Review of Paris Biennale 2017-18, France

The Paris Biennale aims to identify and activate artistic practices that challenge the established values of art. It bring together some tens of notable participants, galleries and leading art, design and antique dealers, and high-end establishments (jewellers and watchmakers). For over 60 years, La Biennale has been a landmark international event. La Biennale presents museum-quality works covering 6,000 years of history from all continents and all disciplines.

La Biennale is one of the most prestigious fairs in the world, ranking alongside other major international art events. Each edition attracts the main players in the art market, dealers, and prominent collectors, who gather together at this unmissable event. It is a very high-end fair and a unique opportunity to discover some rare items carefully selected by the various exhibitors. The participants and the cultural institutions help further the international reach of our exhibition.

The big event of the French art market underwent an overhaul since 2017, La Biennale Paris has now been an annual event. Cross-collecting interests are a notable trend of the 21st century, the Biennale Paris once the traditional home of French decorative arts and antiques, the fair now boasts nearly 5,000 works, which spanning millennia and media, and increasingly welcomes contemporary art.

The Paris Biennale closely intertwined with that of the 19 th and 20th-century universal exhibitions. This fair see the creation of a new service for visitors, with independent experts on-hand for amateurs, collectors and exhibitors, ready to assist them where necessary when buying pieces during the fair. There was a more egant staging and a revamped layout, and this new design put all participants on an equal footing, thanks to a well-thought-out layout that allow for an enjoyable visit and make the works on display easier to view.

The Biennale Paris is far more than a trade fair. For many years, it has sought to position itself as a major cultural event celebrating national heritage and the French art de vivre. Since Brexit, the Paris Biennale is helping France regain its status as the European art capital. In 2018, the Biennale Paris marks its inaugural participation in European Heritage Days.

La Biennale Paris constituting a national heritage, being a historical exhibition, prestigious from the exceptionality of its displays and the attention offered to artworks. Henceforward, this legacy must meet the expectations of the new generations of collectors with a passion for contemporary art, decorative arts, design and the tribal arts.

The divide, once very marked between buyers of ancient arts and those whose interest was exclusively focused on contemporary art, have withered away over time. Different periods and styles now coexist harmoniously in the exhibitions of collectors and art lovers. Naturally, La Biennale Paris seeks to reflect this evolution and offers a broader view of the heritage to visitors and collectors

La Biennale Paris aspires to stand at the intersection of artistic eras by exposing art from the antiquity to the 21st century with the aim of uniting all art connoisseurs across the spectrum, while according a special focus on the preservation of harmony and balance in the exhibition.

Paris Biennale 2018
The 30th edition of the famous French art fair was on show from the 8th till the 16th September 2018 at the Grand Palais in Paris. With its new setting, La Biennale Paris assembles this year national and international exhibitors presenting more than six millenniums of art. La Biennale Paris participate for the first time in the European Heritage Days and open, free of charge, Saturday 15th September from 6pm to 12 am.

The 30th edition constitutes an essential step in the history of the La Biennale Paris. It offers the opportunity to align itself with the new realities of the art market. This event represents an opportunity to look towards the future with optimism and not to relish in the past. La Biennale Paris is apprehending this thirtieth edition with pride regarding its past accomplishments and confidence in its ability to renew itself and preserve the trust of exhibitors as well as visitors.

It embody a novel ambitions and herald a new era of international recognition for France from the Grand Palais venue in Paris. The event uphold its distinctive features: a limited number of galleries on display so as to widen the exhibition space thereby welcoming more furniture, paintings and exceptional objects, promote a beautiful scenery and host a unique dinner with nearly 800 guests amid exceptionalartworks.

It is an art exhibition as well as an ephemeral museum that opens the cultural season and contributes to the cultural attractiveness of France and its art market. The importance given to hosting large French galleries differentiates La Biennale from other exhibitions in Europe. La Biennale Paris was never thought of as a trade fair, but rather as a significant French cultural event. Finally, Paris remains the last capital in the world which can rely on a large network of independent merchants and galleries.

For jewelry lovers a selection of vintage pieces from the Maison Lorenz Baumer, the Bernard Bouisset jewellery (mainly focused on the creations of Chaumet, Boucheron, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels), Francine Joaillerie, specialized in antique jewellery, fine jewellery and prestige watches since 1985 and Alain Pautot, with creations of the great jewellers of the XXth century.

