Just as many had hoped it would, the art market lit up this week for the first time in a while. Paris is whirring with activity amid Art Basel’s run at the Grand Palais. Big-ticket sales were reported at the fair, and there was enough run-off octane to fuel the satellite fairs that are running concurrently.
Two of the most talked about satellite fairs are Paris Internationale, now in its eighth year, and the Salon by NADA and the Community, which is making its debut. The veteran fair has a reputation for hosting scrappy and inventive emerging galleries from around the globe, with a keen emphasis on Europe. The newcomer is an initiative from the U.S.-based New Art Dealer’s Alliance and the Community, a curatorial unit in the French capital known for experimental and collaborative pop-up projects.
Paris Internationale opened on Tuesday, the day before Art Basel’s VIP opening. Sixty galleries brought artworks to a multi-floor building along the Boulevard des Capucines with stripped-down walls and sparse insulation, giving the feel of a post-apocalyptic Paris. The crowds were lively.
Anastasia Krizanovska, a director at the hometown Galerie Crevecoeur (a founding member of the fair), said that she was “as happy as usual,” and that good collectors were on the ground. “I’ve heard sales happening while walking through the corridors,” she said. At her own booth, she had sold two sculptures by Naoki Sutter Shudo, priced between $11,000 to $16,000, and five paintings of varying sizes by Nino Kapanadze, ranging from $6,000 to $27,000.
Krizanovska had it right. You could practically hear artwork being snapped off of walls by enthusiastic collectors. Adams and Ollman, from Portland, Oreg., sold several paintings from its vibrant salon-style presentation by Jose Bonnell for prices between $3,000 and $9,000. Gaga, of Guadelajara and Los Angeles, was selling alien-like mixed-media sculptures by ASMA for between $6,000 and $18,000.
Around the corner, Düsseldorf’s Lucas Hirsch had one of the more popular booths, with paintings by the Kassel-based painter Lukas Müller, who studied with Albert Oehlen. “These are all painted from his memory,” Hirsch said. “That’s why he created this blurred effect with pastel.” On the first day of the fair, three of the works had sold for around $10,000, as well as a few gouaches for $4,500. This was the dealer’s fifth Paris Internationale. He likes the fair because it is “more open and more focused,” he said. “That way, we don’t end up overhanging. It’s many tiny exhibitions, and not just putting up stuff onto the wall that you need to sell.”
Two days later, the Salon opened during a rainstorm just a few streets over in the 10th Arrondissement at an event venue that was formerly a Baccarat crystal factory. NADA’s director, Heather Hubbs, was buoyant, despite the less-than-ideal weather, and said that she chose Paris as the next destination for her fair (an annual staple during Art Basel Miami Beach and Frieze New York) after polling NADA’s members. “They mentioned many cities, but Paris was highest on the list,” she said.
“Partnering with the Community just made sense,” Hubbs said. “Our visions are so aligned. They’re also a non-profit. We felt strongly about having the fair bring a large non-profit presence.”
Work by Pope L. at Mitchell-Innes and Nash and 52 Walker’s collaborative booth at the Salon by NADA and the Community. Photo by Annie Armstrong.
Inside the fair, the offerings started with a bang. 52 Walker’s collaborative booth with Mitchell-Innes and Nash (which recently closed its Chelsea space to become a “project-based advisory”) had several works by the late, great Pope L.
“We’re surprised it’s going so well, just because the economy is currently slow, but I’m not surprised given the quality of work we have,” Lucy Mitchell-Innes said. They had already sold five sculptural works from his Endless Column piece for $175,000 to an institution, and two other works for $45,000 and $12,000.
New York’s Magenta Plains gallery was also having a successful day. “The buyers have been raving about the fair, and we’ll definitely return,” one of its directors, Olivia Smith, said. By midday, she had already sold multiple paintings by Jane Swavely for between $12,000 and $18,000, two small paintings by Alex Kwartler for $6,000 and $7,000, and a large tech-y piece by Rachel Rossin for $35,000 to an institution.
“NADA seized an opportunity to bring new voices to Paris with a smart strategy,” Smith said.