FIAC, the contemporary art fair competitor to FREIZE, was held at the beautiful Grand Palais and Louvre last week. Although in the past, FIAC has been known as the weaker fair, the general consensus this year was that FIAC’s results were stronger because Paris is old money versus London, whose market has crashed with the economy.

FIAC VIP opening at the Grand Palais

2009 was the first year that FIAC launched The Modern Project. 10 blue-chip aka high end galleries showcased 2-3 modern masterpieces in a heavily guarded VIP area at the fair. To give you an example of the gastronomic prices offered in this area: Pablo Picasso’s “Femme Escrivant” was priced in the region of $24 million at Chicago’s Richard Gray Gallery.

In my personal opinion, FIAC was very grand and stuffy, another typical institutionalized fair. This year FIAC showed very little Asian Art which is in stark contrast with 2-3 years ago. I preferred the satellite fairs, Show off and SLICK in addition to gallery exhibitions that were held around town.

Show Off art fair

FIAC official website
London Frieze versus Paris FIAC
The Modern Project