The FIAC opens on Thursday 21 October 2010

According to Thierry Ehrmann, founder and CEO of Artprice, against a backdrop of economic crisis and uncertainty, the forthcoming 37th edition of the FIAC (21-24 October 2010) will re-affirm the Parisian fair’s stature as the veritable reference in European Contemporary art, particularly now that the Frieze Art Fair seems to be losing momentum.

Since 2005, the “big” Contemporary Art fair has returned to the heart of the French capital, occupying two of its most prestigious venues: the Grand Palais and Cour Carré du Louvre. The two venues will be artistically (and geographically) linked by an exceptional exhibition of sculptures by Subodh GUPTA, Franz WEST and Carl ANDRE in the Jardin des Tuileries.

This year, the event should attract a particularly broad range of art buyers and collectors. Although there will be no dedicated section for Modern Art, the FIAC will be presenting works by Moderns like George GROSZ, Ernst Ludwig KIRCHNER, Jean DUBUFFET and Giorgio DE CHIRICO. There will also be works by “old” Contemporaries like Alighiero BOETTI, Yayoi KUSAMA and Jesús Rafael SOTO alongside younger contemporary stars like GILBERT & GEORGE, Yoshitomo NARA and Matthew BARNEY. The Cour Carré will be hosting a special area dedicated to emerging artists. Like last year, the “emerging” artists section of the fair will be animated by the attribution of the Lafayette Prize (Thursday 21 October) in which Galeries Lafayette Group (a French retail company) acquires a work by a selected artist, who is then given the opportunity to exhibit his/her works at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (in October 2011) as well as a funding for a new piece.

In addition, the FIAC is re-affirming its commitment to the ADIAF and the Centre Pompidou by exhibiting the projects of four artists shortlisted for the Marcel Duchamp Prize, Céleste BOURSIER-MOUGENOT, Cyprien GAILLARD, Camille HENROT, Anne-Marie SCHNEIDER (winner announced on Saturday 23 October) at the Cour Carrée.

The 2010 edition of the FIAC is hosting 195 Modern and Contemporary Art galleries from 24 countries. Of these, 73 are French (38%), 22 are German, 22 are American, 14 are Italian, 11 are Belgian and 11 are Swiss. The new countries taking part in the art fair are Japan, Mexico, Korea and Ireland. 63 galleries are either new FIAC participants or returnees after an absence. Judging by the programme, the organisers have made considerable efforts to rekindle a festive spirit in the Contemporary art market in an overall market context that is decidedly flat!

For further information on the FIAC

Also: Artprice and the FIAC are pleased to announce the publication of their latest report on the Contemporary Art Market 2009/2010. This bilingual (French / English) guide, published by Artprice in partnership with the FIAC, will be freely available at the FIAC (while stocks last). The guide contains an in-depth analysis of the contemporary art market, an analysis of the most dynamic artistic mediums, exclusive interviews with gallery-owners as well as a list of the 500 top-selling artists at auctions.

A PDF version of the Artprice / FIAC annual Contemporary Art Market 2009/2010 guide will be downloadable in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese as of 19 October 2010.