Frieze Art Fair 16.-19.10.2008, London

The sixth edition of the leading international contemporary art fair is sponsored by Deutsche Bank and takes place in London from 16-19 October 2008.

World’s top contemporary art galleries
151 of the world’s most exciting contemporary art galleries, representing 27 countries, will present new work by over 1,000 artists at Frieze Art Fair. 2008 will see 11 galleries exhibiting at Frieze Art Fair for the first time, including Juliètte Jongma from Amsterdam, Long March Space, Beijing, Mary Mary, Glasgow and Vermelho, Sao Paulo.

Taking place in the beautiful setting of Regent’s Park in a large temporary structure of over 200,000 square foot, Frieze Art Fair 2008 is designed by renowned architects
Caruso St John.

Four galleries – Annet Gelink, Hauser & Wirth, Taka Ishii and Timothy Taylor have all employed architects to design their stands. Each year the fair’s organisers invite two spaces from developing centres of art to the fair, in 2008 they are Appetite from Buenos Aires and PiST from Istanbul.

Frieze Projects
Eleven artists have been commissioned to create site-specific work for Frieze Art Fair 2008. This year’s Frieze Projects engage directly with the ecology of the fair and its surroundings. Working closely with Caruso St. John, Jeppe Hein has drawn together the artificial construction of the fair with the natural surroundings of the park in an installation of subtly animated trees outside the entrance to the fair. Norma Jeane will present three transparent booths for visitors of the fair to smoke in. Each smoker will be part of the performance which is a comment on how the once social activity of smoking has been transformed through regulation and legislation into something deeply anti-social. Agnieszka Kurant will present a trio of trained parrots that have been taught to use an alternative language. Cory Arcangel has intervened in the fair’s gallery selection process, giving one gallery unsuccessful in their application to this year’s fair the opportunity nonetheless to exhibit. Tue Greenfort will excavate a chamber between gallery stands presenting an installation that is both a space to relax in and – literally – a distillation of the essence of the visitors to the fair, with dehumidifiers imperceptibly extracting the moisture from those who enter. Further projects from Pavel Büchler, Ceal Floyer, Sharon Hayes, Bert Rodriguez, Allen Ruppersberg and Andreas Slominski are presented throughout the fair. This year’s European Partners are MUSAC from Spain who will provide the fair’s own mobile phone ringtone and Kling and Bang from Iceland who will reconstruct Rejkavik’s famous Sirkus bar, a favourite with artists and musicians, within the fair. Icelandic beer will be served. Frieze Projects are curated by Neville Wakefield and presented in association with Cartier.

Athens Biennal

Biennials and large-scale periodic exhibitions constitute a sizeable part of the production and distribution system of artistic products, an instrument of the economic strategy of the world-wide cultural industry, and a vehicle for the development of cities. Moreover, it has by now been observed that in order to produce discourse, one has to place oneself within the distribution system, as the production of discourse outside the distribution system – which would, however, have an impact within the system – appears to be a conceptual impossibility. At the same time, though, the inclusion of discourse in the system of distribution makes the discourse itself mutate to the point that its impact is exhausted. There is therefore a need for the creation of a space where the desire to produce discourse will co-exist alongside the pragmatic observation of the general difficulty to resist the system of distribution.

The Athens Biennial aims to function within an international network of large-scale periodic contemporary art events, while providing the framework and the support for a variety of approaches. Porting the notion of ‘biennial’ with a full realization of its content, in an international landscape full of various propositions, the Athens Biennial intends to function as an agent of change and innovation, as a platform for creativity and dialogue, and as an observatory, which will include the elements of contemplation and elaboration of collective issues.

Athens is an ideal location for the institution of such an observatory, as it does not seem to ever coincide with the ceaselessly shifting borders between centre and periphery, a fact which provides an oversight of both the centre and the periphery.

The Athens Biennial aims to be a constant mechanism for the designation and the critical engagement of local artistic production, as well as a forum of discussion and exchange with the international scene. Moreover, it aims to be both an agent of cohesion for the local visual arts community and a factor of attraction within the international cultural landscape. In fact, the Athens Biennial conceives of these elements as indivisible, and therefore has been designed from the beginning as a structure that fulfils two parallel functions:

Firstly, it organizes a biennial contemporary art exhibition of international appeal. Secondly, through implementing AB Projects, like the bilingual online magazine a. the athens contemporary art review and the online radio station artwave radio, organizing smaller exhibitions, events and conferences, publishing books, and collaborating with other initiatives, it provides opportunities for the development of artistic production and critical thought.

The Athens Biennial is organized by the Athens Biennial – Non-Profit Organization.

Art Basel Miami 06.-09.12.07

Art Basel Miami Beach takes place December 6 - 9, 2007. Art Basel Miami Beach is the most important art show in the United States, a cultural and social highlight for the Americas. As the sister event of Switzerland's Art Basel, the most prestigious art show worldwide for the past 38 years, Art Basel Miami Beach combines an international selection of top galleries with an exciting program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Exhibition sites are located in the city's beautiful Art Deco District, within walking distance of the beach and many hotels. An exclusive selection of more than 200 leading art galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa will exhibit 20th and 21st century artworks by over 2,000 artists. The exhibiting galleries are among the world's most respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers. Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art. The show will be a vital source for art lovers, allowing them to both discover new developments in contemporary art and experience rare museum-calibre artworks. Top-quality exhibitions in the museums of South Florida and special programs for art collectors and curators also help make the event a special time for encountering art. And every year, a greater number of art collectors, artists, dealers, curators, critics and art enthusiasts from around the world participate in Art Basel Miami Beach - the favorite winter meeting place for the international art world.

