After the Art Basel’s Diary, *artemporary goes international with the FIAC’s Diary – namely in Paris. Follow me for this daily reportage from the French capital, where art, lifestyle and fashion (some say also romance…) blend in a perfect mix of cultural and mundane.

It’s Friday morning, 24. October, and my alarm goes off at 6.00 am. *artemporary’s office hours… business (after business) as usual.

It has been crispy chill in Zurich in the last couple of days, but they say in Paris weather will be milder, around 16 degrees. Cool – part of the fashion fair experience is the glamour its visitors bring along, with perky and eccentric outfits combines with extra-smart and –sized glasses…. Therefore it would be a pity to cover everything up for the sake of avoiding a cold!

 My TGV is scheduled for departure at 07.34 am. I made it to the station fashionably on time, with my pink luggage and black Burberry trench coat. I feel excited: this will be my first FIAC and Parisian contemporary art experience. Oui!

 But what is FIAC?

The acronym stands for  Foire internationale d’art contemporain , i.e the International Fair of Contemporary Art. Firstly lanched in 1974, the Parisian art fair rapidly escalated the list of top places to be for buying art, see art and to be seen, together with Frieze in London, Art Basel in Switzerland and Miami and few other international events.

 The pics you will see today will all be done by me… 🙂 not Avedon, but it will do until the arrive of Till (Bitterli), one of *artemporary’s contributor/photographer.

The first gallery I encounter in my path is Gladstone Gallery. No surprise there. The cluster of some of the most important galleries in the world is there, at the very centre and entrance of the fair: Hauser&Wirth, Gagosian, Gladstone. They never fail to be in the spotlight.

They are followed by an amazing installation of Olafur Eliasson, which was particularly eye-catching for visitors – me included. House to Eliasson’s most recent works: Gallery  Neugerriemschneider, from Berlin. Never heard of so far, but it looks like a big deal, as it represent artists of the caliber of Mr. Eliasson and Ai Weiwei. Wow!

Some of my favourite Italian galleries are there too: Galleria Franco Noero from Turin, Massimo de Carlo from Milano, Continua from San Gimignano.

As I stroll around the stands, I stop by some unknown (to me) ones and engage in conversation with other visitors and personnel working at the various galleries. I am always amazed at how Art can move and steer people from all over the world. I absolutely adore that feeling of many brains gathered together under one roof with sole purpose of promote and sell art and “spread the word” about this or that artist being more or less rising in quotations or dramatically going down because he is doing drugs! I really heard that today. Yes – really.

I am a big fan of old good Ms. Kusama – she is as old and cool as it can get and her work is simply divine. I was pretty dazzled when I discovered that all those wonderful happy dots where actually the result of a sort of compulsive obsession. Back in 1977, Kusama checked herself into a mental hospital nearby her art studio, in Tokyo, and she took up permanent residence. She has been living at the hospital since, by choice. Quoting Kusama:  “If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago.” … Thank you, Art!

As I walk around the Grand Palais, the crowd – very thick at the beginning – starts to gradually scatter… It is almost 7.00 pm and I also feel very overwhelmed, as in any first day of a big event that involves Art and travel for its sake.

My psycho purple NewBalance have served the purpose: my feet are not hacking but I am still a bit proved by the long day. As I walk out of the majestic building, I feel thrilled and happy: my first day of FIAC is fading away but I still have my post to write. Perfect timing cause… it has started raining!

So… now that my homework are done, I will leave you with these words and my pics to keep you company, and I hope that whoever wished to be at FIAC in this 2014 but could not manage for whatever reason (evil boss, too many meetings, work, no more holidays available, nanny is sick, etc.) will have the pleasure to live a bit of it through my stories.

Kisses from Paris and… stay tuned for tomorrow’s Day 2 FIAC’s Art Diary.

With Love from Paris

Carmela Tfr @artemporary

All pics: © Carmela Tfr @artemporary – all rights reserved.

PRIVACY NOTE

Pictures and portraits during this international event have been taken in order to document the event. If you have been portrayed or caught in one or more pics on this post and I you are not ok with it, please do contact me immediately – the post will be amended accordingly.