51 Avenue d’Iéna, 75116 Paris

Continuing the sentiment of its inaugural edition, Paris Internationale’s 2016 edition took place at 51 Avenue d’Iéna, a hôtel particulier built in 1897, most notably known as the Parisian residence and salon of prominent art collector Calouste Gulbenkian. From October 18th to the 23rd, the four story mansion, which spans over 3,000 m2, hosted 61 participants including 54 galleries and 7 project spaces hailing from 21 countries. Echoing the plural identities of the participants, the building features a mosaic of rooms with strikingly specific characteristics.

By privileging specificity over neutrality, audiences encountered distinct artworks within spaces already embedded with history and presence. From underground tiled rooms haunted by the specter of domestic service to ornate wood paneled libraries ingrained with the dust of prior knowledge to neoclassical grand ballrooms saturated with past social norms, this edition provided a setting inclined towards curiosity, exploration and attention.

Responding to the current climate of art fairs in regards to both its production and reception, Paris Internationale is a joint initiative from 5 emerging galleries; Crèvecoeur, High Art, Antoine Levi, Sultana and Gregor Staiger, as a collective attempt to develop an appropriate model for fostering new advanced initiatives in contemporary art.