PARIS— Although overall attendance dipped 17 percent this year, thanks to two days of transportation strikes, the 34th edition of FIAC (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain), held October 18 through 22 in Paris, was considered by many to be the most successful in years. A point of pride for director Martin Bethenod was the strong presence of foreign exhibitors, who accounted for 60 percent of the 179 dealers in what was once a French-heavy fair.

The Louvre marquee was reserved largely for younger galleries, but business was brisker at the Grand Palais, where London’s Waddington Gallery reported its best-ever FIAC, and New York’s Paula Cooper Gallery remarked on a “radical change” in attitude on the part of French buyers, who displayed far more dynamic tastes than in past years. Unlike London rival Frieze, which specializes in contemporary art, FIAC features classic modern art as well, and sales reflected this range: Two dozen erotic drawings by Francis Picabia fetched between €6,000 and €20,000 ($8,800–29,300) at Paris-based Galerie 1900–2000, and the 20 bold canvases in New Yorker Josh Smith’s sold-out solo show earned $20,000 apiece at Catherine Bastide, of Brussels.

Paris-based Nathalie Obadia sold Schritte, 2007, by Albert Oehlen for €130,000 ($191,000) and a 1960 work by the late painter Martin Barre for €85,000 ($125,000). Obadia, who said French dealers had exceptional sales, cited the Joan Mitchell/ Louise Bourgeois show at New York’s Cheim & Reid Gallery as evidence of the quality of foreign exhibitors.     

 

"FIAC Triumphs" originally appeared in the January 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's January 2008 Table of Contents.