Paris Photo stopt met beurs in Los Angeles

Het bedrijf achter Paris Photo heeft eind vorige week de knoop doorgehakt: de vierde editie van de beurs Paris Photo Los Angeles gaat niet door. Het besluit valt ruim twee maanden voor de geplande opening in de Paramount Pictures Studios op 29 april. Motivatie: te weinig kopers en daardoor te weinig deelnemende exposanten.

Jean-Daniel Compain, senior vice president Culture, Luxury & Leisure Division van Reed Exhibitions France legt in een Engels persbericht uit: ‘Despite the impressive mobilization of the city of Los Angeles, its galleries, cultural institutions, and collectors, and notwithstanding its great potential for cultural development, the absence of a mature market in terms of Art Fairs of this scale and scope has driven us to make this difficult decision. We are extremely grateful for the support that we have received since the launch of Paris Photo in Los Angeles, and during the research and development phases of FIAC LA: the city of Los Angeles, its representatives, its institutions, and its cultural players both public and private, have demonstrated invaluable enthusiasm and support in these endeavors.

Desiring to support the effervescent artistic spirit of Los Angeles and of California, we have sought to establish Art Fairs that reflect the cultural renown of the city and the decisive place that it has begun to occupy in the world of art.

Unfortunately, we must concede that after three consecutive years trying to install Paris Photo in Los Angeles in a sustainable and lasting way — despite the abundance of collectors in Los Angeles and California that figure among the buyers regularly in attendance at international fairs — the level of sales during Paris Photo Los Angeles is not sufficient to support such a Fair and to offer our exhibitors the best conditions of return on their investment.

Always seeking to accompany and guide the galleries participating in Paris Photo and FIAC toward the markets of tomorrow, we continue nonetheless to explore other paths for the international development and expansion of our fairs.’

Tijdens de derde editie vorig jaar bleek al dat enkele belangrijke galeries als Fraenkel en Yossi Milo ontbraken in Los Angeles. ‘And the fair feels more local as a result—with the strongest work, new and old, made by California artists and shown by California galleries,’ lezen we in een artikel in de Art Newspaper van een jaar geleden: Paris Photo Los Angeles loses its international accent

De 20ste editie van Paris Photo in het Grand Palais in de Franse hoofdstad gaat zeker wel door. Van10 t/m 13 november zal het evenement een mix zijn van jubileum en herdenking van de aanslagen van 13 november vorig jaar.

www.parisphoto.com