06 Feb 2020

ART PARIS 2020

Art Paris is pleased to announce its 22nd edition as it returns to the Grand Palais from April 2-5, 2020. In the 20 years since its founding, Art Paris has established itself as Paris's major spring fair for modern and contemporary art. Bringing together more than 150 galleries from over 20 countries – from the post-war to the contemporary period, Art Paris is a place for discovery, placing special emphasis on the European scene, whilst exploring the new horizons of international creative hubs, whether in Asia, Africa, the Middle East or Latin America. This year, the fair will showcase a two-fold 'focus' – turning to both the French contemporary art scene and the emerging Iberian art hubs, specifically Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid and Porto. In parallel, the 'Solo Show' sector will be dedicated to monographic exhibitions, while 'Promises' pursues its support to young and emerging galleries.

An Overview of the French Art Scene: Common and Uncommon Stories
Each year, in support of the French scene, Art Paris invites a curator to engage critically and historically with a selection of projects by French artists presented by participating galleries. In Common and Uncommon Stories, guest curator Gaël Charbau brings together the work of 22 artists, most of which were born in the 1980s, responding to the notion of the narrative and the ambiguous interplay between singularity and universality in storytelling.

Southern Stars: An Exploration of the Iberian Peninsula
Following its extensive survey of the Latin American scene in 2019, Art Paris turns to the Iberian Peninsula, bringing light to Spanish and Portuguese art from the 1950s to the present day. 25 galleries will be presenting works by a selection of 74 artists – from modern masters to contemporary artists. In parallel, projects including a video programme, site-specific installations, and conferences at the Instituto Cervantes and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Paris will highlight the creative effervescence flourishing in this part of Southern Europe.
Southern Stars: An Exploration of the Iberian Peninsula will be curated by Barcelona-based independent curator Carolina Grau.

'Solo Show': a showcase of 20 monographic exhibitions
Since 2015, Art Paris has encouraged the presentation of monographic exhibitions – a key moment in artists' careers – by inciting galleries to present specific single artist-focused projects. The 2020 edition will feature around 20 solo shows distributed throughout the fair. Highlights will include a site-specific project by South African artist Roger Ballen (Caroline Smulders in association with Karsten Greve); a mini-retrospective of British artist – best known for his colourful 'puddle' paintings – Ian Davenport (Luca Tommasi - Arte Contemporanea); and a rare ensemble of works by major Cuban artist Jesse A. Fernández at Galerie Orbis Pictus.

'Promises': a sector for young galleries and emerging talents
Purposefully placed at the very heart of the Grand Palais, 'Promises' will host 14 young galleries from Abidjan, Brussels, Lima, Lisbon, Rome, Sofia, Marseille and Paris, many of which will be exhibiting at Art Paris for the first time this year. The galleries will explore rarely represented art scenes, from Europe – in particular Bulgaria at Structura Gallery; Africa, with 31 Project, Galerie Véronique Rieffel and Septieme Gallery; and Latin America, represented by galerie Younique and 193 Gallery.

Paris in the Spring
Over the past few years, Paris has been reasserting its place as a capital of the arts. The 2020 VIP programme will invite guest collectors and art professionals to discover the city's very best spring art events. Highlights will include: Christo et Jeanne-Claude - Paris ! at the Centre Pompidou; Erwin Wurm at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie; Cindy Sherman – A retrospective (1975-2020) at the Fondation Louis Vuitton; Giorgio de Chirico. La peinture métaphysique at the Musée de l'Orangerie; Ulla von Brandenburg at the Palais de Tokyo; James Tissot (1836-1902), l'ambigu moderne at the Musée d'Orsay; Picasso poète at the Musée national Picasso-Paris; and the much-anticipated opening of La Fab. d'agnès b pour l'art contemporain.

List of exhibitors

Art Paris Office
55 avenue Kléber, 75116 Paris
T.: +33 (0)1 56 26 52 00


MEDIA CONTACT:

France
Pierre Laporte Communication (Paris)
Pierre Laporte, Laurent Jourdren, Romain Mangion
+33 (0)1 45 23 14 14
artparis@pierre-laporte.com

International
A R T Communication + Brand Consultancy (Berlin/New York)
Anna Rosa Thomae | CEO & Founder | art@annarosathomae.com
Roxane Latrèche | Account Executive | roxane@annarosathomae.com