Art Paris
Discover our art guide which covers the most significant and interesting Paris events that happened in the end of March at the galleries, museums and art fairs.
Anastasia Petrovskaya and Maria Korolevskaya
Art Fairs
Art Paris - 31 March-3 April
In its 16th year, it featured 143 galleries from 22 countries. The invitation of Korea as a guest of honour is the last of a trilogy of editions dedicated to exploring the art scenes of the East. This year’s edition was overseen by guest curator Sang-A Chun and spotlighted Korean art from the 1960s to the present day with 80 artists from the East Asian country.
Moon Beom Slow, Same (2006), Gallery Simon, Art Paris
Pavilion of Art and Design (Pad) - 31 March-3 April
20th anniversary at the Jardin des Tuileries creating dialogue between modern art, historical and contemporary design and jewellery. This year presented greater room to Primitive Art, and highlighted the vitality of raising such perspectives.
Maria Wettergren Gallery equally represents Scandinavian design and art and unique and limited edition works by Japanese designers, as well as kinetic photographs by modernist artists.
Grethe Sorensen Times Square in a Rush 7 (2011), Maria Wettergren Gallery, PAD
Installation view of gallery Sèvres' booth at PAD
On the occasion of 20 years of PAD, Sèvres has chosen Fabrice Hybert to have solo exhibition of his vases. The artist painted all spectacular vases on the monumental forms of Pierre Charpin between 2015 and spring 2016 and staged each work on a spin.
Drawing Now Paris - 30 March-3 April
This 10th edition represented the construction of a cultural bridge between France and Germany. It emphasized a focus on German traditions in the graphic arts and the particular vigor of its institutions, with a pointed interest in current drawings and prints cabinets of prominent German cities.
Salon du Dessin 2016
Salon du Dessin - 30 March-4 April
This year, the Salon du Dessin, featured 39 prestigious galleries specialising in Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary drawings. Also for the first time a foreign museum has been invited to show at the fair. It hosted an exhibition of 26 drawings from the collection of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Russia.
Art Institutions and Foundations
'Bentu: Chinese artists in a time of turbulence and transformation' - 27 January – 2 May 2016
Installation view of 'Bentu: Chinese artists in a time of turbulence and transformation', Louis Vuitton Foundation
Installation view of 'Bentu: Chinese artists in a time of turbulence and transformation', Louis Vuitton Foundation
According to the official website, this is the first exhibition of Chinese contemporary art in France in ten years. The exhibition brings together twelve artists of different generations who live and work in mainland China. The choice of works seeks to highlight the transient nature and fleeting forms of Chinese art, which is changing rapidly.
Exhibition view of Helena Almeid, 'My work is my My Body', Jea de Paume
As the continuation of the show at the Tate Modern – ‘Perfoming for the Camera’, which explored how performance artists use photography and how photography is in itself a performance – it was great to see the show of Helena Almeida ‘My Work is My Body’, Helena Almeida is considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Portuguese artists. Her long career has allowed her to gain a reputation from the 1970s onward as one of the leading figures of performance and conceptual art, notably for her participation in large international events such as the Venice Biennales of 1982 and 2005. Her works posed such question as how can the body and the movement of the body (always that of the artist) succeed in creating a work of art?
Exhibition view of Jean-Michel Alberola, 'L’aventure des détails', Palais de Tokyo
For us Palais de Tokyo is one of the favourite art places in Paris. The exhibitions and events hosted there are always provocative, innovative and cutting edge. Exhibition of Phillipe Parreno ‘Anywhere, Anywhere Out of the World’ in 2013 still was one of the strongest and memorable shows we have visited.
This time there is hosted 3 very different but exciting shows of JEAN-MICHEL ALBEROLA, FLORIAN & MICHAEL QUISTREBERT and group project ‘Double je’.
Exhibition view of Jean-Michel Alberola, 'L’aventure des détails', Palais de Tokyo
Since 20 years, this is a first large-scale show of Alberola, which brought together his diversified body of works such as paintings, neon lights, films, texts, objects, installations, sculptures, murals, publications and tracts. His art is standing between conceptualism, abstraction and figuration and is never devoid of humour.
Exhibition view of Florian et Michael Quistrebert, 'The Light of the light', Palais de Tokyo
Florian and Michael Quistrebert produced fifty-odd painted pieces for their solo exhibition, which pivot and turn around, creating a eclectic piece of optical theatre with lights, videos and paintings. This duo of brothers, nominated for the Prix Marcel Duchamp in 2014, explore the effects of light and shade, using contemporary, experimental techniques together with their personal approach to the materials.
