From Paris with Art during FIAC 2021

Despite the long list of cancellations and postponements in 2020, the 47th edition of Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC) plunged back into the international art calendar from the 21 -24 October 2021 at its new temporary location, le Grand Palais Éphémère. The absence of the architectural prowess of the Grand Palais (undergoing reconstruction until 2024) was compensated by the joy of experiencing contemporary art in person.

Among the most esteemed events of its kind in Europe, FIAC is a unique rendez-vous for visitors due to the high-quality exhibitions in commercial spaces and art institutions. More than 170 galleries from 25 countries were present at this year’s art fair, with 32 new galleries in the General Sector, including Zeno X, Efremidis, or Suprainfinit together with major players in the industry – Emmanuel Perrotin, Gagosian, Kamel Mennour, Almine Rech, Galleria Continua or Thaddaeus Ropac, while 10 of the Young Galleries Sector have been provided with financial support throughout the fair. The Design Sector was present as well this year along with booths of fine art editions and multiples, extended by Fiac Online Viewing Rooms with 43 galleries who exhibited exclusively online. The iconic FIAC Hors les Murs exhibition took the streets of Paris with over 25 outdoor artworks presented in collaboration with the Domaine national du Louvre et des Tuileries at the Jardin des Tuileries. Counted among outstanding projects in the public space are Stefan Rinck’s limestone sculptures, Jems Koko Bi’s work “Empty”, or Alexander Cader’s monumental “Flying Dragon” at Place Vendôme in collaboration with Gagosian.The program incorporated as well a personal exhibition of the artist Jean Claracq, curated by Claire Bessède at the Eugène Delacroix National Museum. FIAC Programmes was completed by the Conversation Room, a cycle of conferences, and the performance programme Parades for FIAC.

In addition, the partner institution Petit Palais showcased Jean-Michel Othoniel’s solo exhibition Le Théorème de Narcisse, in collaboration with Perrotin.

As a matter of fact Paris attracts its public with the abundance of art events at private foundations, galleries and outstanding museum shows that coincide with FIAC and are worth being mentioned:

“Nature Morte” a carte blanche by Anne Imhof at Palais de Tokyo – the German artist, winner of the Golden Lion at the 2017 Venice Biennale for her performative exhibition in the German Pavilion, has struck again with a multidisciplinary exhibition that has occupied entirely Palais de Tokyo. The artist involved the composer Eliza Douglas, 30 guest artists, and a group of performers who engaged with Imhof’s installations in an all-embracing, polyphonic work. It was everything from beautiful, provoking to grunge.

Another remarkable institutional show is the first retrospective of Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) at the Centre Pompidou. This exhibition consisting of some hundred paintings, drawings, and photographs is regarded as a complete review of one of the greatest figures in 20th-century North American art.

Besides great museums in Paris, like the Louvre, Musée D’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie, or Jeu de Paume, a significant portion of the art is owned by private collectors, and thankfully some of these patrons have decided, due to good grace or tax breaks to open their treasures to the public. The Pinault Collection is a good example. The luxury goods billionaire who owns Christie’s auction house converted Bourse de Commerce into a contemporary art museum where he displays the inaugural exhibition “Ouverture”, clustering two hundred works from over thirty artists such as David Hammons, Urs Fischer, Louise Lawler, Marlene Dumas or Xinyi Cheng, over a third of whom are presented for the first time by the collection.

Nevertheless, François Pinault’s rival, another billionaire art collector, Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH presents at his Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton, “The Morozov Collection. Icons of Modern Art” – an exhibition organized in partnership with the State Hermitage Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and the Tretyakov Gallery, on view until February 22, 2022.

This year during FIAC, the 22nd Pernod Ricard Corporate Foundation Prize was awarded to the visual artist Boris Kurdi, part of the group exhibition Bonaventure (Trafiquer les Mondes) conceived by Lilou Vidal, guest curator of the 2021 edition held for the first time at the Foundation’s new premises in Paris. Since 1999 the foundation has been rewarding young artists (under the age of 40) from the French art scene, and it consists in the purchase of the winners’ work, which is donated to the Pompidou Centre’s Musée National d’Art Moderne, plus a grant for an artistic project abroad.

On the list of impressive shows in semi-private spaces comes “Chambres à Part” at Galerie Kraemer, the oldest family-owned company in Paris (since 1875), specialized in 18th-century furniture and objets d’art. This exhibition curated by Laurence Dreyfus reveals a fine selection of modern and contemporary masters including Hans Hartung, Anish Kapoor, Franz West, Gregor Hildebrandt, and more, complemented by the 18th-century art objects in timeless dialogue with the exceptional furniture of the Maison. Part gallery and part private residence, you may easily pass by without realizing that behind the wooden doors lies one of the world’s largest privately-owned collections.

Coming back to the main topic of the article – FIAC, let’s see a selection of outstanding art pieces and booths from a significant number of participating galleries to the 2021 edition of the international art fair: Gallery Zeno X displayed figurative works by Luc Tuymans along with the great South African painter Marlene Dumas or Romanian artist, Mircea Suciu; Notable pieces by Martin Margiela, who’s shifting focus from avant-garde fashion to making art, were on show for the first time in Paris.

The Berlin-based gallery CFA showcased an intricately beautiful large-scale woodcut print on canvas by the artist duo Gert & Uwe Tobias, along with other works from artists like Sarah Lucas or Tobias Spichtig.

The Parisian gallery, Anne Barrault revealed works by the filmmaker Marie Losier, whose pair of embroidered blue curtains gazing at the public, disguising her video boxes, accompanied by drawings of Roland Topor, and some recent paintings of Guillaume Pinard.

The In Situ – Fabienne Leclerc booth drew attention with the ecstatic accumulation in the installation conceived by the Iranian-born, Dubai–based artist collective Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, and Hesam Rahmanian.

Xavier Hufkens gallery presented a corner with works by female leading artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Alice Neel, and Tracey Emin’s large painting called I Wanted To Feel Safe With You from 2019, completed just before she was diagnosed with bladder cancer, which made her take a long break from making art.

In the Young Galleries Sector, Soft Opening lines up Sin Wai Kin’s installation, composed of twelve portraits developed from imprints of drag makeup into facial wipes. The artist, active in the drag scene investigates the endless possibilities of identity and gender constructions while leaving behind a physical trace of what otherwise would be just an ephemeral performance.

From the solo shows category, Neugerriemschneider welcomed the visitors with Thomas Brayle’s installation made of anachronistic wallpaper spanning both the inner and outer walls of the gallery booth. Playing on the repetition of forms, motion, and sound, in a diverse range of media, the German artist draws inspiration from Italian Renaissance frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, with reference to masters such as Masaccio and Masolino or the Baroque imaginary of Caravaggio.

Victoria Miro participated this year with a duo- show by Paula Rego and Chantal Joffe. On the walls of the booth, the “Little Red Riding Hood” in Rego’s series begins with a girl saying goodbye to her mother and heading to the forest, but the traditional narrative is diverted, reintroducing the mother as the central figure who enacts revenge on the wolf. On the other hand, Chantal Joffe reconstructs a personal story in her series of works “What I Did Not See”, representing a period of time in which the artist suffered a concussion and lost recollection of events.

Last but not least, discovering 1950s oil paintings by Giorgio de Chirico (1888 – 1978), one of the most controversial and fascinating artists at Nahmad Contemporary, was an unexpected surge of excitement. De Chirico first exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1924, returning various times while being inspired to paint a series of views of the most famous landmarks of the city.