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Art events have become a vital part of every well-heeled socialite's diary. Art is where the fashionable fun is, and keeping a finger on the pulse involves a hectic lifestyle of traveling, networking, and meeting curators, gallerists, collectors and artists. Here's the low-down on where to go and what to do.
Anybody and everybody is jumping on the art circuit. For art professionals, it's work and pleasure. For the hangers-on, it's a stylish swirl. The gang's all here. Everyone from pros to trend-followers is casting lots in the art game. For clinching the deals and meeting the players, having a diary full of art events is an absolute must.
In order to keep abreast of developments in the art market and learn more about established and upcoming artists, attending as many events as possible is of crucial importance.
The summer's over, and you're back from touring the Venice Biennale, Documenta 12 in Kassel and Skulptur Projekte in Münster. The art calendar for fall is chock-a-block with biennales, fairs, auctions, and exhibition openings at galleries, museums and foundations. As always, schedule organizing requires efficient time management and having the right invitations so you're seen on the right occasions.
USA
The first destination is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, for the VIP opening party of 'Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson' on September 5. The Icelandic artist is on a roll, having just designed the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion for 2007 with the Norwegian architect Kjetil Thorsen, so this presents a fantastic opportunity to meet him.
Then it's over to New York for the Post-War and Contemporary Art sale at Christie's on September 10, followed by Sotheby's Contemporary Art Sale on September 12. The major players in the art world will be there, and some new record prices for artists are likely to be set. Another key date is the Guggenheim's opening of Richard Prince's seminal exhibition 'Spiritual America' on September 27. Given how Prince is one of the most sought-after artists working today, this will be a memorable evening, attended by the elite of New York's art scene, not to mention Prince himself. And Phillips de Pury & Company is holding a "loft sale" of stage director Robert Wilson's art collection on September 30. Wilson is moving out of his Tribeca home and has decided to sell off some of his artworks, ranging from African art, Indonesian sculptures and Chinese vessels to design pieces by Philippe Starck and photographs by African photographers Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé.
Europe
Begin with Matali Crasset's vernissage at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris on September 15; this is the French furniture and interior designer's first exhibition with the gallery, and she's garnered quite a following since her days with Philippe Starck. The Biennale de Lyon opens on September 17, curated by Stéphanie Moisdon and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the director of the Serpentine Gallery. It offers the chance to meet artists such as Simon Starling, the winner of the 2005 Turner Prize, Urs Fischer and Seth Price. Then it's back to Paris for the vernissage of the cinema directors and artists Victor Erice and Abbas Kiarostami at the Pompidou Centre on September 18. Or catch the Eurostar for the preview evening of Georg Baselitz's stunning show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, also on the 18th, which the German artist will be attending. The following evening is the special preview and dinner for Matthew Barney's exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. This promises to be a spectacular show, and Barney's partner, Björk, who co-stars with Barney in his film 'Drawing Restraint 9', may turn up, too.
Catch a flight to Toulouse for the weekend of September 21-23 for Le Printemps de Septembre. This contemporary art event includes 'Hamster-wheel – an Artists' Project under the Initiative of Franz West', which was shown during the Venice Biennale and features artists such as Jean-Marc Bustamante, Douglas Gordon, Paola Pivi and Piotr Uklanski. The second prong is 'Wheeeel: a Young French Scene' on 25 young, upcoming artists such as Sophie Dubosc, Mathilde Rosier, Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel and Elise Florenty. West, along with some 15 of the artists, is expected to be there.
Berlin
Launched 12 years ago by Art Forum magazine, Art Forum Berlin is an exciting fair that has spawned a host of VIP offshoot events. Berlin is the breeding ground for emerging talent, and the week kicks off with the award ceremony of the Nationalgalerie Prize for Young Art 2007 at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart on September 27; the nominees are Jeanne Faust, Ceal Floyer, Damián Ortega and Tino Sehgal. Then dash over to the opening of 'Stripped Bare: The Body Revealed in Contemporary Photography. Insights into the Swiss Collection Thomas Koerfer' at the Cultural Forum for Photography. Thomas Koefer has amassed a strong collection of photography by the likes of Araki, Nan Goldin and Robert Mapplethorpe. The cocktail will be an eye-opener into how Koefer, as a film director, considers contemporary photography.
The vernissage for Art Forum Berlin is on September 28. Go early, before the private reception given by the collectors Tina and Jan Wentrup and Manuela Alexejew and Carlos Brandt, followed by Art Forum's after-party hosted by the Senda, Veracortes, Taik and Martin Asbæk galleries.