Galleries
It is absolutely necessary to have a tour in Le Marais while your stay in Paris – area which is overflowing with art galleries. Finding your way through the labyrinth of charming streets with fashion boutiques, alluring cafes and art spots will give unforgettable aesthetic impressions. Be sure to have a walk through such streets as rue Vieille du Temple, Rue de Turenne, rue Charlot and the wonderful selection of galleries in Place des Vosges.
Exhibition view of Friedrich Kunath, 'My Loneliness Shines', VNH Gallery
One of the must-visit gallery in our list was VNH gallery, that was founded by Victoire de Pourtalès and Hélène Nguyen-Ban. It was one of the most highly anticipated commercial gallery launches in Paris in 2015. There we discovered show of German painter Friedich Kunath. His artworks oftenly compose the quotidian pathos with a jester-like humour, raising questions and exploring the ways in which we live, love and remember.
Exhibition view of Friedrich Kunath, 'My Loneliness Shines', VNH Gallery
Installation view of Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari, ‘SELETTI wears TOILETPAPER’, Perrotin Gallery
Emmanuel Perrotin has become an icon of the contemporary art scene in Paris, representing international avant-garde artists. The gallery stages an exceptional number of temporary exhibitions by both emerging and established artists and the vernissages are frequently star-studded.
On 2d of April was organized a pop-up exhibition ‘SELETTI wears TOILETPAPER’ (Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari) to launch new and exclusive edition.
Exhibition view of Markus Schinwald, 'Mystere', Thaddeus Ropac
Besides of additional space at Pantin, the space of gallery in Marais stretches across three floors, showcasing some of the most eminent artists on the contemporary art circuit. During our visit there was solo exhibition of Austrian artist Markus Schinwald. Schinwald displayed a new series of large-scale paintings as well as several installations mimicking machines in motion. His “machines” incorporate a repetitive movement, borrowed from 19th century clockwork, contained within a white frame. The sculptures’ continuous motion evokes a repetitive choreography.
On the second floor was exhibited ceramics of Miquel Barceló, which was a good crossover between his solo show at Picasso Museum, that we saw the day before.
Museums
Exhibition view, ‘Picasso. Sculptures’, Picasso Museum
Currently at the museum exhibited two prominent exhibitions – first one ‘Picasso. Sculptures’ and the second is solo show of Miquel Barceló. ‘Picasso. Sculptures’ provides a new look at these cast iron creations by systematically presenting them with their “double” or “variants. Featuring over 240 pieces, it is the largest collection of his sculpted work assembled since the Picasso Sculpteur exhibition at the Pompidou Centre back in 2000.
Exhibition view, ‘Picasso. Sculptures’, Picasso Museum
The Spanish abstract artist, Miquel Barceló is the first contemporary artist invited to present a monographic exhibition at the Hôtel Salé since its reopening in 2014. From neo-expressionist canvases to colorful still lifes and pale, thickly textured abstract paintings, he has explored the history of painting. He constantly challenges the medium’s traditional subjects and technics through the experimentation of light, color, perspective, and composition. The exhibition, titled ‘Sol y sombra’ displays an ensemble of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper from the 1990s to today.
Exhibition view of Miquel Barceló, 'Sol y sombra', Picasso Museum
If you already saw the extraordinary show of Anselm Kiefer at Royal Academy of Arts last autumn in London, and won’t be attracted to see a retrospective journey through the career of the celebrated German artist at the Centre Pompidou, it is also worth to visit the Atelier Brancusi, located at the Place Georges Pompidou, 75004. Built by the architect Renzo Piano, it is presented as a museum space containing his studio. It features a unique collection of 137 sculptures and will offer an insight to the career of a major artist in the history of modern sculpture.
Installation view, Zadkine Museum
For more sophisticated art lovers, we would also recommend to visit Zadkine Museum. Dedicated to the memory and the work of Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), this studio-museum shows a collection of almost 70 works – either in open areas or additional exhibition areas. As the other sculptors of his generation such as Gaudier-Brzeska, Villon, Archipenko, Brancusi, Lipschitz – Zadkine had major influence on twentieth century art with his powerful and original style.
Upcoming vernissages not to be missed
April 16th: Galerie Perrotin
April 22d: Marian Goodman and Kamel Mennour
May 7th: Gallery Xippas