With 25 countries represented by no less than 134 galleries, Art Paris has renewed its intention to be both an international affair and a national event eager to support French excellence. Since 2018, Art Paris has been working with a leading curator to select projects by French artists in relation to a defined theme. The 2023 edition is no exception to the rule, with Marc Donnadieu presiding over Art & Engagement.
On the strength of its success, Art Paris can count on the presence of several galleries that have decided to repeat their presence at the fair: 33% of exhibitors are making a comeback, including major galleries such as Almine Rech, Continua, Mennour, Perrotin, Templon, Nathalie Obadia and Lelong & Co.
Of all the exhibitors, 60% are French and 40% are international: a distribution that offers a broad overview of the international art scene and allows French talent to shine. With the return of the Derouillon, Dina Vierny, Catherine Putman, Maria Lund, and Anne-Sarah Benichou galleries, as well as the newcomer Maia Muller gallery, some of the most prominent French names will be present alongside regional galleries.
Outside of France, several countries will be represented for the first time at Art Paris: Chile with AMS, Uganda with Afriart, Romania with Gaep, and Lebanon with Saleh Barakat Gallery. Turkey (Martch Art Project and The Pill), Morocco (Comptoir des Mines and Atelier 21), and Korea (H.A.N. Gallery, Gallery Woong, Simon Gallery and 313 Art Project) will also be present, as well as a number of newcomers from all horizons.
Modern art will shine with the return of the Ditesheim, Zlotowski and Repetto galleries and the first participation of Retelet (Monaco). At the same time, photography will be in the spotlight with Bigaignon and Fisheye Gallery, and the return of Camera Obscura.
This 2023 edition is structured around two main themes: one is chaired by Marc Donnadieu, an independent curator who leads Art & Engagement with 20 French artists selected by him. This theme could not be any more topical today, as well as being the source of inspiration for many contemporary artists. Marc Donnadieu points this out himself: "There are works [...] that force us to be clear-sighted, to emancipate ourselves, to empathise, and force us to open our eyes to art as well as to the world, to their history or to current events. It is this commitment of the artists and their works that I wish to highlight in the face of the darkness that darkens the sky of our time."
The second theme of 2023 is Exile. Amanda Abi Khalil, founder of TAP (Temporary Art Platform) in Beirut, is also an independent curator and has had the difficult task of articulating this difficult but important theme with a selection of 18 international artists.
In addition to these two themes, visitors will be able to discover various exceptional exhibitions scattered throughout the fair, with, on the one hand, the 'Solo Show', including sixteen solo exhibitions, each dedicated to a modern, contemporary or emerging artist; and, on the other hand, the 'Duo Show', in which ten or so galleries have skilfully elaborated historical or inter-generational dialogues between two artists (René Magritte and Marcel Mariën, for example, at the Retelet Gallery, or Mircea Stănescu and Damir Očko at the Gaep Gallery).
As far as the emerging scene is concerned, Art Paris has decided to renew the 'Promises' sector, a space dedicated to promising galleries less than six years old. There are nine of them this year.
Finally, Art Paris demonstrates its commitment not only in its themes, but also in its design: since 2022, Art Paris has relied on an eco-design approach based on life cycle analysis (LCA), a first in the art fair world.
With such an exciting programme ahead, the 25th Art Paris fair promises to be a memorable event for the modern and contemporary art scene. Find all the information about the event here!
