Post-Fair, the curatorially-minded fair that has quickly become a fixture of Frieze Los Angeles week, will expand to Paris this year. The fair will stage its first international edition across two buildings in the Marais from 19 October to 25 October, during the week of Art Basel Paris.
For Post-Fair founder Chris Sharp, who also runs an eponymous Los Angeles gallery, Paris was an obvious next step. Sharp lived in the French capital for a decade, working as a writer and curator, and for two years organised Place des Vosges, a small-scale fair overlooking the historic square from which it takes its name.
"Everybody loves Paris," Sharp tells The Art Newspaper. "When you compare it to any other major art fair, Paris is one of the great food capitals, and for luxury brands as well. It's a beautiful city, you have these incredible museums—I think people are always happy to have an excuse to go to Paris."
The move comes as Paris continues to cement its position as one of the art market's key European destinations, especially post-Brexit. The number of commercial art galleries in the city is growing, and Art Basel Paris has proved popular, especially with American and Asian collectors.
"The main fair is incredibly competitive and hard to get into, and also really expensive," Sharp says. "With the relative success of Post-Fair Los Angeles, why not import that model? Where it's a very low price—charging exhibitors $6,000 to participate and to do a solo or two-person presentation.”
The invitation-only exhibitor list, which will be announced in September, is expected to comprise around 34 galleries that Sharp says will be similar to those who have participated in the Los Angeles fair. Exhibitors will present solo or two-person stands, with dealers drawn from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Paris and across the UK. Participants in this year's Los Angeles edition included Gordon Robichaux and PPOW from New York, Harlesden High Street from London and Bel Ami from Los Angeles.
Keeping participation costs well below those of the major commercial fairs allows galleries to take greater curatorial risks for more interesting programming, Sharp argues.
"That's a problem endemic to the corporate art-fair model in general," Sharp says. "Costs are so high it's prohibitive towards anything but (surefire) commercial sales." It’s no wonder dealer-run fairs are growing in popularity, as major commercial fairs’ exhibitor fees and travel and shipping costs continue to rise. Last year, nine galleries joined forces to stage the 7 rue Froissart fair in Paris during Art Basel week in reaction to Nada’s Paris edition being abruptly cancelled.
At Post-Fair Paris, Sharp's own gallery will present a solo stand dedicated to the Chicago-based sculptor Richard Rezac, a presentation he describes as one of the gallery's more challenging propositions: "It's not painting, let's say that," Sharp says. Now 74 years old, Rezac is known for intimate, handcrafted sculptures that are often abstract while retaining subtle references to everyday objects and forms.
"On first glance, he has an ostensible relationship with functional design, but the longer you spend with it, the stranger it gets," Sharp says.
A view of one of Post-Fair Paris' venues on Rue du Temple. Courtesy Post-Fair
One of Post-Fair's defining characteristics has been its setting. Since its launch, the fair has occupied the former Santa Monica Post Office, a 1938 Art Deco landmark built with New Deal funding. Rather than constructing conventional white booths, exhibitors install works throughout the building in an open-plan layout, giving the event the atmosphere of a contemporary-art museum rather than a traditional commercial fair.
Sharp says the Paris edition will continue that approach. Post-Fair Paris will occupy two architecturally distinct buildings in the Marais, directly opposite one another at 74 Rue du Temple and 79 Rue du Temple. One is a traditional Parisian hôtel particulier that shares a courtyard with Marian Goodman Gallery's Paris outpost; the other is a French Art Deco building.
"One of the things that makes Post-Fair in LA so compelling is that you have this beautiful building, and I think it'll be the same thing in Paris," Sharp says. "You only get to see great art from great galleries, but you get to access pieces of architecture you wouldn't normally see."
Admission to Post-Fair Paris will be free with advance registration. Rather than attracting the largest possible crowds, Sharp says the aim is to bring together a concentrated audience of artists, curators, collectors and other art professionals.
Post-Fair Paris isn’t the only American satellite fair crossing the pond this year: just weeks before, the Dallas Invitational will stage an edition in London during Frieze week.
