PARIS.- This year, from 31 March to 3 April 2011, ArtParis brought some 125 international modern and contemporary art galleries to the Grand Palais, with 47,987 art aficionados in attendance. Beneath the dome of the Grand Palais as well as outside, the fair combined contemporary art with the Parisian lifestyle through exclusive art projects demonstrating the will for openness and demand for content on the part of the ArtParis organizers.

Contemporary art transported to the heart of Paris
This 13th edition was kicked off by the arrival in Paris of the Move For Life semi-trailers, adorned with monumental works and commissioned by eight renowned artists: Atelier Van Lieshout, Ben, Daniele Buetti, Damien Deroubaix, Jochen Gerz, Isabel Muñoz, Mark Titchner, and Robert Rauschenberg. At 1PM on 30 March, the day of the ArtParis inauguration, the eight lorries paraded down the Champs Elysées to bring contemporary art to the heart of the city for the duration of the fair, greeting a savvy or casual public.

Opening day attended by 13,500 people
The day after the gala dinner organized for the Dessine L’Espoir association founded by Cyrille Varet, the Grand Palais opened its doors to 13,500 guests for the opening day of ArtParis 2011, in the presence of Mrs. Marisa Bruni Tedeschi, Chair of the Honorary Committee. Gallery owners, artists, collectors, journalists, professionals, and celebrities from the world of art and culture all rubbed shoulders at the event. Among them were numerous representatives of French cultural institutions, who congratulated the organizers on their efforts at improving quality of the event.

Overall, gallery owners were happy with the high attendance and the numerous contacts made with new French and international collectors, starting with the evening of opening day, and the long-term benefits set into motion thanks to ArtParis.

Transactions were crowned with success for most of the exhibitors, such as the Guy Pieters gallery, which let go of a piece of work entitled LOVE by Robert Indiana for about one million Euro. This is one of the biggest ArtParis sales. "I am pleased at the vitality of the Parisian market!", delights Guy Pieters.

Concept stands bolster sales
In addition, the sizable sales among gallery owners who opted for a concept stand tend to confirm the relevance of the fair modernization and facelift project, which started in 2010.

A winning ticket for the Oniris gallery, which experienced excellent sales: among others, a piece by Vera Molnar, "perpendicular", from 2010, consisting of 9 canvasses for €33,000, not to mention a piece by Walter Leblanc, "Twisted Strings" No.953-1972, two works by François Morellet at €50,000 each, and one work by Norman Dilworth at €18,000.

Similar success for the Olivier Waltman gallery, with more than twenty pieces sold, including one work by Jonathan Huxley, "Figurescape", for €23,000. The gallery's participation in ArtParis brought in installation projects by the artist Noart for a private foundation that will soon be opening its doors in the south of France. Seventy percent of the works were sold to new clients, including a Turkish collector, a German, and an Englishman.

Highly satisfied new exhibitors
It was their first time in a fair: I LOVE MY JOB left the fair quite satisfied. Specifically, the gallery sold sculptures by Madeleine Berkhemer for between €40,000 and €60,000. Very happy with the sales, the fair, and the public, Catherine Houard was also in a show for the first time. In her own words: "I am delighted to have shown ArtParis a stand at the crossroads between drawing, painting... and cinema. I sold six story boards of Alex Tavoularis' Apocalypse Now, each for €3,000."

A successful first participation for Ymer&Malta as well. "By exhibiting young talents such as Cédric Ragot, Normal Studio, or Benjamin Graindorge, our intention was to show the link between design and contemporary art… and, going by the enthusiastic feedback from our stand's visitors, I think the message got through", proclaims Valérie Maltaverne.

The Alice Mogabgab gallery sold everything except for two pieces, mostly to foreign collectors. Colleague Andreas Binder sold no less than six works by Hadrien Dussoix for between €1000 and €3000, as well as a piece by Izima Kaoru, which went for €12,000. L’Eclaireur, which welcomes numerous institutional visitors, let go of more than five works by Gilles Ouaki, the most expensive one for €18,000. The Maïa Muller gallery is very happy to have found buyers for five pieces by artists Maël Nozahic, Céderic Geney, and Lionel Bayol, one of whose photos sold for €5,000, while the Dutch gallery Art Affairs sold two engravings by John Baldessari. At Catherine and André Hug, eight works by Anne Catherine Becker Echivard sold for between €3,500 and €9,000. Similarly delighted was the Koralewski gallery, which sold 15 pieces including a sculpture by Sobocinski, while Jeane Bastien sold five works including a Chaissac for €100,000. There was strong interest in the iconoclastic canvasses of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac at the La B.A.N.K stand; many are reserved and a handful already sold between €5000 and €7000.

