A sustainable approach to utopian visions and local crafts. Art Paris 2024

From April 4 to April 7, Grand Palais Éphémère will host the 26^th edition of Art Paris. This major modern and contemporary art event annually brings regional and international perspectives together. In this year’s edition, 136 art galleries from 25 countries will be involved. The main focus of this art fair is to open visitors up to diversity while supporting the locality of the French art scene. The two main themes of the event were led by Éric de Chassey (“Fragile Utopias”) and Nicolas Trembley (“Art & Craft”), guest curators for this year’s edition. 

Art Paris is the first art fair to approach organisational processes sustainably. Its focus on locality, transportation, and management is achieved through a life-cycle assessment (LCA) that analyses the environmental impact at all process stages.  

If you want to get an overview of what has been prepared for the visitors of Art Paris 2024, have a look at our selection of main sections and highlights! Undoubtedly, the presented artists and the event will stay with you for a long time!

“Between a strong selection of 136 exhibitors from 25 countries offering a distinctive mix of local and leading international galleries, the focus on two themes “Fragile Utopias” and “Art & Craft” led by prominent curators and a wealth of first-class exhibitions in a city, Paris, which has become the European art capital in the run-up of the 2024 Olympic Games, Art Paris 2024 promises to be a truly unique and exciting artistic marathon!“ – Guillaume Piens, Art Fair Director.

GENERAL SECTION

Fragile Utopias. A Focus on the French Scene,
curated by Éric de Chassey

This section presents the selection of 21 artists from the exhibiting galleries. These artists, who all represent the French art scene, were selected by the curator of this theme, Éric de Chassey. In his decision-making process, he was driven by the idea that visual arts is not only a medium of representation but also a way of shaping thinking, therefore “contributing to constructing possible utopias”. Defining utopia as “a perfect society in which people work well with each other and are happy” (Cambridge Dictionary), Éric de Chassey approaches it from the perspective of current times, uncertain and marked by major changes, as he describes. Audiences will, therefore, receive a ‘fragile’ lens into this theme.

In the selection of Éric de Chassey, a director of the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA), teacher at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and exhibition curator, includes: 

Jean-Michel Alberola (1953) – Templon, Yto Barrada (1971) – Polaris, Cécile Bart (1958) – Galerie Catherine Issert, Alice Bidault (1994) – Pietro Spartà, Pierrette Bloch (1928-2017) – Galerie Zlotowski, Nicolas Chardon (1974) – Oniris.art, Sonia Delaunay (1885 – 1979) – Galerie Berès, Mathilde Denize (née en 1986) – Perrotin, Nathalie du Pasquier (1957) – Yvon Lambert, Philippe Favier (1957) – Galerie 8+4, Elika Hedayat (1979) – Aline Vidal Paris, Sarah Jérôme (1979) – H Gallery, Benoît Maire (1978) – Nathalie Obadia, Vera Molnár (1924-2023) – Galerie Verart Véronique Smagghe, Michel Parmentier (1938-2000) – Loevenbruck, Juliette Roche (1884-1980) – Pauline Pavec, Edgar Sarin (1989) – Galerie Michel Rein, Daniel Schlier (1960) – Galerie East, Assan Smati (1972) – Nosbaum Reding, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992) – Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger, Raphaël Zarka (1977) – Mitterrand

On the opening day of Art Paris, from the artists selected by the curator, the jury will choose a winner of a prestigious ‘BNP Paribas Private Bank Prize’, which aims to support the French art scene. 

Art & Craft,
by Nicolas Trembley

The second of this year’s themes spotlight the contribution of crafts (ceramics, glass, tapestry, etc.) to the modern and contemporary art scene. This section will present around twenty international artists of the curator’s choice. The theme was inspired by the 19^th-century British Arts and Crafts movement and aims to rediscover “artists whose approach borrows from the world of craft“. As the curator Nicolas Trembley explains, the 20^th-century focus on applied arts “put an end to this historical way of doing things”, while the 21^st century has re-emphasised the importance of crafts related to locality and traditions. 

The choices of Nicolas Trembley, an art critic and independent exhibition curator, include: 

Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930-2017) – Richard Saltoun, Joël Andrianomearisoa (1977) – Almine Rech, Jean-Marie Appriou (1986) – Perrotin, Thomas Bayrle (1937) – Galerie East, Karina Bisch (1974) – Lahumière, Saloua Raouda Choucair (1916-2017) – Saleh Barakat, Michele Ciacciofera (1969) – Galerie Michel Rein, Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel (B. in 1976 and 1975) – Loevenbruck, Elizabeth Garouste (née en 1946) – Galerie Ketabi Bourdet, GE BA – Galerie Françoise Livinec, Josep Grau-Garriga (1929-2011) – Galerie Claude Bernard, Sheila Hicks (1934) – Galerie Claude Bernard, Jérôme Hirson (1984) – Galerie Le sentiment des choses, Patrick Kim-Gustafson (1986) – Marguo, Jacqueline Lerat (1920-1992) and Jean Lerat (1913-1992) – Capazza, Barbara Levittoux-Świderska (1933-2019) – Richard Saltoun, Oceania – anonymous sculpture made in 1920 – Galerie Jeanne Bucher Jaeger, Shiro Tsujimura (1947) – Galerie Le sentiment des choses, Jeanne Vicerial (1991) – Templon, Jane Yang-D’Haene (1968) – Bienvenu Steinberg & J

Solo Show

In addition to the two main themes of the art fair, Art Paris offers a Solo Show. This section presents 17 solo exhibitions by artists of different backgrounds and placements. Located throughout the Grand Palais Éphémère, solo shows present works of modern (Jean Hélion, Jacqueline, Jean Lerat), contemporary (Gilles Barbier or Samantha Mc Ewen) and emerging artists (Leyla Cardenas, Lucia Hierro, Katia Kameli).

Promises

Promises is a section dedicated to young galleries representing emerging artists. Nine international galleries will present new, forward-looking talents this year to visitors: Bim Bam Gallery (Paris), Galerie Felix Frachon (Brussels), Gaep (Bucharest), Hors-Cadre (Paris), Labs Contemporary Art (Bologna), Maāt Gallery (Paris), Molski gallery (Poznań), She Bam! Galerie Laetitia Gorsy (Leipzig), Soho Revue (London)

During the time of Art Paris, visitors can experience the associated events happening in the city: Paolo Roversi exhibition at Palais Galliera, Modern Paris exhibition at Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris and Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai Breath of an architect exhibition at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. 

The city of Paris, with the Art Paris fair, confirms its role as ‘the place to be’ for contemporary art. With newly opened galleries and venues, Paris has much to offer art-hungry visitors. However, for those who cannot come in person, Art Paris has created a website with virtual visits and various other tools to make exploring exhibited art easier.