The 43rd edition of the Fiac fair (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain), which launches this autumn (20-23 October) at the Grand Palais in Paris, is expanding into two new spaces. A new section of the fair, called On Site, will take place in the Petit Palais opposite which, like the Grand Palais, was built for the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in 1900.
“On Site will assemble around 20 works that will [fill] the spaces of the Galerie Sud, the Pavillon Sud and the Jardin du Petit Palais, as well as the esplanade in front of the building. This sector enables Fiac galleries to exhibit in unique conditions, in direct proximity to their stands at the Grand Palais, within the remarkable context of the historic Petit Palais,” says a statement on the Fiac website.
Back in the Grand Palais, nine galleries including P420 from Italy and London-based Richard Saltoun, will show works dating from the 1970s in Le Salon Jean Perrin, a new exhibition space located on the first floor between le Salon d’Honneur and the Square Jean Perrin entrance.
This year’s fair at the Grand Palais will include 185 galleries, compared to 173 participants in 2015, with 42 newcomers. French dealers, 52 in total, make up 28% of this year’s fair roster; the US contingent, which numbers 35 galleries, includes Andrea Rosen and Metro Pictures, while 25 German galleries are due to take part.
Fiac’s parallel fair Officielle, which was held across Paris at the Docks-Cité de la Mode et du Design, has been postponed after only two editions. The new fair was billed as a platform for emerging art but in an interview with our sister paper Le Journal des Arts earlier this year, Fiac’s director Jennifer Flay said that the organisers, Reed Exhibitions, decided to put the fair on hold because of the “perceived remoteness of the Cité de la Mode et du design”, and the high cost of the stands. “While some galleries worked well, many did not make back their costs,” she said.
Meanwhile, the organisers of Frieze London and Frieze Masters have decided to move both fairs earlier in the month this year, to avoid a clash with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, which falls on 11 October. Both fairs’ VIP openings will be on 5 October, with the events running until the weekend of 8 and 9 October. Fiac is due to run from 20 to 23 October, leaving nine days in between.