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.