The 2016 Biennale des Antiquaires Returns to Paris’s Grand Palais

The 2016 Biennale des Antiquaires returns to Paris’s Grand Palais September 10–18 with new modern components supplementing its traditional array of antiques. Although several top Paris galleries decided to show their work in competing fairs this year, the Biennale continues to bring in glamour and world-class art from galleries around the world. For example, Islamic art is featured by Alexis Renard, and Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz again displays her fantastic antique wallpapers.

Several galleries will showcase twentieth-century wares, such as Galerie Downtown – Franҫois Laffanour, which will feature a sideboard by Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand, and Galerie Chastel Marechal, with one of Alberto Giacometti’s Figure floor lamps. Another highlight for modern collectors will be exhibitor booths that were specially designed by contemporary designers: Cindy Chao’s Haute Joaillerie stand will be illuminated by light sculpture artist Grimanesa Amorós, and French designer Mathieu Lahanneur will be bringing together the modern and antique worlds for Galerie Chenel’s booth.

Visitors will also be treated to three special non-selling exhibitions: “A Century of French Elegance: Masterpieces of the Eighteenth Century,” “Tradition and Daring!” and “The Mastery of Time.”  The first will include thirty-five works from the State Hermitage Museum’s renowned collection of French decorative arts.  “Tradition and Daring!” will trace the radical changes in the forms and functions of furniture during the twentieth century from the Mobilier National, and finally “The Mastery of Time” will be a thematic exhibition illustrating the history of watchmaking.

Set designer Nathalie Crinière was tapped to create the scenography for the fair, which will guide people through the galleries while also giving exhibitors a beautiful backdrop for their booths.  “This year there are more participants than in years past and we really wanted make a place that embraced all of them,” Crinière says. “Because the Grand Palais has such a large scale, it was important that when viewed from a distance or the entrance, one does not feel alone and instead feels part of the overall group.” At the center she has fashioned a wonderful space for socializing in which six large mirrors are tilted upward to reflect the glass-covered canopy of the Grand Palais.