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PARIS, Sept. 7, 2021, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

thierry Ehrmann: "The first Modern and Contemporary art fair to be held in the

Grand Palais Ephemere (replacement building set up behind the Eiffel Tower

while renovation work is conducted on the 19th century Grand Palais), Art Paris

Art Fair will finally be taking place from 9 to 12 September 2021."  On this

occasion, we met its director Guillaume Piens, as well as the commissioner

Herve Mikaeloff.

Guillaume Piens, Director of Art Paris Art Fair

Guillaume Piens, you have been Director of Art Paris for almost 10 years now.

Is your job a vocation?

Absolutely yes. Art has always been part of my life and it is as essential to

me as the air I breathe. I have worked for more than 20 years in the world of

art fairs, having started with FIAC then with Paris Photo. I took over the

direction of Art Paris in 2012 with my partner Catherine Vauselle to reinvent

it at the request of the fair's owners, Julien and Valentine Lecetre.

I particularly like fairs because they reflect an extremely dynamic and lively

universe in touch with global artistic news and developments. A fair is at the

same time an amplifier, a sounding board and a mirror of trends. Each edition

is a challenge and is different. The job is complex because you have to be a

good organizer, have an artistic vision and know the art market and its

different players (galleries, artists, collectors, museum directors, etc.).

At a personal level, being an explorer by nature, my job has given me the

chance to travel the world and the opportunity to make very wonderful and

enriching discoveries.

How would you qualify the position of Paris on the global art market today?

I quite simply believe that Paris is gradually becoming the major center for

Contemporary art in Europe. In September 2021, Art Paris is part of an

exceptional renaissance of the 'City of Light' marked by the opening of new

galleries and institutions that will reflect the activities of the VIP program

reserved for collectors and invited art professionals.

The 2021 edition, which welcomes 140 galleries from around 20 countries, is

distinguished by the arrival (or return) of some very high-profile galleries. A

primary theme will be developed by our guest curator Herve Mikaeloff. Entitled

"Portrait et figuration, un regard sur la scene francaise" (Portrait and

figurative art, a focus on the French scene), it focuses on the renewal of

figurative painting in France with a selection of 20 artists illustrating the

diversity of the French scene.

Herve Mikaeloff, independent curator and Contemporary art consultant

Herve you are guest curator of the focus on the French scene of Art Paris 2021.

"Portrait and figuration, a focus on the French scene". What would you like to

say about this young scene?

Nowadays, the French art scene is particularly abundant. I am impressed by the

dynamism and vitality of the artistic proposals that can be found in France.A

lot of artists have taken their destiny into their own hands by organizing

themselves into collectives or around places of residence, such as the Poush

Manifesto in Clichy (in the suburbs of Paris), which can accommodate around a

hundred artists with very different projects. This artistic incubator seems to

be a precursor of the Grand Paris project (a new global plan for the Paris

metropolitan region).

For Art Paris 2021, we wanted to focus on portrait and figurative painting.

Painting is making a strong comeback on the French scene nowadays, but we can't

really speak of a movement because each artist stands out and expresses

him/herself in a very unique way.

In these troubled times, artists are more than ever questioning their

relationship to the image, but they remind us of the vital necessity of culture

for mankind. There is currently a renewal of figurative art, whether in

dialogue with classical painting or as a reflection of the intimacy of our

society. The portrait allows artists to build a new relationship with the

world. It acts both as a banner of individual differences and a pillar of our

collective humanity. In the schema described by Emmanuel Levinas, there is the

shape, the anatomical support of the face and then the face that defies all

material analysis. A person depicted cannot be made to reveal everything and

yet sometimes the artist's interpretation helps us to discern fragments of

truth.

The face allows us to consider our relationships with others; behind the face

of the other, there is humanity in its entirety. Representing man ultimately

means learning about our own responsibilities towards the world.  

Is it possible to understand the art of today without knowing about art history?

Having studied at the Ecole du Louvre and coming from a family of antique

dealers, it seemed logical for me to follow a classical training... I always

advise a potential collector to go to the Louvre and Orsay then to the Center

Pompidou and to the Palais de Tokyo before starting to collect.

Collecting is like entering psychoanalysis. A collector needs to analyse his or

her own expectations as closely as possible in order to be able to respond

better to them. Essential qualities that an exhibition curator needs are a

global vision of all artistic forms and a certain proximity to the artists by

accompanying them. You also need to be able to listen to and dialogue with

artists in order to practice this profession.

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