An Art Afternoon

If last weekend was devoted to Cars, this weekend is shaping up to be devoted to art. This weekend the Grand Palais and the Cour du Louvre is the place to be for the 35th annual Foire Internationale D’Art Contemporain, or more simply known as FIAC. This year’s FIAC hosted two hundred participants, of which 114 were foreign exhibitors. And I can tell you that they had a very fine and diverse selection of modern and contemporary art.
Our visit started with, funnily enough, champagne (thanks to a friend who had invited us to a private “brunch” if you will) and a guided visit. And when we had finished the guided visit, we leisurely made our way among the different stands and it proved to be one of the most visually arresting visits I’d ever made outside a museum. Imagine if you will, the variety of modern artists available for viewing under the elegant completely restored dome of the Grand Palais, where the autumnal light bathed everything in a rosy light, and you can see why it makes for one of those unforgettable afternoons. Unlike literature with its more easily categorized characteristics for what distinguishes bad from good, art appreciation tilts more towards the subjective. All the more so when the art in question is modern or contemporary. The question of what makes something a piece of art as opposed to squiggles on a canvas, is never a line drawn in stone. For me (as I imagine it is for other people) the line is more often than not drawn where the piece of work touches or moves me, an answering call, if you will, to the art work’s siren call. What is clear is that modern art provokes questions, debate and contemplation as to why we should consider it as art. Whether or not we agree on what we like or dislike, what is most reassuring is that artists nowadays are more free than ever to experiment, and express, in whatsoever way they choose, their artistic urgings. And there are people ready to support such endeavors.

This year's FIAC ran the gamut from established artists like Warhol, Basquiat and Calder to relatively new comers who had some very interesting works.

Here are a few of the more striking ones..

Untitled (Union Street) by Gregory Crewdson-- we were surprised to learn that this photo is actually a composed one. The artist had painstakingly assembled each and every element in this photo to create what we can see now...




The bronze sculpture that is the model for the the large Kate Moss free standing scuplture called Sphinx by Mark Quinn...

The Nebula Crab, again by Mark Quinn. A genuinely interesting artist whose been known to use his own blood (among other things) in his art work..

One by Alexander Calder..

A personal favorite...one by Mimmo Rotella

And because this weekend is devoted to art, we had the pleasures of the Petit Palais waiting for us at the end of our FIAC visit. A short hop across the street and we were in the equally elegant interiors of the Petit Palais where the Patrick Demarchelier exhibition is currently running. And while Red Addict has already done a great job reviewing said exhibition, permit me to add a few words.

What struck me the most about the exhibition was the clever juxtaposition of the temporary exhibition with the permanent collection of the Petit Palais. It permits the viewer to discover the works of Patrick Demarchelier and at the same time view an older artwork with fresh eyes. To view them was to see mirror images that echoed each other despite a difference in a few hundred years between their creation. And it allows for a deeper appreciation for both works despite their seeming disparity.

One with Sandra Bernhard and French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy...both could have been called Portrait of a strong willed woman

Ideas of the feminine beauty...one by Courbet, others by Demarchelier

While Demarchelier is most renowned for his fashion pictures, he was also an excellent portraitist..

And last but not the least but just because I thought this was funny..