Sleeping beauty…

While admiring the Grand Palais, mostly its glass-domed roof through which Paris’s temperamental skies can be seen changing moods, it comes as a surprise to hear that the structure was never meant to survive 116 years. Built at the beginning of the last century as a temporary location to host the Universal Exhibition of 1900, the Grand Palais is poetry in steel, stone and glass, and was meant to be pulled down once the exhibition was over. Luckily, the structure was retained and it went on to house many such exhibitions — including the famed Biennale des Antiquaires.

After more than half a century of exhibiting art and antiques that one would only otherwise find in a museum, or an exclusive personal collection, the Syndicat National des Antiquaires (SNA), the governing body of the Biennale, decided that 2016 would be the last year of the Biennale. From 2017, the decorative arts fair will become an annual event, a change that’s clearly an attempt to keep up with the shorter attention spans of the fast-paced world today.

“It is like an old woman getting a facelift,” quips Jean-Daniel Compain, director general of the Biennale, in an attempt to lighten the mood as conversation veers towards the impending changes lying ahead. And then, perhaps to be more politically correct, adds, “Or rather, like waking up a sleeping beauty.” Either way, both Compain and Dominique Chevalier, president of the SNA, agree that the fair needs a wake-up call.

“The Biennale was the first fair, or rather salon of French elegance as it should be called, of its kind,” said Chevalier, adding that annual is the only way to exist today. He points to the scenography — as the décor of the Palais, done especially for the Biennale, is called — and explains that it is modern in style, and is important because it forms a link between the Grand Palais and the objet d’art on display. The aim was to keep it sober, chic and yet neutral to keep the attention on the exhibit alone.

The Biennale is slowly adapting to face the changes that come with a fast evolving art world and becoming more objective. For example, this year, for the first time, the selection of exhibitors were made by a committee of 17 members — comprising collectors, historians as well as curators. The attempt at change, says Compain, is to give a cultural dimension to a commercial exhibition, which is why this year there were three non-selling exhibits — a tribute to the Mobilier National (the French national agency that collects pieces of furniture), ‘The Mastery of Time’ by La Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, and most notably, ‘A Century of French Elegance’, a selection from The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Another surprise at this year’s Biennale was the reduction of jewellery exhibitors to just four, from 14 in 2014, including notable omissions like Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels. When questioned, Compain has a simple enough explanation. “High jewellery, we thought, was taking up too much space and we tried to create a balance, but they didn’t like our conditions,” he says. Will they be back next year, or the year after that once the fair becomes an annual affair? “Our purpose is simple — we try to get the best galleries in the world to exhibit,” says Compain with finality. Well, we’ll find out next year.

One fact that both Chevalier and Compain agree upon unanimously is the need for the fair to become more international, and appeal to youngsters, who are the buyers of the future. Although a French fair, by their own admission, the times are such that they have to pique foreign interest. This explains why they are promoting it internationally, and organising more special exhibitions to attract collectors and institutions from far-off countries. But, they reiterate, the Biennale has to remain true to its core — which is French. “We do not consider continents or countries,” says Compain, “we are looking at the art market as a whole, and it is not a question of percentage but simply of getting the very best. When it started, the Biennale had only French dealers but today 40 per cent are foreign exhibitors.”

The lone Indian presence at the Biennale was in the jewellery section, where Nirav Modi — a relatively young brand that has made an impact internationally — exhibited its trademark settings and gorgeous gems. But there should be more, believes Compain. “India really has a place at the Biennale considering its rich, 5,000 years of cultural history. Collectors love Indian pieces here,” he says, “but there are no Indian exhibitors!” This could be mostly due to the fact that dealing in antiques is not considered a profitable business in India yet, and there is a need to create a market that encourages dealers. High import taxes and laws that forbid re-importing kill the nascent market, and this has to change, says Compain, but he remains optimistic about the future. “There will come a time when a Picasso hangs in a house in India,” he states confidently. Even if we don’t share his confidence, we can still support his vision.

(The writer was in Paris for the Biennale des Antiquaires on the invitation of the Syndicat National des Antiquaires and Regis Mathieu, owner of Galerie Lumières)

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