the 36th international contemporary art fair FIAC

The 37th edition of FIAC will be held from 21st to 24th October 2010 at the Grand Palais, the Cour Carrée du Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries, outstanding sites that are emblematic of Paris, imbued with its history and cultural life. Because of the high standards it sets and constantly renews and the synergies it has developed with the major Parisian institutions, FIAC occupies a position as one of the not-to-be-missed international events relating to artistic creativity.

Devised in a spirit of continuity, FIAC confirms the founding principles of its identity: its generalist vocation that leads it to offer a balanced panorama of modern art, contemporary art and up-andcoming creativity; its openness to the diversity of artistic practices, as evidenced by the outdoor projects in the Jardin des Tuileries, its programme of performances, or indeed the initial showing this year of a cycle of artists’ films; and lastly its concern for constantly reinforced quality and artistic selectivity.

FIAC 2010 will bring together 194 galleries of modern and contemporary art, coming from 24 countries. France accounts for 73 galleries, i.e. 38%, Germany comes next with 22 galleries, then the United States with 22 galleries, Italy with 14, Belgium with 11, and Switzerland with 10. Countries represented for the first time are Japan, Mexico, Korea and Ireland. 63 galleries are exhibiting for the first time or have returned to FIAC in 2010.

Among the outstanding events to make a note of are solo exhibitions by Yayoi Kusama at Victoria Miro (London), Alighiero Boetti at Barbara Gladstone (New York), Adel Abdessemed at David Zwirner (New York), General Idea presented jointly by the Frédéric Giroux (Paris), Mai. 36 (Zurich) and Esther Shipper (Berlin) galleries, Jesús Raphael Soto at Natalie Seroussi (Paris), François Rouan at the Ditescheim gallery (Neuchâtel), Jean-Pierre Pincemin at Applicat-Prazan (Paris) and Tauba Auerbach at Standard (Oslo).

For his first participation in FIAC Peter Kilchmann (Zurich) will present new projects by Andro Wekua and Francis Alÿs, while Micheline Szwajcer (Antwerp) will show new works by Ann Veronica Janssens and Konrad Dedobbeleer. Michael Craig-Martin will carry out a specific project for the stand of Claudine Papillon (Paris).

Further highlights will be the presentation of outstanding works by George Grosz, Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner and Max Beckmann at Henze & Ketterer (Wichtrach (Berne), Riehen (Basel)), Hanne Darboven at Klosterfelde (Berlin) and Jonathan Meese at Contemporary Fine Arts (Berlin), to mention only a few.

At the Cour Carrée du Louvre
The Cour Carrée will house 85 galleries, including 25 new ones exhibiting for the first time or coming back to FIAC – 11 in the Lafayette Sector.

The newcomers at the Cour Carrée are Bendana-Pinel Art Contemporain (Paris), Bernard Ceysson (Luxembourg, Paris, Saint-Étienne), Bertrand Grimont (Paris), Crèvecoeur (Paris), Galerie of Marseille (Marseille), Mfc-Michèle Didier (Brussels), Mitterrand+Sanz (Zurich), Parra & Romero (Barcelona), Plan B (Cluj, Berlin), Poggi, Bertoux Associés (Paris), PSM (Berlin), Salon 94 (New York), Schirman & De Beaucé (Paris), and West (The Hague).

Among the noteworthy events in the Cour Carrée will be solo exhibitions by Boris Mikhailov at Suzanne Tarasiève (Paris), Michael Lin at Nogueras Blanchard (Barcelona), Noel Dolla at Dominique Fiat, the joint presentation of works by Olivier Mosset and François Morellet at Martine and Thibault de la Châtre (Paris) as well as the exhibition of photographs by Carlo Mollino staged by Salon 94 (New York) and an outstanding work by Barry X Ball devised specifically for FIAC, Sleeping Hermaphrodite, a black marble sculpture made in close collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, referring to the famous Hermaphrodite Endormi.

Among the thematic presentations, Bernard Ceysson (Paris, Luxembourg, Saint Etienne) will be showing a collection of historic works by the French movement Supports/Surfaces. A reference book, Le Moment Supports/Surfaces, will be published to coincide with the event.

Lastly, with the objective of strengthening and widening its commitment to the newest galleries, and thanks to a partnership with Adagio, FIAC will subsidize the accommodation costs of the 51 non-Parisian exhibitors at the Cour Carrée for the duration of the Fair.

The Lafayette Sector and the Prix Lafayette
Following their first collaboration in 2009, FIAC and its official sponsor, the Galeries Lafayette group, are renewing their support for up-and-coming galleries with the Lafayette Sector. This programme brings together 16 galleries in the Cour Carrée, selected by a jury consisting of Pierre Bal-Blanc (Centre d'Art Contemporain, Brétigny), Mathieu Copeland (exhibition curator, London), Beatrix Ruf (Kunsthalle, Zurich) and Marc-Olivier Wahler (Palais de Tokyo, Paris) for the quality of their forward programming, and on the basis of a specific project for FIAC involving one or two artists.

This programme gives each gallery a significant financial subsidy towards its participation in FIAC and will lead to the award of the Prix Lafayette 2010 on Thursday, 21st October. It consists of the acquisition of a work by the Galeries Lafayette group as well as the presentation of an exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in October 2011, along with a sum of money for the production of a new work.

Carol Bove, the winner of the Prix Lafayette 2009, represented by the Hotel gallery (London), will be exhibiting at the Palais de Tokyo from 7th to 31st October 2010.

This programme demonstrates the shared desire of FIAC and the Galeries Lafayette group to give serious support to the players on the young international art scene. For the Galeries Lafayette, that commitment fits into the context of an all-embracing supportive approach to the whole chain of production and distribution of contemporary creative work, in which galleries are a crucial link.