French Culture

Opening the fall art season each September, EXPO CHICAGO hosts leading international art galleries presented alongside a rigorous and challenging programming through a series of initiatives including the /Dialogues panel series; IN/SITU, featuring large-scale sculptures, site-specific, video and new media works installed throughout Navy Pier; IN/SITU Outside, a curated selection of public artworks installed throughout the City of Chicago and Curatorial Initiatives.

The  Cultural Services of the French Embassy are happy to renew their partnership with EXPO Chicago, and to welcome during this eighth edition French curators, artists, and galleries.

Curatorial program

As part of the Étant donnés Contemporary Art Program and thanks to the generous support of the FORD Foundation, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy are organizing an exploratory trip during the fair with a group of French Curators focused on the African American Art Scene through visits, meetings with curators, visits to collections and museums, among other. The trip will continue in New York for a four-day program.

In collaboration with independent curator Natasha Becker:

The French curators are 

Cathy Bouvard, Director, Ateliers Medicis
Etienne Bernard, Director, Frac Bretagne
Marie Martraire, Director, San Francisco Kadist Foundation
Claire Le Restif, Director, Centre d'art contemporain d'Ivry - le Crédac
Alicia Knock, Curator, Centre Pompidou
Céline Kopp, Director,Triangle Marseille

Methode Room #5 : Neïl Beloufa and Guillaume Désanges

French Curator Guillaume Désanges is coming back to Chicago during EXPO with the French-Algerian artist Neïl Beloufa to prepare the next Methode Room residency.

Guillaume Désanges curates since 2015 the Methode Room program organized by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Chicago and made possible thanks to the support of FACE in Chicago,  

Each year, a French or Francophone artist is invited for a research and production residency (1 to 3 months) deeply connected to the cultural and social ecosystem of Chicago, and in collaboration with local actors and institutions.

As the next Méthode Room resident 2019-2020, Neïl Beloufa will work on a new video piece, in collaboration with the American artist Jory Rabinovitch, that will focus on Chicago’s social, artistic and political contexts.

Neïl Beloufa will be also part of the IN/SITU Program presented by EXPO Chicago and curated by Jacob Fabricius, Artistic Director at the Kunsthal Aarhus in Denmark.

An essay on the work of Neïl Beloufa by Guillaume Désanges, translated by Stephanie Cristello, will be published in Issue 09 of THE SEEN, Chicago’s International Journal for Contemporary & Modern Art. The publication will launch during EXPO CHICAGO and be distributed in Chicago and France for free. Locations include the Palais de Tokyo bookshop, Paris.”

GALLERIES

Galerie Hervé Bize, Nancy | Alain Jacquet and Galerie Papillon, Paris | VOID were selected as part of EXPO PROFILE showcasing solo booths with ambitious installations and tightly focused thematic exhibitions.
Founded in 1989, Galerie Hervé Bize constantly draws attention to artists of different generations in order to build a dialogue between processes created in different places and at different moments in the history of contemporary art, but which, through the choice of varied media, find common grounds of approach and experimentation.

Founde in 1989, Galerie Papillon was quickly recognized for its cutting-edge program and characteristic editorial line.Bold and, at times, unconventional, the artists they bring together have a common sensibility, a sense of poetry and irony.

Galerie Ceysson & Bénétière, New York, Paris, Saint-Etienne, Koerich, Geneva
Founded in Saint-Étienne in 2006 by François Ceysson and Loic Bénétière, Ceysson & Bénétière features the exponents of the Supports/Surfaces Movement of the late ‘60s, such as Louis Cane, Jean-Michel Meurice, and Claude Viallat, in addition to new contemporary talents, including Lauren Luloff, Nicolas Momein, Adrien Vescovi, and so on.

Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel (Seine-et-Marne), Centro Habana Galleria Continua was founded in 1990 by Mario Cristiani, Lorenzo Fiaschi and Maurizio Rigillo, with the intention, evident in the name, to give continuity to contemporary art in a landscape rich with the signs of ancient art. In 2007, Galleria Continua inaugurated a new peculiar site for large-scale creations - Les Moulins - in the Parisian countryside.

Galerie La Forest Divonne, Brussels, Paris
Founded in 1988 by Marie-Hélène de La Forest Divonne, Galerie Vieille du Temps became Galerie La Forest Divonne in 2015, upon moving in new walls, rue des Beaux Arts. Two generations of gallerists build up an independent line of international artists, putting quality and timelessness as first criteria of their choices.

Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Paris, London
For over forty years, Marian Goodman Gallery has played an important role in introducing European artists to American audiences and helping to establish a vital dialogue among artists and institutions working internationally. In 1995 the gallery expanded to include an exhibition space in Paris. In late 2016 she realized her dream of opening a bookstore and project space in Paris. 

Galerie Perrotin, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai  
Emmanuel Perrotin founded his first gallery in 1990 at the age of 21. He has since opened over 18 different spaces with the aim of continuing to offer increasingly vibrant and creative environments to experience artists’ works.

Galerie Praz-Delavallade, Paris, Los Angeles
Praz-Delavallade has held a reputation for it’s long standing relationship with both American and European artists whose work span different mediums. The gallery was founded 1995 in Paris with an inaugural exhibition including Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, Richard Petitbon, Jim Shaw and Benjamin Weisman.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, Paris Marais, Paris Pantin, Salzburg
Founded in 1983, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac has galleries across Europe. Specialising in contemporary art and representing over 60 artists, the gallery supports and showcases the careers of some of the most influential artists today with a wide-ranging programme of over 40 exhibitions each year across its five extensive and historic gallery spaces.

Galerie RX, Paris
Founded in 2002, Galerie RX has 6 public and private exhibition rooms that provide the artists of the gallery new perspectives and promote collaborations with curators and international artists. It also develops outdoor projects with public and private institutions as well as partnerships with international galleries.

Galerie Templon, Paris, Brussels
Founded in 1966, Daniel Templon first gained recognition by exhibiting conceptual and minimal artists such Christian Boltanski and Richard Serra and introduced many important American artists to the French public.Today, Galerie Templon represents a group of international artists from established artists to emerging artists.