The life-size "cool" characters of Jie Gao at A2Z triggered keen interest and numerous sales. A drawing from the "Manuscript" series found a buyer for €12,000. The Linz gallery, invited by Rémy Bucciali, sold pieces from all its artists for between €500 for the least expensive and €10,000 for a sculpture by Robert Schad. The Nosbaum&Reding gallery appreciated visitors' interest in the dialogue between the works of Damien Deroubaix and Marcel Berlanger.

There was also great curiosity for the stand of the apartment gallery owner Hervé Perdriolle, whose Indian tribal art works flew off the stand at between €6000 and €25,000.

Loyal galleries reassured in their choice
Whether they gambled on a solo show, invited a guest, or promoted their galleries' usual artists, ArtParis' loyal exhibitors were amply rewarded for their involvement with brisk sales, some of which for very sizable sums. For instance, Daniel Templon was met with great success by presenting Indian artist Atul Dodiya, German painter Jonathan Meese, American sculptor Joel Shapiro, and Portuguese artist Juliao Sarmento, who just joined the gallery. Daniel Templon sold works ranging from €3,000 to €200,000 to French and international collectors.

AD Galerie, which devoted its stand to Hervé Di Rosa, sold nearly all his canvasses, including La Station spatiale for €30,000. Marcel Strouk, from the Rive Gauche gallery, satisfied several collectors with the works of Tom Wesselmann and Cameron Gray (one of whose works went for €30,000). At Berthet Aittouarès, a large number of small sculptures by Etienne Viard delighted collectors for between €3,000 and €7,000, as well as a large piece which sold for between €38,000 and €50,000.

Espace Meyer Zafra, whose stand greeted American collectors who came to Paris especially for ArtParis, sold five works by kinetic artists, to whom the stand was devoted, the most expensive for €20,000. With its penchant for abstraction, the Arnoux gallery was delighted to find takers for at least 19 works for between €500 and €8,000, which allowed the gallery to broaden its clientele and contribut €13,000 to the UNICEF.

With some fifteen works sold, Bernard Ceysson will be left with an excellent impression of this edition of ArtParis, where he presented Louis Cane and Claude Viallat. A half-dozen collectors left with a pair of boots painted by Claude Viallat for the Sergio Rossi company.

At Catherine Issert's stand, the works of François Morellet attracted collectors' attention, and the work of Cécile Bart could also be seen there. In particular, one of her screen/paintings sold for €13,500. Lelia Mordoch, who met numerous new collectors, sold nearly all her aerial works by Emmanuel Fillot for between €3,500 and €8,000. Hailing from Hong-Kong, the 10 Chancery Lane gallery, emphasizing the rising stars of the Asia Pacific region, found its audience. The gallery sold seven pieces for €5,000 to €25,000. Similarly, the Guillaume gallery went home happy with some ten works by Korean artist Bang Hai Ja selling for €2,000 to €8,000, and the Baudoin Lebon gallery sold two works by Kim Tschang-Yeul. The Tamenaga gallery let go of several canvasses by Chen Jiang Hong, including one for €16,000. The widely confirmed talent of Jaume Plensa and Alechinsky soldly at a quick pace at the Lelong gallery stand at prices in excess of €30,000. Another mainstay, the Claude Bernard gallery, ushered 10 canvasses by Edik Steinberg and 3 by Denis Laget out the door.

The Keza gallery sold a good portion of the works on exhibit, including one painting by Neil Farber for €7,500. The stand presented major artists on the emerging scene of Winnipeg (Canada), who will be present at the next exhibition of Maison Rouge, "My Winnipeg", from 23 June to 25 September 2011.

With a strong turnout, the Nordine Zidoun gallery stand sold three pieces (out of 5) by Devorah Sperber for €20,000 to €25,000. The Repetto gallery sold two works by Richard Long, €23,000 for a large wood piece and €14,000 for a small piece, and two pieces by Gianfranco Gorgoni for €7,500. The Rabouan Moussion gallery was happy with the sale of works by Kata Legrady, Marc Da Cunha Lopez, Oleg Kulik, and Ira Waldron (several drawings found homes for €5,500). The Taïss gallery sold Kambiz Sabri's TV three times for €6,500 each. And David Marin's spectacular tree entitled "Second Life", made of pencil shavings, found a buyer at €18,000.

Some fifteen photographs also found purchasers at the Polka gallery, along with seven canvasses by Frank Jons which were sold by the 5ème Galerie.

The Paris-Beijing gallery nearly sold out with Liu Bolin's and Kim Kyung Soo's photographs, and the gallery sold a light installation by Korean Chul-Hyun Ahn twice for €72,000 each. African contemporary art awakened the enthusiasm of numerous collectors at André Magnin's stand… but also at Jean Brolly's stand, which sold several photographs by Adama Kouyaté.

"Even after the Grand Palais doors close, ArtParis continues to bring benefits… At the fair, we met French and American collectors keenly interested in Malachi Farrell's installations and Lionel Sabatté's dust-bunny wolves. Sales should be finalized in the coming days…", announces Patricia Dorfmann.