Fiac 2006
The
33rd international Foire of contemporary art is reinvented in two
places of paris, Cour Carrée du Louvre et Grand Palais, while
passing by the garden of Tuileries. Visit of a historical building site
with J-7 of its opening to the public.
Jean, black jacket, Weston black and black leather basket-, Martin
Béthenod, young responsable of Fiac, has the serious one of the
athlete before the OG. Pale like an actress of the dumb man, draped of
a long frock coat violet bordered of black fur like a diva for her
great role, Jennifer Flay, artistic director, the voluble excitation of
the child has seeing his dream carried out. The duet which in three
years upset the practices of Fiac (international Fair of contemporary
art), last year still exiled with the Door of Versailles, would dance
almost of joy on the wood platform which covers the classified
fountain, in the center of immense Square Cour of Louvre. There, on
this elevated horse-gear will be held, Tuesday evening, the first of
two varnishings which will reveal with the VIP, first spectators of any
fair, the metamorphosis of the 33e Fiac. First curtain raiser, before
that in brass band of the Grand Palais, as of the next morning.
Visual shock that this transparent bubble which settles like a veil in
the stone enclosure of Louvre, to 25 m of the walls to leave room to
the visitors of the largest museum of France (more than 5.200 m2 used
on a surface of 14.000 m2). Idea fully succeeded that this tent in
three modules which respects the monumentality of the Cour
Carrée, its architecture open of the bridge of Arts to the
street of Rivoli, of the inflatable Moon of Bruno Peinado, posed in the
gardens of Infante, with the walkers of the city under the arcades. By
gathering the technical installations in the four covered corners of
gray beads (matched with the door frames of Louvre), the party is taken
to play the light. Like the roofs, opaque in the south, transparent in
north to tame the sky of Paris. “Very beautiful the day, magic the
night with the lighting of the Square Court which reflects itself on
this bubble”, summarizes Martin Béthenod, who worked with tact
and inward conviction to make accept the fair of art to the museum.
Respecting with the smile the requirements of the architect of the
Building industries of France, which defends the inheritance until
least paved court. Some, like the creative Kreo gallery and its stars
of the market, or Patrick Seguin, the French who allures New York,
preferred to be sulky the 33e Fiac that “to be relegated” to the Square
Court, with the 70 stands dedicated to the youngest galerists and to
the pioneers of the design: faithful to the station, Downtown, Jousse,
Éric Philippe, little from abroad like Ulrich Fiedler, after the
defection of last minute of David Gill. Put in scene on a flexible
chess-board, the “open space” invented for the latter by Emmanuel
Combarel and Domenica Marrec want “to escape the repetitive side from
the stands”. It shows a French will of revival and visual audacity
which already at the end of four years a young fair triumphing like
Frieze Art Fair in London forgot. Conversely, the question will arise -
until the double varnishing - loss of visitors between the two sites of
Fiac. They are separated by 35 minutes from walk in the garden from
Tileries and its course of 13 sculptures, already impressive by its
David Mack (It takes 2) installed Wednesday evening, his Long Richard
posed stone with stone on quite green grass, its volute pure metal of
Tony Cragg (I Am Alive).
As one already saw for the Biennial one of the Antique dealers, the
enormous surface of the Grand Palais (13 000 m2) is reduced to only
4.000 m2 stands because of the safety requirements to be respected. A
format more thus tightened than with the Porte of Versailles, 20 m2 to
91 m2 (the galleries Lelong, Templon or Waddington). It was necessary
to keep 98 exhibitors under the nave, that is to say 168 galleries on
the whole out of the 450 candidates (25% of more than last year).
Before ensurebeing even ensured of the return of the queen of the
national fairs to the Large Palate, 91% of the participants in Fiac
2005 wanted to already return, against 98% for the Fair of Basle, the
international must. A good point. Tuesday morning, the first truck
entered under the nave, with the great agitation of these two young
militants of the French cause, “convinced of our cultural exception
which leaves more freedom, of surprise, therefore of discovered beyond
the laws of the strict market”.
Enough “pros” to have justified the faithful ones (Waddington, Karsten
Greve, Chantal Crousel), caused the return of old (Jan Krugier, Marian
Goodman or Gmurzynska which triumphs in Beaubourg with Yves Klein) as
of new who shine (Sadie Coles and Massimo de Carlo, high-speed
motorboats with Frieze 2006). After the arrival noticed in Fiac 2005,
of Annely Juda (London), Eva Presenhuber (Zurich) or Hauser & Wirth
(London, Zurich). Enough modest to let occur all the parallel events.
Happy all in all of “all this effervescence of Paris” (to read framed
opposite). One week decisive.
