Wacky and Beautiful Works Await at Outsider Art Fair

Take a sneak peak at the highlights of the fair's second Parisian outing.

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Richard Smith, Time Bearer (2014) Courtesy Henry Boxer Gallery
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TAGAMI, Untitled Courtesy: Atsuko Barouh gallery, photo: Kyoichi Tsuduki
TAGAMI, Untitled
Courtesy: Atsuko Barouh gallery, photo: Kyoichi Tsuduki
Ody Saban, Navire des lignes et de la volupté (2009) Courtesy Galerie Polysémie
Ody Saban, Navire des lignes et de la volupté (2009)
Courtesy Galerie Polysémie
Chomo, Mutant 1 (2014) Courtesy ROUILLAC
Chomo, Mutant 1 (2014)
Courtesy ROUILLAC
Dan Miller Untitled (2013)Courtesy Creative Growth Gallery
Dan Miller Untitled (2013)
Courtesy Creative Growth Gallery
Eugène Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled (Marie with pearls, sitting on grass montage) (circa 1940s) Courtesy Fleisher Ollman Gallery
Eugène Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled (Marie with pearls, sitting on grass montage) (circa 1940s)
Courtesy Fleisher Ollman Gallery
James Castle, Untitled (Patterned room) Courtesy Karen Lennox Gallery
James Castle, Untitled (Patterned room)
Courtesy Karen Lennox Gallery
Pietro Moschini, Untitled Courtesy Rizomi Gallery
Pietro Moschini, Untitled
Courtesy Rizomi Gallery
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Camel, tree, birds and owl) (circa 1939-42) Courtesy Fleisher Ollman Gallery
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Camel, tree, birds and owl) (circa 1939-42)
Courtesy Fleisher Ollman Gallery
Richard Smith, Time Bearer (2014) Courtesy Henry Boxer Gallery
Richard Smith, Time Bearer (2014)
Courtesy Henry Boxer Gallery
Marcel Storr, Untitled (1964) Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery, Outsider Art Fair 2014
Marcel Storr, Untitled (1964)
Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery, Outsider Art Fair 2014
Mehrdad Rashidi, Untitled (2014) Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery
Mehrdad Rashidi, Untitled (2014)
Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery

After just one edition in Paris, the New York institution Outsider Art Fair (OAF) already feels at home in France—and it’s no surprise. Paris, home turf of art brut father Jean Dubuffet, is natural territory for the genre. These days outsider art is supported year-round by galleries and institutions like the Halle Saint Pierre and such foundations as Bruno Decharme’s abcd (art brut connaissance & diffusion) and Antoine de Galbert’s La Maison Rouge. The art world’s current frenzy of interest in the genre─epitomized by Massimiliano Gioni’s Encyclopedic Palace exhibition at the 2013 Venice Biennale─doesn’t hurt either. No wonder OAF is settling in so well.

“People in Paris know us now,” fair director Rebecca Hoffman told artnet News. “I think it’s really important to continue opening up the discussion around outsider art and art brut.”

For its second Parisian outing, which opens this evening, OAF has gathered 25 exhibitors over the six floors of the Hôtel Le A, moments away from the mighty FIAC at the Grand Palais. Newcomers this year include galleries not necessarily known for their involvement with outsider art, such as Air de Paris and Polad Hardouin. Hoffman promises the fair will cater to collectors of all stripes, with pieces covering the whole spectrum from “discoveries” to work by acclaimed outsiders like Martin Ramirez and Henry Darger.

Also on the program this year is I See a Big Apostrophe, an ongoing performative event plotted by the soon-to-be director of Kunsthalle Zürich Daniel Baumann (see “Daniel Baumann Replaces Beatrix Ruf at Kunsthalle Zürich”) and an exhibition curated by Anne & Julien, who recently took Paris by storm with their tattoo exhibition “Tatoueurs, tatoués” at the Musée du Quai Branly.

While other satellite fairs might be looking at FIAC’s new fair, (Off)icielle, with apprehension (see “What Future for FIAC’s Satellite Fairs?“, Hoffman doesn’t let it worry her. “We have a very different concept, and offer something very different from other fairs.”

See for yourself in the slideshow above.

 


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