Mother's Tankstation Gallery Director Finola Jones' words illustrate the enthusiasm surrounding the 4th edition of the fair.
After having taken over the brutalist surroundings of an enormous old parking lot, the fair - led by five galleries - has returned to the bourgeois neighbourhoods of France's capital and its decadent mansions. Wandering the borders of Parc Monceau allows a (re)discovery of the video work of Shana Moulton (b.1976) - of which one can never tire - but also lets you launch yourself into a unique world, such as that offered by the Jakarta-based gallery Roh Projects. Here, Bagus Pandega's (b.1985) technical exploration brings together audio and LEDs and confronts the paintings of Japanese artist Kei Imazu.
Shana Moulton, Galerie Crèvecoeur — photo: betttsam
Bagus Pandega, Bough #2 (2015) / Kei Imazu, Blue Fish in My Hand (2018) — Courtesy of Roh Projects
Further off, the only Chinese gallery at the fair - A Thousand Plateaus Art Space - is set up inside. The gallery is presenting the work of two women-artists, Chen Qiulin (b.1975) and Xiong Wenyun (b.1955, who are little-known to the European public but hold a prized position on the Chinese scene. The photographic project of the latter artist, The Flowing Rainbows, begun nearly ten years ago launches us into a journey across Tibet as the artist has integrated coloured plastic tarpaulins, doors and curtains to the landscape, inviting a reflection on "nationality, habitation, environment, history" into this peculiar world, at an altitude of 4,200m. Alongside these photographs is the video work of Chen Qiulin, who was a prize-winner at the last edition of the Loop fair in Barcelona.
Xiong Wenyun, The Flowing Rainbows — A Thousand Plateaus Art Space
"The reduction of scale of this year's venue and the smaller number of galleries, has, in our opinion, produced a near perfect event for both galleries and viewers, and generated a good balance of non-profit to commercial presentations", commented Finola Jones, who is presenting here the work of artist Lee Kit, currently the subject of a solo show at the Hara Museum in Tokyo.
Lee Kit — mother's tankstation
In a period of grand return for painting, Tamara Al Samerraei's powerful work, presented by the Marfa' gallery (Beirut), is not to be missed and has drawn significant attention from collectors.
Marfa's booth
In short, an alliance of quality, risk-taking and maturity.
Henri Robert
