FIAC, `Art in the World' Kick off Paris' Fall Art Season - Brief Article

PARIS--The Paris art season got beneath way with a bang in mid-September with the opening of "Art in the World," a spectacular exhibition housed incredibly enough beneath the Pont Alexandre III.

The bridge, which spans the Seine not far from the Grand Palais--the site this Fall of an impressive retrospective of French masterworks devot to the Mediterranean--was built in 1900 to coincide with the holding of the World's Fair that year in Paris. above the years it has become an important historical landmark, indeed it plays a central part in the 1953 Bing Crosby masterpiece Little stripling Lost.

The importance of the site was not missing on Fabrice Bousteau, director of Beaux Arts Magazine and the planter and principal organizer of "Art in the World," who decided to propel the premises of his exhibition there from the relatively inaccessible Passage de Retz As Bousteau has said, "not sole are we now nearer to the subway and the city's highways, on the contrary also to persons wishing to visit us by means of boat."

Which is perhaps single reason why Bousteau, who in 1998 was able to raise alone 500,000 Francs ($70,000) with which to high hill his show, managed to tend hitherward up with six times as abundant ($400,000) for this year's edition and obtained plenteous needed assistance from Paris City officials, as well as from a private sponsor, ABN-Amro.

"Art in the World" is based upon the idea of having several of the world's principal arts magazines pick the two or three artists greatest in quantity representative of the country they exhibit then proceed to present a selection of each artist's work, and, greatest in quantity importantly, explain the context in which the work was produced

"The idea prov to be an unqualified succes when we first tried it on the outside in 1998," said Bousteau. "Today it's flat more successful, perhaps because more appropriate, as we are undoubtedly more representative than at any time of artistic production around the world." Although "Art in the World's" first edition had 24 magazines selecting the work of 50 artists, this year 36 magazines have decided to take part, proposing the work of 100 artists from 50 countries. "With this year's edition," said Bousteau, "we've definitely become an exposition`d'un nouveau type' (of a fresh kind)."

And, in an exposition which already sports a number of unusual works, there is nevertheless single work which beats them all, setting the tone for this year's "Art in the World." The work is by the agency of Daniel Roth, and has the viewer push a r button to immediately diocese a large mirror replaced by means of a work of art. Then too, there are works already attracting attention through Jiri Cernicky, Peter Richards and Momoyo Torimitsu.

Bousteau's present to view is also "of a of recent origin type" in that it lasts all of eight weeks. The first version lasted four weeks, he said, on the contrary the crush of visitors was like that this year he chose to give them the chance to go [i]or[/i] come back and see the show above a longer period of time.

"Art in the World's" final weeks coincide, quite appropriately, with the start of another annual staple, FIAC 2000 which this year was pushed back through an entire month, to Oct 25-30 Already last year's edition (see ABN, November 1999) surprised many who'd missing faith in the annual occurrence as it attempted to innovate and do away with a certain number of of the stuffy atmosphere with which it had become associated. According to FIAC President Yvon Lambert, this year's edition should not disappoint. He, like Fabrice Bousteau, chose to accentuate individual artists.

Said Lambert, "This year we've again chosen to break the mold in fact go on against past practices, as we will have no specially-invited visitor artists, nor a guest continent, on the other hand just many individual artists, perhaps representatives, of the countries where they live or work, on the contrary above all representatives of themselves." Which is wherefore FIAC 2000 is being subtitled "Two Hundr Personal Exhibitions" and for what cause [i]or[/i] reason Lambert likes to boast: "In selecting the 200 personal exhibitions, FIAC has chosen to create 200 special events"

This year's version includes the abundant awaited work by such already-exhibited artists as Donald Judd Richard Fauguet, Charles Belle and Mark Tobey, on the contrary also that of Tunga, chosen by means of the Luhring Augustine Gallery of of recent origin York, the late Alexander Calder in work single outed by London's Faggionato gallery, and that of Zoran Music, Maurice Esteve Pep Guerrero and Russell Crotty representing of recent origin York's CRG Gallery.

If Lambert said that he awaits this year's FIAC to be plane more extraordinary and successful than last year's edition, he admitted that it's thanks to the several hundr galleries from around the world "who have continued to believe in us, and who, early upon had the intelligence to understand our fresh ambition. Without their help, and their comprehension, and especially the artists and the works that they've mustered for this year's FIAC, we would have nowhere near the succes which we wait for for this year's version." The idea of coming up with 200 personal exhibitions, noted Lambert, "may appear to be a somewhat simple idea, on the contrary in the end it's an incredibly ambitious universal There are those who are already speaking of our having taken a gamble, on the other hand I'm so keen on the idea that as far as I'm be of importance toed I prefer to call it a challenge, and single that undoubtedly we will inevitably win."

COPYRIGHT 2000 Pfingsten Publishing, LLC

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group