Record numbers of visitors, brisk sales and an electric atmosphere
This year Art Paris Art Fair brought together 140 galleries from 20 countries. The fair closed with a record 58 387 visitors, a 10% increase on last year, despite being a day shorter than in 2013.
Revisit the fair thanks to virtual visit of Art Paris Art Fair 2014.
The 2014 edition of Art Paris Art Paris confirmed its identity as a European fair that looks to the East and favours the discovery of new talents and art scenes. The success of this new direction adopted in 2012 was evident from the first day. The trade and private preview attracted a record 17 115 professional visitors (up 24% compared to 2013). Celebrities flocked to the fair including Eric Cantona, Marion Cotillard, former Minister Jack Lang, along with a substantial number of collectors.
This was the first time that China has been invited as Guest of Honour in an art fair in France. It brought a very special energy to the 16th edition of the fair. Highlights included the seven tonne iron fist by Liu Bolin that stood at the entrance of the fair, the monumental sculpture installation by Zhang Dingh, Li Wei’s unforgettable performance during which he rose up in the air under the glass roof of the Grand Palais dressed as a cosmonaut on a space flight. The fair offered an exceptional panorama with more than 90 Chinese artists with in addition, key pieces from an outstanding collection of contemporary Chinese art belonging to a couple of French collectors.
Sales were overall satisfactory with visitors expressing their appreciation of the carefully presented and coherent exhibitions by the galleries who offered many works to be discovered or rediscovered. Fair goers also appreciated the new educational opportunities that were made available: visitors to the website were able to sort works by price and geographic origin as well as take a virtual tour of the entire fair. In addition, each gallery had its own flyer describing the works on offer.
The next Art Paris Art Fair will take place from 26th to 29th March 2015 at the Grand Palais.