Chic Art Fair

On 21 October, during the Paris contemporary art week that hosted numerous events including the FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain) and the second edition of Chic Art Fair, an eclectic and pioneering show. Luxe Immo was there to meet key players – organisers, gallery owners and artists.

Cécile Griesmar, you alongside Sandrine Bisognin are the associate director of Chic Art Fair. What is it that sets this art fair apart?
The whole concept behind Chic Art Fair is that we do not want it to have a closed definition. It must remain a “mutant” object which brings together all the different fields of activity, plastic arts, design, street art, video, performance and photography, in situ and outside the walls of the Cité de la Mode et du Design, so that visitors can explore the many facets of contemporary creation as they are conceived in the artists' studios. Oddly, contrary to want one might think, the art world is relatively conformist, based on the same codes, and does not always show exactly where the creative process comes from. The purpose of the Chic Art Fair is to open up and show in a fair the reality of what goes on in the studios.

What is new for this second edition of Chic Art Fair?
The “Photography” sector is new this year. Last year we had already combined a “Design” sector to that of contemporary art. It was a pioneering step to take and was very successful, particularly among the collectors. We also introduced for this edition, a “Street Art” section to bring the street world to the fair, although of course street art doesn't really occur “indoors”. The site allows us to organise street art battles on the rez-de-Seine, where artists compete in graphic jousts. It is totally new to find this in a fair in Paris. They are all young artists who we have identified and who are not yet necessarily represented by a gallery.

However, galleries are at the heart of the fair?
Yes, at the Chic Art Fair there are also 58 exhibitors, French and foreign divided into four sectors: Contemporary Art, Design, Publishing and Miscellaneous and Photography, with very selective artistic endeavours on show combining emerging artists with those who are more established. Where FIAC presents artists whose worth is already well recognised, we work upstream if you like with emerging artists and types of expression which are not present at the FIAC. The galleries are often quite new ones and do an amazing job with great enthusiasm. It is this aspect which makes this fair so lively and dynamic, representative of the living reality of the market. Indeed the exhibitors' enthusiasm is often tangible, guaranteeing the visitor a journey rich in human and artistic discoveries. The diversity of the works on show echoes the way the fair crosses all boundaries and its role as a pioneer, as relayed by gallery owners like Claire Corcia, manager of the gallery which bears the name and promotes a very specific line of artistic work.

The actress of Cœur des hommes is at Chic Art Fair and is also a sculptor. She is the one who made the moving Créatures d'argile, feminine clay figures full of tension and emotion that perfectly illustrate the expressionist line that the Claire Corcia Gallery promotes.

Alongside contemporary art and design, the new “Photography” section is represented by at least 15 international galleries, but also photography collectives and agents, all here to celebrate this art form which will have been around for two centuries in 2012. It's an opportunity to rediscover work by established artists or for the gallery owners to share their passion for emerging artists. It's the case for Florence Moll, who having been a photographers' agent since 1991 is opening her own gallery.

Mathias Leboeuf