|
by N. A. Ross
Biennale des Antiquaires
 Art collectors flooded Paris for 10 days in September to visit the 23rd Biennale des Antiquaires, the crème de la crème of all art fairs, that takes place every two years in the City of Lights. This year was especially auspicious as it also marked the return of the fair to one of the finest venues for exhibitions, the Grand Palais, the largest existing ironwork and glass structure in the world.
The Grand Palais was closed 14 years ago to undergo a painstaking restoration under the direction of François-Joseph Graf, the master architect and decorator that recreated the breathtakingly airy and light ambience of the original structure.
 On the same day, September 15th that the Biennale opened its doors, just around the corner on the Rue de Rivoli, was the reopening of another gem of Paris’ cultural icons, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
The art market, long dominated by an audience of connoisseur collectors steeped in the history of particular cultures and periods, is undergoing a drastic change. Rather than collecting iconic and specific items, Tanagra funerary figurines for example, collectors now purchase  with a more decorative purpose in mind. Buyers these days purchase eclectically, items they love, whether they understand the history behind their acquisition or not. Collections become part of a decorating theme; a mix and match approach by individuals that want to create surroundings according to their own sensitivities and whims.
In 4,000 sq. meters of space, 111 dealers (25 of which participated for the first time) exhibited over 7,000 pieces of art. There were Ceramics, Tribal Art, Paintings and Drawings, Furniture, Art Objects and Jewelry, from one of Napoleon’s personal chairs, to ancient Greek and Etruscan vases, to delicate paintings of ancient Chinese masters, to Venetian Renaissance icons.
Some of the more noteworthy exhibits were:
The Parisian gallery Arc en Seine, exhibited a collection of French Art Deco very sought after furniture, some from the apartment of Nelson Rockefeller on Fifth Ave, armchairs and wall lamps designed by Pierre Chareau for Hèléne Bernheim, as well as works by Diego Giacometti and Georges Jouve.
Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière exhibited a prime collection of 20th Century masters, all appearing in the market for the first time. Works by Giorgio de Chirico, Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst, Cézanne, Modigliani and a number of other artists. Most of the pieces were, up to now, in French, German and Swiss private collections.
Montreal’s Landau Fine Arts showed an eclectic collection of art that includes two canvases by Pablo Picasso, (Les Dormeurs and Homme et Femme Nue), a marble carving by Henry Moore, and a number of other pieces.
© October 2006 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
|
