The first-ever Paris gallery weekend, which was planned for April 5-7, had put together an impressive roster of participating galleries, including Chantal Crousel, Emmanuel Perrotin, and Thaddaeus Ropac. Now, however, the event has been canceled after the defection of several dissatisfied galleries.

Although it was originally announced that 60 galleries would participate in the gallery weekend, contracts with 25 galleries were ultimately signed. According to Le Journal des Arts, some of the participants had second thoughts after signing. They were somewhat reluctant to pay the €4,000 ($5,350) fee, but the real dealbreaker was a clause in the contract that linked the galleries to the event’s organizers in a way that displeased the galleries and their professional organization, the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art. After Chantal Crousel and five other galleries dropped out, the organizers decided that there were no longer enough participants to move forward with the project.

The impetus for a Paris gallery weekend came from Oriana Schwaan, former show manager for FIAC. The idea was to replicate the success of Berlin’s gallery weekend, which takes place from April 26-28 this year, with 53 galleries participating. Schwaan and the selection committee will meet soon to decide whether the project can be resuscitated next year.

— Kate Deimling, ARTINFO France

(Image: Robert Delaunay, “La ville de Paris,” ca. 1911. Via Google Art Project.)

Tags: Emmanuel Perrotin, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Kate Deimling, News, Thaddaeus Ropac