Swiss precision to revive the Paris International Contemporary Art Fair

About the first edition of Paris + by Art Basel, held in Paris from 20 to 23 October.

Last week made Paris the world capital of contemporary art.  From 20 to 23 October, all the spotlights were on the new formula of the famous international contemporary art fair, now known as "Paris + by Art Basel", bringing with it a host of arty delights. This first edition of the Swiss-style fair, but "respecting the identity of Paris and its cultural scene", as Marc Spiegler assured us, was held in the Grand Palais Ephémère and on several sites in the capital. Bringing together 156 French and international art galleries, from the most prestigious in the world, starting with Perrotin, Templon and Gagosian, to handpicked emerging art galleries, the art market's not-to-be-missed event multiplied events, both commercial and otherwise, over the course of a few intensive days, setting Paris abuzz with excitement. This was an exceptional opportunity to find the most highly-rated works of art for sale of the moment, but also, for the journalists of the art magazine L'Oeil, to take a quick look at what to look out for.

Paris + is first and foremost the great return of foreign art galleries, with their works of art for sale in "clash of the titans" mode. Starting with thirty or so from the East Coast of the United States, including Peter Freeman who had stopped participating in the Fiac and who this year was delighted to return to Paris. "We are certain that the vision of Art Basel will make Paris + an important French fair, which will occupy a primordial place in the international landscape, due to the support of the exhibitors and their desire to present a solid offer to collectors," asserts this American dealer heavyweight. "In addition to this North American predominance, we note the very small number of Asian galleries and the absence of signs from the African continent," notes Anne-Cécile Sanchez for L'Oeil.

The journalist also observes what could pass for a decline in modern art in Paris +. Only about fifteen modern art galleries were present, including four French ones: Galerie 1900-2000, Applicat-Prazan, Le Minotaure and Galerie Zlotowski. That is to say only 10% devoted to this sector of the market. In fact, modern art is no longer the preserve of specialised galleries. One need only think of the exhibition currently on view at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, featuring Claude Monet and Joan Mitchell, to see that dialogue between the different avant-gardes is now commonplace, even in museum hangings. Of course, contemporary art galleries were predominant at Paris +, but that didn't stop them from representing numerous successions of pre-war artists, such as Georges Mathieu, Hans Hartung or Gérard Schneider at Perrotin, Jean Degottex at Mennour, Paul Klee and Josef Albers at David Zwirner...

Sixteen emerging structures were included in the Paris + selection, six more than at the Fiac, notes Anne-Cécile Sanchez. Even if she is rightly surprised that the art gallery Anne Barrault, at the height of its 25 years of existence, was admitted as a "young gallery", like the Edouard Montassut galleries, alongside real newcomers such as Parliament, whose small premises on the rue d'Engien already has some experience of major fairs, since in 2021 the young art gallery had participated in Frieze London, with a series of paintings for sale by the artist Natacha Donzé. There were also two "young" galleries that were already present at Fiac: Chris Sharp Gallery, from New York, and Sans titre, from Paris, which is clearly on the rise since it now has a shop window in the Marais district.

For lovers of sculpture, as part of the "Sites" programme of Paris + by Art Basel, a tour outside the walls went through the Tuileries, the Place Vendôme and the Eugène Delacroix museum, but also this year through the Petits-Augustins chapel at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. Where the excellent idea was to nestle, between the casts of medieval bas-reliefs and Renaissance statuary, a multimedia installation by Israeli video artist Omer Fast, to whom the Jeu de Paume had devoted a solo show in 2015. In 2021, the Parisian art gallery gb agency also presented a version of the device that the artist had designed for the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, which unfortunately the pandemic did not allow to be opened to the public.

But you should also not miss the exhibition Au cours des Mondes, which is still on view until 13 November at Place Vendôme, where the spectacular forms of the monumental work by the German-Polish artist Alicja Kwade compete with concrete and stone in the heart of this political and precious setting. "This installation is about the world, our race around it and our attempts to find a certain place on this planet," explains Alicja Kwade. The purity of the polished marble spheres, clashing with the geometry of the concrete stairs: everything contributes to giving a cosmic dimension to this place where visitors wander around as if to find their own place. "It is about showing the absurdity of a race to nothingness.

As the name "contemporary art fair" implies, the main purpose of the event is of course to bring together in one place works of art for sale from all over the world... to sell them to collectors from all over the world. But can other collectors than millionaires or billionaires try to come and find their happiness? Anne-Cécile Sanchez wondered if it was possible during Paris + to find something for less than 100 €. And indeed she found... a matchbox decorated with a drawing by the American painter living and working in Berlin, Dorothy Iannone, sold for €50! Otherwise, you had to prowl the stands of the two art galleries mfc-michelle didier and Not Work Alone to hope to find works of art for sale that were affordable for the average person. Even so, you'll have to pay €390 for a watch designed by Ryan Gander, the contemporary British artist in the François Pinault collection. Or €500 for an iron arm in the shape of a bronze hammer, a recent creation by Belgian sculptor Eric Croes.

But never mind, with Paris + by Art Basel, we know that we are not here to quibble. That we are in the top of the range. That we want to give France an international aura in the art world in the age of globalisation. So the goal has obviously been reached with the Swiss war machine. A slight downside to the euphoria displayed everywhere at the end of this premiere? It would seem that the desire to create "new bridges between contemporary art and the French cultural industries such as fashion, music, design and cinema", as stated by Marc Spiegler, the head of Art Basel, has not been particularly noticeable...