Photostory: Art Paris Art Fair + Secret Archipelago
I have just came back from two weeks in Paris. It has been an incredible time. I was there for the Art Paris Art Fair and the exhibition Secret Archipelago at the Palais De Tokyo – yet again on a reporting mission for Art a Part of Cult(ure), the Italian magazine I write for. My boss at Art a Part is the M to my Bond, the Charlie to my Angels, the Xavier to my X-Men, well, you get my drift! In Paris I’ve met with a number of interesting people and had chats with artists I wanted to talk to from a long time, including Eddie Hara and Richard Streitmatter-Tran.
The first week has been a whirlwind of interviews. I already knew what it means to do three interviews in a day – I did it before, and it was crazy! But five interviews in a day? That’s don’t-try-this-at-home insane! Luckily enough, I generally feel energized by working under pressure. Plus, all the artists and gallerists I talked with have been super nice. I can’t wait to share their interviews with you! In this situation it also helped to have the most amazing sidekick a journalist can ever had, a gorgeous Sorrentinian gal called Marta, who also hosted me in Paris. We jumped from metro to metro chatting endlessly about everything from Catilina (ancient republican Rome anyone?) to haircuts, all that while chewing a pan au chocolat (aux amandes, aux pistaches…) and rushing to the next interview.
The second week was quieter but just as great. I strolled around Paris’ vintage markets and museums with artist Iwan Wijono, dancer Stefania Rossetti and videomaker Andrès Davila. They must have been the most fun and welcoming people in Paris, rescuing me from weird situations and visiting local artists together. I will definitely meet them again soon, since we all share a passion for Indonesian art – Iwan is a pioneer of body and performance art in south east asia. I already miss the smell of kretek!
Last but not least, I also visited another show of Indonesian artists called Halal – No Worries at CVQ Gallery, curated by Rifky Effendy. It featured many artists I had the pleasure to meet in another occasions, like Krisna Murti, Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina. It was great to see how their work has evolved since I first met them. Now I’ll leave you to the pictures. For the words, you’ll soon read my reports about the art fair and Secret Archipelago exhibition on Art a Part of Cult(ure).
