Just when we thought we had it figured out, Paris Internationale has gone and reinvented itself. Billed as an alternative to FIAC, this young fair burst onto the scene in 2015. An independent start-up, it was jointly founded by five galleries: four from Paris’s Belleville district – Crèvecœur, High Art, Antoine Levi and Sultana – and one – Gregor Staiger – from Zürich. Rather than adding yet another specialized fair to Paris’s busy autumn season, the five wanted to create an alternative model: an event driven in part by the market, but where commercial galleries could mingle with a handful of invited project-spaces, and where a sharp selection from all over the world would promote a fresh new aesthetic.
Nicolas Guagnini at the galery Max Meyer
In its first two years, the fair took place in two abandoned mansions on the avenue d’Iéna, a stone’s throw from FIAC at the Grand Palais. While there’s no doubt that Paris Internationale is here to stay – and change the rules of the international art-fair game while it’s at it –, the third edition is bringing its share of surprises. This year it’s out with the domestic setting and in with what was once the raw-concrete heart of Gallic intellectual life. Come October, 54 participating galleries will gather in the former offices of French daily Libération, which until two years ago occupied a converted car park famous for its central spiral ramp. “While giving the galleries total freedom, the fair particularly appreciates monographic presentations,” explains Clément Delépine, exhibit coordinator with Silvia Ammon. This year Berlin gallery BQ will honour photographer Jochen Lempert, Düsseldorf’s Max Mayer will show Ei Arakawa’s pixelated screens, while LA-based Redling Fine Art is showcasing Pippa Garner, the implacable critic of American consumerism who is far too little known in Europe.
Foire Paris Internationale, from october 18th to 22n.
11, rue Béranger, 75003 Paris.
Antoine Levi's booth
Chateau Shatto's booth
