FIAC http://www.fiac.com/
Despite political unrest in France caused by the strikes, the mood at FIAC’s 37th edition was jubilant. The fair was lacking in lustre a few years ago, when it was held in trade fair halls at the Porte de Versailles on the periphery of Paris. But it has been resurrected since returning to the prestigious Grand Palais.
“FIAC has got increasingly better thanks to its director Jennifer Flay who has been encouraging us to participate for years and who has really transformed the fair,” said Tim Heman, a director of Metro Pictures in New York http://www.metropicturesgallery.com/, whose sales included a photograph, priced at $225,000, by Cindy Sherman, the chameleon artist that transforms herself in her elaborately staged work.
“It’s been superb, a very nice public and the fair is becoming more and more important with the quality of the works,” said Marie-Sophie Eiché, a director of Galerie Kamel Mennour in Paris http://www.kamelmennour.fr/. Dominating the stand was Anish Kapoor’s “Slug” (2009), a shiny red-lipped, fibreglass vulva, from which emanated a twisting grey intestine. The sculpture, priced at £1.8 million, was exhibited at the artist’s solo show at the Royal Academy of Arts http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/anish-kapoor/ in London last year.
Out of FIAC’s 195 exhibitors, 114 established galleries were at the Grand Palais and 81 younger galleries were at the Cour Carrée du Louvre – a white tent erected in a Louvre courtyard. At the Grand Palais, there was a mix of modern and contemporary art for the crowds of 85,000 visitors.
Gagosian http://www.gagosian.com/, which opened a Paris branch during FIAC, hinted at the scope of its gallery programme by displaying representations of women by a roster of artists, from Picasso and Giacometti to Jenny Saville and John Currin.
Among the historically important pieces were works by the Italian artists of the Arte Povera movement – meaning impoverished art, because in the 1970s these artists favoured humble materials over noble ones. Barbara Gladstone http://www.gladstonegallery.com/ devoted her stand to Alighiero Boetti, whose works were also on view at Tornabuoni Arte http://www.tornabuoniarte.it/ alongside those by fellow Italian conceptualist Lució Fontana. An eye-catching piece at Tornabuoni was Alighiero Boetti’s tapestry “Tutto” (1992-1994), meaning “everything”. Metres away, it appears abstract but up close one discerns hundreds of elements, from human figures to vases, scissors, a watering can, a pair of glasses, a spider and a heart. Meanwhile, at Galerie Kewenig from Cologne http://www.artnet.de/Galleries/Home.asp?G=&gid=166767&which=&rta= was Mario Merz’s “Albero Grande Solitario” (Great Solitary Tree) – an igloo-shaped sculpture formed from masses of branches with two glass tables leading into it.
Over at David Zwirner http://www.davidzwirner.com/ was a solo show by the Algerian, Paris-based artist Adel Abdessemed, who is known for making challenging work. “We’ve sold everything,” exclaimed director Ales Ortuzar. “I can’t remember the last time it was this good.” The top sales, both priced at $280,000, were “Taxidermy”, a cube formed from piled-up, hunted animals that was purchased by a non-European foundation, and an installation of 192 tribal masks created from aluminium tins.
At the Cour Carrée du Louvre were the four nominations for the Prix Marcel Duchamp, the French equivalent to the Turner Prize. It went to the multimedia artist Cyprien Gaillard whose multi-media works explore how landscape is changing in contemporary society.
http://www.bugadacargnel.com/en/pages/artistes.php?name=6564&page=portfolio.
The Cour Carrée had less daring works than before and it was the Grand Palais that impressed. “The only disappointment is that it’s not as international as we’d hoped – it doesn’t have the same buzz as the other fairs,” said Glenn Scott Wright, a director at Victoria Miro Gallery in London http://www.victoria-miro.com/, which had a stunning solo show of the 81-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, selling one metal pumpkin sculpture, priced at $500,000, and four paintings.

Frieze http://www.friezeartfair.com/
Frieze’s vocation to showcase contemporary, cutting-edge art, since its creation in 2003 by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, is keenly scrutinised. Basically, is the work really edgy and exciting? At this edition, held in a white tent in Regent’s Park, there were bigger, more ambitious works than last year. But not many people raved about the quality although the fair maintained a buzzing atmosphere.
“It’s difficult to have an overall opinion and I didn’t have time to visit some of the younger galleries but Frieze was less cutting-edge this year with fewer discoveries to be made than before,” said Thomas Dryll, a director at Almine Rech Gallery http://www.alminerech.com/ in Paris and Brussels, whose sales included Anselm Reyle’s sculpture “Eternity”, priced at €170,000. “But what is really appreciable at Frieze is that there’s always a good energy,” he added.
“Last year, some of the galleries’ stands were less powerful and were showing smaller pieces,” observed Philipp Haverkamp, a director of Contemporary Fine Arts http://www.cfa-berlin.com/ in Berlin, whose sales included woodcuts by the upcoming Romanian brothers Gert & Uwe Tobias, priced at €30,000 and vitrines by the German artist Max Frisinger, priced at €35,000, that were filled with found elements such as pieces of wood, furniture and foam.
More galleries had large-scale presentations. For instance, Stephen Friedman Gallery from London http://www.stephenfriedman.com/ turned its booth into a prison installation by Glaswegian artist David Shrigley. And more dealers put on solo shows, such as that of Ugo Rondinone at Galerie Eva Presenhuber from Zurich http://www.presenhuber.com/en/exhibition.html and Donald Moffett at Marianne Boesky Gallery from New York http://www.marianneboeskygallery.com/. Frieze also continued with its section Frame, which was launched last year and featured stands by 25 emerging galleries, each presenting one artist.
“Frieze was a bit better than the last two years when the level was mediocre,” opined Bénédicte Burrus, a director of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac from Paris and Salzburg, which sold 80 percent of its booth on the first day, including a painting by Georg Baselitz priced at €450,000. http://www.ropac.net/ “There were more ambitious pieces but they weren’t museum standard.”
Certainly, back in 2007 works by the likes of Andreas Gursky were on view. This time, there was less photography and video for the 60,000 visitors, as dealers favoured showing paintings and sculptures, and there were few expensive works. “There are plenty of very strong works here but fewer high-end works priced over half a million dollars due to the cautious environment,” remarked Sadie Coles http://www.sadiecoles.com/, whose London gallery won the Frieze Art Fair stand.
An exception was Damien Hirst’s “The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths” (2006), comprising three cabinets of fish in formaldehyde, priced at £3.5 million, which White Cube http://www.whitecube.com/ sold on the opening day. “Many commentators were saying in 2009 and 2010 that Damien’s market was unsustainable but once again he has proved people wrong,” said director Tim Marlowe, adding, “He’s incredibly resilient.”
Several galleries reported strong sales and dealers were pleased to see more American collectors back. “There are lots of Americans that were less active in the last few years and a positive energy,” noted Anna Helwing, a director of Hauser & Wirth from London/Zurich/New York http://www.hauserwirth.com/.
Indeed, the particularity of Frieze relates to its international public. As Burrus put it, “People in finance like to spend on art by stable artists, like they do on real estate or gold, rather than a hedge-fund – and that’s felt a lot in London which is a strong financial market.”

Next art fair destinations:
Abu Dhabi Art: 4-7 November 2010 http://www.abudhabiartfair.ae/en
Artissima in Turin: 5-7 November 2010 http://www.artissima.it/
Art Basel Miami Beach: 2-5 December 2010 http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/