Chilean artist Ricardo Maffei at AMS galeria Chile

Every year, ArtParis is better and 136 galleries (of which 60% are French) were selected this year with 42 new ones like Esther Schipper from Berlin, Peter Kilchmann from Zürich, Meessen and Michel Rein from Brussels, Richard Saltoun from London and Galerie Poggi from Paris. And I found some surprising works again this year. At Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve where Eva Jospin reigns unriveled, I loved the “fixé sous-verre” paintings by the Portuguese Gil Heitor Cortesao. He paints abandoned landscapes with oil on plexiglass and shows the unpainted side. Its effect is quite fantastic.

Gil Heitor Cortesao, at Galerie Tarasieve

At Nathalie Obadia, “Fantasy” by Wang Keping, was a sexy bronze sculpture and Patrick Faigenbaum‘s photo of glasses at Cristallerie Saint Louis puzzled me for quite a while. It represents the passing of time with dusty carafes and is the result of a residency at the crystal manufactory owned by Hermès in Eastern France.

Patrick Faigenbaum, Composition n°7, Cristallerie de Saint Louis, 2022-2023 at Nathalie Obadia

I discovered Chilean artist Ricardo Maffei represented by the Santiago based AMS galería. His pastel on paper, and paintings are particularly interesting.

And the prettiest installation in Modern Art was probably at Hélène Bailly‘s who mixed some objects by Claude and François Xavier Lalanne and paintings by Maximilien Luce and Francis Picabia. It felt like being in someone’s living room. Galerie retweet had a superb Giorgio de Chirirco, “Calligramme. La Grâce exile, 1931”.

Claude and François Xavier Lalanne with Francis Picabia, “Tree in bloom” and Maximilien Luce “Pines Parasol, Saint Tropez” 1907 at Galerie Hélène Bailly

The atmosphere was fun and social as usual with collectors roaming the aisles as couples and the important actors of contemporary art waiting for Rachida Dati to visit their stand on Wednesday at 12 pm… She had two reasons to be there as the mayor of the seventh arrondissement and as Minister of culture.

And veteran gallerist Yvon Lambert was right to attend the fair because his artist Nathalie Du Pasquier won the BNP Prize of 30 000€!

Nathalie Du Pasquier, “Untitled”, 2021 © Aurélien Mole, Centre des monuments nationaux,
courtesy galerie Yvon Lambert