Outsider Art Fair 2016 — Foire de référence de l’art brut — Hôtel du Duc — Fair — Slash Paris

Past: October 20 → 23, 2016

Outsider Art Fair 2016 Nouvelle édition pour cette foire intimiste et charmante qui, avec sa trentaine de galeries, réussit le pari de porter un regard neuf sur l'art brut.

The Outsider Art Fair, the singular fair dedicated to Art Brut and Outsider Art will run from October 20-23, 2016 at Hôtel du Duc, concurrent with FIAC. The fair will showcase 38 galleries, including 15 new exhibitors, bringing artworks vetted by a committee of specialists in the field. The Paris edition will precede by three months the New York Fair, which will mark its 25th anniversary.

As the recognition of art brut and outsider art continues to expand, particularly with museums and collectors, Paris promises to be more dynamic than ever. With the most prestigious galleries on hand, along with upstart dealers, visitors can count on the unexpected.

Andrew Edlin, CEO of Wide Open Arts

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About the Outsider Art Fair

The Outsider Art Fair is the original art fair specific to self-taught art created outside the mainstream. Founded by Sandy Smith in 1993, the Outsider Art Fair soon became a critical and commercial success. Recognized for its maverick spirit, the fair played a vital role in building a passionate collecting community as crowds flocked annually to New York’s Puck Building, the event’s original site during its first 15 years.

In 2012, OAF was acquired by Wide Open Arts, a new company formed by art dealer Andrew Edlin. Its debut edition in 2013 saw the fair relocated to Chelsea and included guest curatorial projects and the OAF Talks program. OAF continues its tradition of presenting top dealers with prime examples of works by both legendary and newly discovered artists. The 2013 fair enjoyed rave reviews and more than tripled previous attendance levels. Propelled by this success, Wide Open Arts took the fair to Paris for the first time in October 2013, helping to reinvigorate the city’s long tradition of recognizing and championing art brut and self-taught artists.

Founded in 1993, the Outsider Art Fair is the hallmark event championing self-taught artists, including James Castle, Aloîse Corbaz, Henry Darger, Martin Ramirez, Judith Scott, Bill Traylor, and Adolf Wölfli. The 4th edition of the Paris fair will continue to showcase a diverse selection of creators from around the world, some for the first time in Europe. OAF Paris will also place renewed emphasis on historical Art Brut with the debut appearances of Les Yeux Fertiles (Paris) and Galerie Chave (Vence).

About Outsider Art

In his 1947 manifesto, Jean Dubuffet coined and defined the term Art Brut as follows: “We understand by this term works produced by persons unscathed by artistic culture, where mimicry plays little or no part (contrary to the activities of intellectuals). These artists derive everything…from their own depths, and not from the conventions of classical or fashionable art.” British art historian Roger Cardinal coined the term outsider art in his 1972 book. Dubuffet and Cardinal were writing primarily about extremely marginalized European artists: psychotics, mediums, and eccentrics. This has led to a common misconception that Outsider Art is essentially pathological, when in fact the central characteristic shared by Outsiders is their lack of conditioning by art history or art world trends.

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OAF Paris is pleased to continue its partnership with Raw Vision and Halle Saint Pierre, which will offer its dynamic selection of books, catalogues and magazines. For this year’s curated space, OAF Paris has engaged Gérard Audinet, director of la Maison de Victor Hugo, to organize an exhibition on mediumistic art. OAF Talks will be moderated by critic and curator Emmanuel Daydé, (Curator Nuit Blanche 2016, Lebanese Pavilion, 2017 Venice Biennale), and will bring together a diverse group of thinkers from both Contemporary Art and Art Brut.