PARIS, FRANCE.- FIAC (International contemporary art fair of Paris) ended its 30th annual presentation on Monday evening (13 October) amid an atmosphere of general satisfaction, impressive sales and increased attendance.

A comprehensive survey of exhibitors, art professionals and visitors reported contentment with the impressive presentation of high quality artworks selected by the 175 participating galleries, the organization of the fair and the creative cultivation programs designed to encourage collectors.

These very favourable conditions allowed exhibitors to achieve a high sales volume, thanks to the attendance of a large number of collectors from all over Europe (especially Italy, Switzerland and Belgium) as well as France.

The first-time participation in the Art Taste program by prominent figures on the French cultural scene (such as Gilles Fuchs, Sydney Picasso, and Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaître) attracted also new contingents of collectors from Russia, the UK, Italy, Colombia, the US, Israel and a variety of other countries.

FIAC’s third-annual presentation of Parcours Privé, a VIP program centred around the fair and Paris contemporary art hot spots, enrolled more than a thousand couples, mostly international collectors, doubling the number of participants in 2002. The unique program offers an insider’s access to France’s Art de vivre for international art collectors. Programs of note included wine and chocolate tasting, exhibitions preview, as well as private receptions at the Palais de Tokyo, the Centre Pompidou, designer showrooms, the office of an architectural team and outdoor Parisian installations. Cultivation of collectors group will continue in the coming months. Galleries and fair organizers have already reported strong participation in FIAC 2004 on the part of various associations of collectors and museum groups (Swiss Collectors, Tate Patrons, Whitechapel Art Gallery, etc…)

In terms of sales, this year’s fair exhibited strong figures that contrast sharply with the prevailing discourse that presents the French art market as sluggish and inconvenient for foreign buyers.

A number of participating galleries reported record sales in paintings, drawings and photography.

Sales include: some four large canvases by Chu Teh-Chun at 122,104 $ each at the Patrice Trigano gallery (Paris); a Georg Baselitz for 174, 435 $ at the Michael Schultz gallery (Berlin); 279, 096 $ for works by Andy Warhol, Anthony Gormley and Stephan Balkenhol at Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris/Salzburg); Art & Public from Geneva surpassed one million dollars for works by Gerhard Richter and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and 407, 015 $ for a canvas by Richard Prince.

The 1900-2000 gallery (Paris) sold more than 40 historic artworks at the fair, with pieces selling at prices up to 116,290 $, while the Guy Pieters gallery (Knokke) had its highest turnover since it first started taking part in FIAC, selling every single one of the pieces by Jean-Pierre Raynaud, Robert Indiania on offer at its booth.

The third-annual Video Cube prize of 5,000 euros went this year to China’s Yang Fudong (represented by the Shanghart gallery from Shanghai), for his video Flutter, Flutter, Jasmin, Jasmin (2002). Yang Fudong, whose presence was critically acclaimed at this year’s Venice Bienale, is beginning to emerge as a major Chinese video artist.

This year, FIAC reaffirmed its status as a major international event for the modern and contemporary art market. Bringing together 175 galleries, of which 90 are based in 21 different countries, FIAC 2003 welcomed 72,000 visitors for its 30th anniversary year. This is a slight increase over the number of entries in 2001 and 2002, when FIAC welcomed approximately 70,000 visitors each year.

We are pleased to report these impressive results despite an interruption due to an act of petty vandalism on the afternoon of 10 October.

The 31st annual FIAC, with an even stronger international dimension and character as a harbinger of trends to come, will take place at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, 21-25 October 2004.