Lorenzo Rudolf takes a break from working on Art Stage Singapore to try his hand at revitalizing a fair in Paris, according to the New York Times:
Under his direction, Art Basel was the first international art fair to reach out to corporate sponsors and offer V.I.P. treatment to collectors. Mr. Rudolf also conceived Art Basel’s successful sister fair in Miami Beach before moving on to similar projects elsewhere, including Art Palm Beach, Arte Fiera Bologna and, more recently, ShContemporary in Shanghai.
Now, Mr. Rudolph is turning his hand to ArtParis, a rather sleepy modern and contemporary art fair held each year at the Grand Palais. With Caroline Clough-Lacoste, founder of the fair, and Henri Jobbé-Duval, its director, Mr. Rudolf hopes to revitalize this year’s fair — rebranded ArtParis+Guests and running March 18-22 — by focusing on lesser-known but vibrant contemporary art scenes. At the same time, the organizers are challenging common practice by reaching out to new partners or “guests” like collectors, foundations and museums, in addition to the traditional dealers.
“The big problem with international art fairs today, I think, is that first there are too many of these fairs, and everybody is showing the same thing,” Mr. Rudolf said. “We want to change the classical limit of an art fair and enlarge it into different directions in terms of exhibitors, as well as in terms of the art scenes being shown.”
Mr. Rudolf, who was recently in Singapore to work on Art Stage Singapore, a new contemporary art fair to be launched next year, said that while the Art Basel model has proven to be a successful one, it also reflects the art world of the 1990s.
Contemporary Art Fair Veers Into ‘Emerging’ Territory (New York Times)
