meeting with FAB Paris merchants at the Grand Palais

« All the art in the world » promises the FAB Paris show, born in 2022 from the merger of the famous Biennale des Antiquaires with Fine Arts Paris. In 2024, it will bring together for the first time under the glass roof of the Grand Palais 100 international exhibitors, in specialties ranging from Antiquity to the present day. Exceptional 18th century furniture, African masks, post-impressionism and even animal sculptures: the editorial staff of “Connaissance des Arts” met four essential dealers of this edition.

1. At Henri Martin at the Pentcheff gallery

Alexis Pentcheff : We created the gallery with my wife around twenty years ago. From Marseille where we are based, we exhibit artists who have worked in the south of France.

The flagship work presented on the stand: I am not presenting a work to you, but a space in the exhibition. We have recreated the work space of the artist Henri Martin: we find, for example, his desk, which was made by one of his friends, Henri Bellery-Desfontaines, but also his sofa, his easel, his palette, part of his library or even some medals that he was able to win at period fairs. These objects come to us from the artist’s heirs. As exhibitors, when we hang paintings, we find ourselves with paintings on the wall and sometimes spaces that seem very empty. We found that exhibiting in this way makes more sense.

FAB Paris for Alexis Pentcheff : FAB is a show that is important to us, perhaps more than for other retailers. Being in the south of France, this allows us to have Parisian visibility, even more so here at the Grand Palais.
FAB Paris: the Alexis Pentcheff gallery reconstitutes the workshop of Henri Martin

2. Exceptional furniture at Léage

Guillaume Léage : The Léage gallery has specialized for nearly 50 years in exceptional furniture from the French 18th century.

The flagship work presented on the stand : We are pleased to exclusively present a Louis XVI period secretary made by Adam Weisweiler at the very end of the 18th century. It has a rare composition in Japanese lacquer and cedar burl embellished with morello cherry marble, typical of this period. It notably belonged to Alphonse de Rothschild, first child of the French branch of this family, then to his son Édouard, before being seized during the war and returning with the Monuments Men. It’s quite an extraordinary piece of furniture due to its quality and provenance.

FAB Paris for Guillaume Léage : It is the merger of two very important fairs which come together here at the Grand Palais: the Biennale and Fine Arts. A unique moment for seven days, during which visitors from all over the world come to see art of all specialties: modern, classic, paintings, furniture, painting or sculpture, from all periods combined. It’s a real open-air museum. We have held several of the most important fairs around the world, and this one in Paris is one of them.
FAB Paris: an exceptional Louis XVI secretary presented by the Léage gallery

3. African geometries at the Monbrison gallery

Emilie Salmon : The Monbrison gallery opened in 1981 in Saint-Germain-des-Près. All year round we present a selection of ancient works of art from Africa and Oceania.

The flagship work presented on the stand : Among the African works that we exhibit, we have a Baoulé mask with horns from Ivory Coast, of very beautiful classicism and great beauty, notable for its shape and size. The Grebo mask also has a particular geometric shape, with its different pairs of eyes. When we see it, we think of Picasso and the influence that this type of mask may have had on his work.

FAB Paris for Émilie Salmon : This event symbolizes the rebirth at the Grand Palais of the Biennale in which our gallery has participated for many years. It is important for us to support the Parisian market as a gallery owner and as an expert.
FAB Paris: African and Oceanian masks invade the Grand Palais

4. Animal beauty at Eeckhout

Xavier Eeckhout : I am a specialist in animal sculpture from 1910 to 1950. I exhibit French, Belgian and Swiss artists. I particularly appreciate the work of Gaston Le Bourgeois, a French sculptor from the 1930s, who mainly worked with wood in direct carving. This specialty imposed itself on me a bit out of taste, quite simply because I love animals. I find that this period of the first half of the 20th century is an era during which animal sculptures are not decorative objects, but works of art in their own right, where the work of the sculptor meets that of the founder with real osmosis. .

The flagship work presented on the stand : I am presenting at FAB Paris a sculpture of a pigeon signed Le Bourgeois, which adorned a stair railing. The Bourgeois worked a lot for Ruhlmann, for the Ducharne and Poiret mansions. He was used to decorating interiors, mainly in wood, although some of his works may have been produced in bronze.

FAB Paris selon Xavier Eeckhout : I am delighted to participate again this year at FAB. Having been present since the beginning, I was able to see the very positive evolution of the show between the Palais Brongniart, the ephemeral Grand Palais last year, the Carrousel two years ago and finally the Grand Palais this year. It is one of the essential shows where eclecticism reigns and where quality is present on all the stands. In short, Paris couldn’t dream of anything better than FAB.
FAB Paris: Xavier Eeckhout collector of animal sculptures