On September 29 there is the presentation of the 'Isa Genzken Edition' in the exhibition 'Phoebe Washburn: Regulated Fool's Milk Meadow' at the Deutsche Guggenheim. A great way to rub shoulders with the publicity-shy Genzken, whose installation in the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is one of the Giardini's highlights. Then it's back to the Hamburger Bahnhof for the opening of Roman Signer's exhibition. If you're a fan of Mike Kelley, drop by his talk at the American Academy in Berlin on September 30, before returning to the fair for the ceremony for the Herbert Zapp Award for Young Art, going to Adriana Molder and Andreas Zybach.
London
The Frieze Art Fair, launched in 2003 by the co-founders of Frieze art magazine Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharpe, quickly established itself as a vibrant fair and several museums and galleries have timed their openings to coincide with Frieze's dates. Don't miss the private view of the Louise Bourgeois exhibition at the Tate Modern and the cocktail for 'Pop Art Is' at Gagosian Gallery, both on October 8. Bourgeois herself is expected to fly over from New York for her eagerly anticipated show, while Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami may well pop in at Gagosian's cocktail party.
Frieze's opening on October 10 should be star-studded; Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Elle Macpherson all dropped by last year. Later that evening, cruise over to the National Portrait Gallery for the private view of 'Pop Art Portraits', which – like the Gagosian show – will probably be attended by some of the key artists from the first and second generations of pop art.
The following evening, on October 11, is the private view of 'Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now' at the Barbican Art Gallery. Since many of the 300 works have been loaned from important institutions and collections worldwide, expect to bump into some of the art world's leading lights. Tracey Emin and other contemporary artists included in the show are bound to be there, too.
Time for business at the Contemporary Evening Sale at Sotheby's, New Bond Street, on October 12 and on October 14 at Christie's, King Street. In between, on October 13, is a brunch for Tacita Dean's show 'Wandermüde' at Frith Street Gallery and four auctions at Phillips de Pury & Company's newly refurbished European headquarters in Howick Place: The Paola and Marino Golinelli Collection, Contemporary Art Evening Sale, The John L. Stewart Collection of Russian Contemporary Art and 'China Avant-Garde: The Farber Collection'. To celebrate the reopening of their Howick Place address, the auctioneers will also be holding a glamorous after-party.
Paris
Another swirl of events is taking place during the FIAC, France's International Contemporary Art Fair. It's the opening and private visit of 'Passage du Temps', a new display of photographic works, videos and light installations from the Collection François Pinault Foundation on October 15. Then on October 16 there's the private visit of the Cour Carrée du Louvre (the first part of the FIAC) and the preview of the outdoor projects commissioned for the FIAC in the Tuileries gardens. On October 17 is the FIAC preview at the Grand Palais. Go in the afternoon to leave the evening free for the opening of 'Small Talk, Konstantin Grcic' at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the opening of Franz West's exhibition 'Adam's Apples' on the Place Vendôme.
On October 18 don't forget the private visit of the exhibition "Antidote" at Galeries Lafayette. This year's exhibition presents the works of 10 artists: Pierre Ardouvin, Eric Baudart, Michel Blazy, Etienne Bossut, Didier Marcel, Mathieu Mercier, Marlène Mocquet, Laurent Montaron, Sylvain Rousseau and Tatiana Trouvé. Then hit the after-party at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
On October 19, three exhibitions – 'Mathieu Mercier: Playback', 'Helene Schjerfbeck: Retrospective' and 'Alfred Kubin' – open at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, followed by the 'Bal Jaune' party given by the company Paul Ricard. On October 20, it's the private dinner for the Marcel Duchamp Prize in the presence of the winner. (This year's short-listed artists are Adam Adach, Pierre Ardouvin, Richard Fauguet and Tatiana Trouvé.) Don't miss the opening of 'Photoquai', the new photography biennale for world photography – an initiative of the Musée du Quai Branly – on October 29. Expect plenty of exhibitions along the banks of the Seine and in the nearby museums.
On November 7 is the vernissage of Christian Lacroix's first monographic exhibition 'Histoires de Mode' at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the creation of his house. And it's the opening of Paris Photo, the yearly Paris photography fair, on November 14.
It's a manic season, and before you know it, it's time to catch the plane to Miami for the opening of Art Basel Miami Beach on December 5, and another giddying week of parties, fairs and visits of private collections.
Vive la fête, vive l'art.