Art FIAC 2016

Impressions from FIAC Art Fair 2016

Yoshitomo Nara, Miss Forest, 2016, Blum & Poe, FIAC On Site

Presumptive Close, Pae White, 2016, Kaufmann Repetto

Elmgreen & Dragset, The Village, 2016, Perrotin

A few weeks before the opening of FIAC, on 26th of October, the Perrotin booth was installed for one day in an empty Grand Palais. On the 19th of October, preview day, the hall was filled with all the booths. “The booth was placed at the exact same spot where it is now on the preview with the same art works on display”, says Ingar Dragset when I spoke with the Scandinavian duo at the fair. “It struck me was when the hall was only filled with Perrotin’s booth and the art works were installed people really focused on what was on display”, says Michael Elmgreen. He continues: “It was an art situation with an intimate atmosphere. Galleries want to represent their artists in the best way they can, but at an art fair the art works tend to drown. I feel quite intimidated by art fairs in general because everyone is screaming for attention: look at me! Our Perrotin booth was an experiment of how does it look when you have one booth at the fair. Is the format of the booth a problem? No, it is not. It is bringing together of all these booths that creates an overwhelming situation where I feel almost sick after twenty minutes”.

Urs Fisher, Scribble Line, 2016, Sadie Coles