerland), Experimenter (Kolkata, India), Freedman Fitzpatrick (Los Angeles, United States), Gypsum (Cairo, Egypt), Instituto de Visión (Bogotá, Colombia), joségarcía, mx (México D.F.), LambdaLambdaLambda (Prishtina, Kosovo), Queer Thoughts (New York, United States), SCHLOSS (Oslo, Norway), and Truth and Consequences (Geneva, Switzerland).
On Site at Petit Palais
The On Site sector, launched for the first time last year will feature 40 sculptures and installations from October 18 to 22, 2017 at the Petit Palais as well as on the Avenue Winston Churchill which will be pedestrianised during the event. Accessible for free, the On Site sector will showcase works by Peter Buggenhout, Antonio Caro, Claude Closky, Johan Creten, Ida Ekblad, Anna Fasshauer, Laurent Grasso, Sheila Hicks, Justin Matherly, Matt Mullican, Richard Nonas, Falke Pisano, Enrique Ramirez, Hans Schabus, Joel Shapiro, Alina Szapocznikow, Antoni Tàpies, Wang Wei and Erwin Wurm.
Hors les murs – Outdoor artworks and installations
A selection of freely accessible and monumental sculptures, installations and artworks will be presented in three Parisian locations – the Jardin des Tuileries, Musée National Eugène Delacroix, and Place Vendôme.
The Jardin des Tuileries will show works by Gilles Barbier, Julien Berthier, Mel Bochner, Ali Cherri, George Condo, Marc Couturier, Folkert de Jong, Jean Denant, Erik Dietman, Jim Dine, Jean Denant, Maria Elvira Escallon, Hreinn Fridfinnson, Ryan Gander, Stefan Rinck, Samara Scott, Claude Viallat and Carey Young. Following on to previous years’ outstanding architectural displays, an exceptional selection of modern and contemporary architectural works, including those by Jean Prouvé and Hans-Walter Müller, will be installed on the Esplanade des Feuillants which borders the Rue de Rivoli.
The idyllic setting of Musée National Eugène Delacroix, situated in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, will exhibit works by German artist Katinka Bock who will be represented by Jocelyn Wolff, Paris. Bock, who is currently in residence in Paris, works with clay, natural and found materials and more recently, bronze, to create sculptures and installations that explore questions of temporality and space and deal with questions of language, history and shared spaces.
Place Vendôme has been a part of the FIAC offering since 2012. Previous artists include projects by Jaume Plensa (2012), Tadashi Kawamata (2013), Paul McCarthy (2014), Dan Graham (2015) and Ugo Rondinone (2016). This year, FIAC has associated with the Chantal Crousel gallery to present an in situ project of American artist Oscar Tuazon at the Place Vendôme.
Performance festival Parades: Contemporary dance, music and poetry
Launched last year, Parades for FIAC is a performance festival focusing on interdisciplinary dialogues between contemporary art and performance arts. Contemporary dance, music, performance, theatre, poetry and experimental live performances will be held at the Musée du Louvre, the Palais de la Découverte, the Petit Palais and the Centre Pompidou. Subject to availability, the admission to the Parades performance festival is free and the full programme can be accessed here.
Other events during FIAC 2017
A three-day conference cycle will be held from October 20 to 22, 2017, in the Conversation Room, a bespoke space created for the FIAC on the first floor of the Grand Palais. A carte blanche has been given to 89plus, an international research platform created by Simon Castets and Hans Ulricht Obrist, that focuses on creative innovations by post-1989 generation. All of the conversations can be accessed freely within the fair, subject to availability.
Cinéphémère, featuring a selection of films by international artists, will be held in a makeshift 14-seater movie theatre at Place Clémenceau near the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. For the programme, please visit FIAC or Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard. The programme can be accessed here.
La Colonie, founded by Kader Attia, will feature a series of events around the theme of “Afrofuturism” every evening during FIAC week, dedicated to artists such as Michelange Quay and Kapwani Kiwanga, from October 17 to October 22, 2017, 9 pm onwards.
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