Contemporary Istanbul 29.11.-2.12.07

A rising star in the world of art fairs, Contemporary Istanbul has established itself as one of the most dynamic and promising art events in the region. Following its successful debut in 2006, Contemporary Istanbul prepares to welcome an even greater number of art lovers and exhibitors when it opens its doors this fall.

Scheduled to run between November 29 - December 2, this year's edition of Contemporary Istanbul, will host more than 70 galleries from across the globe, as well as a wide range of events, including roundtable discussions, concerts, and performance art, alongside cutting-edge contemporary art by more than 350 artists.

Istanbul, a teeming hub of cultural activity and a longstanding site of the fusion between Eastern and Western cultures, is both the backdrop and inspiration for Contemporary Istanbul. Contemporary Istanbul's venue, the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center, located in the heart of downtown Istanbul, provides an ideal base for exploring the rich cultural attractions the city has to offer.

Already a favorite destination on the global contemporary art fair circuit, Contemporary Istanbul continues to offer a rewarding experience for artists, critics, galleries, collectors, curators and art buyers alike.

PINTA The Contemporary Latin American Art Fair 16.-20.11.07 NY

PINTA, New York's first contemporary Latin American art fair, will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea, 18th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, November 16-20, 2007. PINTA will be a unique event exhibiting annually -- for sale through the participating galleries -- the best of Latin American art, coinciding with Christie's and Sotheby’s Latin American art auctions and with important exhibitions in museums and cultural institutions in New York City. The fair organizers have invited the most prestigious galleries from the United States, Latin America and Europe to participate in this event. Thus, PINTA will be an exclusive fair which will include the participation of only thirty-five select art galleries showing museum-quality works representative of abstract, concrete, neo-concrete, kinetic and conceptual art, as well as of other contemporary art movements. Participating galleries will feature works in different disciplines by artists such as Carmelo Arden Quinn, Cruz Azaceta, Milton Becerra, José Bedia, Muu Blanco, Waltercio Caldas, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Ariel Cusnier, Eugenio Espinosa, Manuel Espinosa, Danilo Dueñas, Teresita Fernández, León Ferrari, Alfredo Jaar, Wifredo Lam, Marcos López, Raul Lozza, Oscar Machado, Ana María Maiolino, Marco Maggi, Fabián Marcaccio, Roberto Matta, Cildo Meireles, Ronald Morán, Edgar Negret, Helio Oiticica, Julio Le Parc, César Paternosto, Rogelio Polesello, Liliana Porter, Omar Rayo, Armando Reverón, , Xul Solar, Jesús Soto, Gego, Joaquín Torres García, and Augusto Zanela, among others. The following galleries will be represented: Alejandra Von Hartz (Miami), Aina Nowak (Madrid), Alfredo Ginocchio (Mexico), Arévalo Art (Miami), Alternativa Elvira Neri (Caracas), Appetite (Buenos Aires and New York) Cecilia de Torres (New York), Durban Segnini (Caracas and Miami), EDS (Mexico), Gabinete Raquel Arnaud (Sao Paolo), dpm Arte Contemporáneo (Guayaquil and Miami), Fernando Pradilla (Madrid), Wussmann (Buenos Aires and New York), GC Estudio de Arte (Buenos Aires), Hardcore Contemporary Art (Miami), Josee Bienvenu (New York), Latincollector (New York), Latitude Art (San Juan), Nara Roesler (Sao Paulo), Lyle O Reitzel (Miami and Santo Domingo), Pan American Projects (Miami and Dallas), Praxis Art International (Nueva York, Miami and Buenos Aires), RJ Fine Arts (Stamford), Tres Art (Miami), Van Eyck (Buenos Aires), Vasari (Buenos Aires), Virgilio (Sao Paulo), Rubbers (Buenos Aires), Henrique Faria Fine Art (New York), Leon Tovar (New York), Magnan Projects (New Yo rk), Hostfelt (New York, San Francisco), MOKA (Chicago), Sammer (Miami), Ruth Benzacar (Buenos Aires).

FIAC 18.22.10.07 Paris

Art London 04.-08.10.07

Art London is returning for its ninth year to a beautiful, airy marquee in Chelsea.

This year's fair welcomes 75 galleries from across the UK and Europe, and from as far afield as Argentina, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong. These carefully selected exhibitors are showcasing their very best paintings, drawings, prints, photography, sculpture, glass and ceramics. In a relaxed setting that combines approachability with glamour and connoisseurship, you can find works by young unknowns as well as by household names.

Amongst the many established British artists represented at Art London are Alan Davie, Lynn Chadwick, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron and Vanessa Bell. International greats include Pablo Picasso, Kurt Schwitters, Georg Baselitz, Eduard Vuillard and Raoul Dufy.

In 2006, Art London hosted its inaugural Special Exhibition: a non-selling, museum style show with an educational mission. Our second such exhibition is entitled Enabling the Future: Drawings, Maquettes and Sculptures from the Cass Sculpture Foundation. The collection has been on loan to several overseas museums, including the Guggenheim in Venice. However, this is the first time it is being exhibited- away from its permanent home at Goodwood- in a public space in the UK, a tremendous honour for Art London.

The Cass Sculpture Foundation is also contributing several major pieces to the fair's outdoor Sculpture Garden, a curated display of fourteen monumental works positioned against the idyllic backdrop of the Royal Hospital's grounds.