Intervalle will be showing Elsa Leydiers Petralhada, Brazil System Error at Paris Photo 2019 Courtesy the artist and Intervalle
Each rainy Parisian November since 1997, Paris Photo has taken over the Grand Palais, establishing itself as the go-to fair for collectors looking for vintage prints by renowned photographers.
But over the years the fair—like Paris itself—has gained a reputation for complacency, for hero-worshipping (largely French) 20th-century greats such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, for not changing its offering enough, for being culturally conservative and a little too willing to look back not forwards.
Yet Paris Photo is suddenly on the brink of massive change. Next spring, it will launch Paris Photo New York, the biggest financial risk the fair has taken since its 1997 genesis. Launched in collaboration with the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, the new fair will be held at Pier 94 in Hells Kitchen from 2 to 5 April.
Paris Photos directors Florence Bourgeois and Christoph Wiesner say in a statement that the launch will “create a bridge connecting Paris and New York” and the “enthusiasm of many of our long-time exhibitors and our network of collectors and curators is indicative of strong potential for Paris Photo New York to establish itself successfully in the American market”.
Given the considerable investment that the fair will have to make in its attempt to break through in the US, the pressure is on for Paris Photo to demonstrate its health, vitality and contemporary relevance at home in the Grand Palais this year.
Bourgeois and Wiesner are accordingly making much of being the most international photo fair in the world—180 galleries are exhibiting in the main section, 52 of them new and 15 exhibiting in Paris for the first time. Ten of the galleries come from Asia, five from the Middle East, three from Latin America and three from Africa.
Paris Photo 2018 Courtesy Paris Photo
Paris Photos USP has traditionally been easy access to the highest of high-end prints by 20th-century and established contemporary names. That USP holds true this year too, with solo booths of little-seen works from historic luminaries such as August Sander, Man Ray, Jim Goldberg and Steven Arnold, as well as contemporary names such as Tim Walker, Juergen Teller and Edward Burtynsky.
But over the course of this decade, contemporary photography has become a busy marketplace, with competition from Photo Londons Discovery section, Amsterdam Unseens “fair with festival flair” stylings, and Lagoss dynamic new Art X fair, all of which have muscled in on the market.
Paris Photo responded last year with the launch of Curiosa, a new sector housed under the balcony of the Salon dHonneur, the most visible spot in the fair. While the inaugural Curiosa was dedicaRead More – Source
