The Mediterranean Contemporary Arts Fair opens this Thursday, November 14 at the Exhibition Center in Pérols. Around sixty galleries and publishers exhibit more than 200 original works by emerging or established artists.
Art Montpellier, a major event for contemporary art in Occitania, is back. This event has become unmissable for collectors and art lovers. The theme of this 8th edition “Geometries, Colors and Abstractions” well illustrates the abundance of works exhibited on the stands of the sixty gallery owners and publishers present. Here are five good reasons to browse its aisles from this Thursday, November 14… until Sunday.
1 – Di Rosa, Combas, Boisrond and the others
The masters of free figuration Hervé Di Rosa, Robert Combas, François Boisrond are presented on several stands. Starting with that of David Garcia, owner of AD Galerie located in Mauguio. Students of the Beaux-Arts of Sète in their youth, Di Rosa and Combas acquired an international dimension. Everyone explores shapes and colors in their own way in a great movement of joy. A monumental work by Combas is presented by Shun Gallery. The wine of our landscapesan acrylic on canvas measuring more than four meters by two meters. It is one of the flagship works of the Fair.
2 – Street art: essential names
It’s impossible to talk about contemporary art without taking a detour through street art. Miss’Tic, a pioneer in the field who unfortunately died too soon in 2022, is present on the Ad Galerie stand. But it’s at the Ange Basso stand that you have to stop to admire the works of Invader and Blek the rat. The first is known for invading urban space with its instantly recognizable mosaics. The artist has passed through the streets of Montpellier as well as in more than 170 cities around the world. As for Blek the rat, cited by Banksy as his master, he is one of the first to use the stencil technique in his urban art.
3 – Emerging artists
Without their work as talent scouts, you would probably not know the names of many emerging talents. Thus the Nicolas Xavier Gallery, located in the heart of the Écusson, presents the work of Nubian and the Montpellier artist Mathieu Lucas. The latter immerses us in his vision of the Big Blue to draw our attention to current issues. A proposal for a view in height and in miniature, “a way to make us bear witness to the scene and to make ourselves small, facing the world that we leave to the next generations” suggests the gallery owner.
4 – Safe values
“In times of crisis, art and gold are safe havens” assures Yann Berthéas. Gallerist in Saint-Étienne, Vichy and Paris, he offers around thirty drawings and watercolors by André Derain, including some unpublished still lifes and nudes. Small formats that make the works of the founder of Fauvism accessible. While his paintings reach peaks at auction (more than €8 million). In another style, the gallery owner offers several historical works by Ben and the “living god” Speedy Graphito, graffiti legend.
5 – Prices for all budgets
The Fair is not just for wealthy collectors. Everyone can find a work within their means. Through a more modest format or a screen print. Éditions Anagraphis offers a large number of them in very varied styles: Mist, Crumb, François Boisrond, Combas, Di Rosa, Jonone, Lady M, Monkeybird and many others. Without forgetting that most gallery owners offer payment facilities. “Even if money should not be the guiding principle of the purchase!” insists Didier Vesse, artistic director of the event. You have been warned!
