PARIS.- The SNA (Syndicat national des Antiquaires) has announced an exciting new annual art and antiques fair for Paris. Paris Beaux-Arts will represent a new departure from the capital’s existing fairs in that it will mix all categories – from classic art, drawings, sculpture, jewellery and furniture to modern and contemporary art – and all eras. Aiming to attract a new, younger public, the fair will fill a gap in the market for French and international dealers and collectors.

The SNA will continue to run the Biennale at the Grand Palais in parallel with the new event.

Any art form from any era
Paris Beaux-Arts will take place in the prestigious Carrousel du Louvre in the heart of the French capital, with some 80 dealers, both French and international, taking stands. Those already announced include the following Paris galleries: Steinitz; De Jonckheere, specialist in Flemish painting; Dumonteil; Berès; Taménaga; De Bayser; Univers du Bronze; Claude Vittet; Franck Baulme; Gilgamesh; Mathivet; Delvaille; Ary Jan; Hélène Bailly; and Laurence Esnol. Other European exhibitors will include Bernard de Leye, from Belgium; Dario Ghio from Monaco, dealer in antique silver and jewellery; and the Italian Art Deco specialist Roberta Tagliavini.

The fair will be organised on egalitarian lines, with stands assigned by drawing lots. Specialities and art forms will be in random order. “I believe it’s the first time a fair run by the SNA has been organised like this,” commented Olivier Delvaille, president of the SNA committee in charge of Paris Beaux-Arts. “The cost of the stands is attractive. The aim is to underline affinities between the art forms, to arouse curiosity and show that paintings and antique furniture can easily be mixed with contemporary art.”

The SNA hopes to attract a general public who might become the next generation of collectors but who are not necessarily wealthy. Excellent pieces will be on sale from around €1,000.

An eye to excellence
Before the fair opens, the SNA will send a team of experts round to vet the stands to ensure the quality of goods on offer. Dominique Chevalier, the SNA’s new president, has entrusted the fair to a young team of four dealers from the SNA’s management board: Mathias Ary Jan, Matthieu de Bayser, Fabien Mathivet and Olivier Delvaille. They have a strong desire for change and are determined to shake up the traditional world of French antiques fairs.