27–30 March 2014
Opening: 26 March, 6–10pm
Grand Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris
Hours:
Thursday 27 March, 11:30am–8pm
Friday 28 March, 11:30am–10pm
Saturday 29 March, 11:30am–8pm
Sunday 30 March, 11:30am–7pm
Art Paris Art Fair 2014, the place to be this spring
Some 140 galleries from 20 countries will come together from 27 to 30 March under the celestial dome of the Grand Palais, presenting a wide-ranging panorama of modern and contemporary art that includes photography, design and art book publishing.
China guest of honour
The 2014 edition has set out to highlight the dynamism of the modern and contemporary art scene of China, showcasing some 90 artists of different generations represented by galleries from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as some 20 or so Western galleries.
Iron fist, a monumental sculpture by Liu Bolin produced by Galerie Paris-Beijing, will stand at the entrance of the Grand Palais. Also on show is Buddha Jumps over the Wall by Zhang Ding, an installation shown by Hélène Bailly Gallery in association with ShanghArt gallery. Meanwhile, a previously unseen selection of leading Chinese artists belonging to a private French collection will be unveiled at the fair.
Chinese artist Li Wei will stage a special performance, Li Wei Flies in Paris, where the artist dressed as a cosmonaut will fly over the fair on Thursday 27 March at noon, then again at 5:30pm.
Last but not least, “Art in China today, what will the future hold?” is the theme of a round table discussion (in English) on Thursday 27 March from 4 to 5:30pm at the auditorium of the Grand Palais. It brings together experts on the Chinese art scene including art critic Karen Smith and collector Dr. Uli Sigg.
Special event: Miguel Chevalier work projected on the façade of the Grand Palais
Among the many events taking place at the fair, a new monumental digital work by French artist Miguel Chevalier entitled The Origin of the World will be projected onto the façade of the Grand Palais from 7.30pm to midnight from 26 to 29 March 2014. The inspiration derives from biology, micro-organisms and cellular activity. Slowly, and then faster and faster, cells multiply, split, fuse together and proliferate. Huge images made of unstable black and white pixels gradually slide into spirals of saturated colour that swirl in a choreography, dancing to the music of Michel Redolfi. Organic and pixelated, this artificial world seems to be teeming with life. This form of technological “new baroque” perpetually renews itself, creating shapes out of nothing. It is a tribute to Mexican muralists such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros who created monumental works in public spaces so that art became accessible to the largest possible number.
This installation has been made possible thanks to Utram and Voxels Productions, together with Galerie Louise Alexander.
Springtime in Paris
The Springtime in Paris VIP programme focuses on the wealth of artistic activity in Paris at this time of year, with Robert Adams and Mathieu Pernot at the Jeu de Paume, Lida Abdul at the Calouste Gulbenkian foundation, Angelika Markul at the Palais de Tokyo, Astralis at the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton, America Latina at the Fondation Cartier, and Bill Viola and Robert Mapplethorpe at the Grand Palais. The Chinese theme is also visible at the Musée Cernushi with contemporary artists in the Museum collections (Wang Keping, Ma Desheng, Ru Xiaofan, Li Fang…), at the Musée des arts décoratifs with the exhibition De la Chine aux Arts Décoratifs, as well as in the newly rearranged collections at the Centre Pompidou and the Modernités Plurielles exhibition. Also on show at the Centquatre-Paris is the monumental work by French artist Prune Nourry, who spent a year in China to make Terracotta Daughters.
Travel: For travel arrangements and accommodation, please take advantage of our partnership with Turon Travel, T + 1 212 925 5453 / apaf [at] turontravel.com
Press agency: 2e Bureau
Sylvie Grumbach, Martial Hobeniche
T +33 0 1 42 33 93 18 / artparis [at] 2e-bureau.com