Since 2017, Mathias Ary Jan,President of the Syndicat National des Antiquaires, and Christopher Forbes, President of The Biennale Commission, established the Biennale Commission Prize. Thus, every year, the members of the commission reward the exhibiting galleries at La Biennale Paris. The latter are chosen according to the quality of their exhibited pieces as well as to the scenography of their stand. Last year, the Delalande Gallery, specialized in marine, science and other curios, shared the prize with the Munich Gallery Röbbig München, a specialist in decorative arts from the 18th century.

Nearly 1,000 participants attend this memorable dinner, among which stand personalities from the world of art and culture, media, corporate bosses, politicians or collectors. Hosted by the exhibitors and the SNA, the 2018 Gala Dinner was hosted by six national and international ambassadors: influential women, representatives of luxury, life skills, and art lovers.

Since 2010, La Biennale Paris has offered its privileged guests an exceptional program of private tours focused on the rare and the excellence. Last year, the latter had thus been able to discover at the Louvre a preview of the Book of Hours of Francis I, meet the artisans of the Louis Vuitton workshops, or be welcomed for an exclusive moment in the Maison Mellerio.

Paris Biennale 2017
For art lovers from across the world,the Biennale des Antiquaires has been a must-attend event for more than half a century and quintessentially representative of the French art de vivre . At a turning point in its history, la Biennale becomes an annual event from 2017, changing its name to: La Biennale Paris, without loosing what makes of it an exception.

Global competition has brought some big changes to the latest edition of the venerable art fair La Biennale Paris. Ninety-four exhibitors display their wares — from antiques to jewelry, clocks to Pop Art — at the Grand Palais. The Biennale is aiming for a more international feel over all. Roughly a third of the exhibitors are from outside France. The fair has had a strong French flavor with the best galleries in Paris, but also include important galleries from all over the world.

The general layout of The Paris Biennial is optimized to enhance visitor comfort and the discovery of exhibitors and their works. The size of the aisles throughout the three main alleys has been balanced to ensure that the visitor enjoys the same comfort in each and that every exhibitor can present objects or works in the very best conditions. The whole of this ephemeral museum that is The Paris Biennial is concentrated under the Nave of the Grand Palais.

The 2017 Paris Biennial has initiated a partnership with “Chantilly Arts and Elegance Richard Mille” which will, on September 10, 2017, present the most world’s most beautiful historical and collectors’ cars, along with couturiers’ creations, automobile clubs and the French Art of Living, at the Domaine de Chantilly. This partnership with the Peter Auto Society create a powerful synergy between the two events, which share common values and a common audience.

“The Barbier-Mueller Collections: 110 Years of Passion.” Assembled by four generations of the Barbier-Mueller family, it features works by Georg Baselitz, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Jeff Koons, along with Roman antiquities and tribal art from New Guinea.

Organization
Organised by the SNA, this exhibition is one of the most prestigious art gatherings in the world. A fair that brings together some of the leading art, design and antiques dealers, along with master jewellers and watchmakers. Founded in 1901, the SNA (short for French: National Union of Antique Dealers) is one of the oldest associations of art dealers in France. Its role is to defend the profession of antique dealer before the public authorities and to promote the profession in France and abroad. It has almost 300 members who share the principles of Authenticity – Quality – Honourability. The SNA stands by its professional members and remains determined to defend the French and International art market.

The ‘Biennale de Paris’ was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young creativity worldwide and to create a place of experiences and meetings. The event took place every two years from 1959 to 1985, but gradually lost its attractiveness for the media, in particular due to the lack of renewal and competition from other contemporary art events in Paris.

Several projects have been developed and several teams have followed one another to bring it back to life. In 2000, the Biennale resumed and, after four years of organization, in 2004, the fourteenth edition was set up. From 2006, she moved towards a different form, delocalized and extended in time, and which were more market-oriented. The long-running Paris Biennale used to have overly advanced concepts, such as no collection, The situation change and replaced by a new art, antiques and luxury crafts fair at the new editions.

For a long time, La Biennale Paris hosted historic galleries. To this day, among the most prestigious galleries are still ran during this event. International ones are less present in general. New ones have been created over the past ten years to revitalize artists from the beginning of the 20th century. The SNA sought to welcome these newcomers as they constitute an important component of the future French art market.

As a non-traditional event, La Biennale Paris is not solely subjected to the rules of a trade fair, thereby allowing it to provide firmer requirements on the origin of its proposed pieces, ultimately to the benefit of all visitors. One of La Biennale Paris’ prerogatives is to build ties with several Parisian events focused on showcasing the French refinement and whose attention is focused on defending and valuing our sacrosanct crafts and traditions. These events are intended to form complementary partnerships in the coming years.