The fall art season is just around the corner. You have two choices. One, stay in New York and wait for the important art to come to you. Or two, get on the phone to your travel agent. What follows is a brief survey of top art destinations for fans of contemporary and modern art -- art fairs, biennials and the odd museum exhibition or two -- for the final third of 2004.
SEPTEMBER Gwangju Biennale
Sept. 10-Nov. 13, 2004
Art writer and curator Yongwoo Lee, founding artistic director for the Gwangju Biennial in 1995, returns to head up the fifth edition of the South Korean art exposition. Joining him are two artistic directors -- Hirshhorn Museum chief curator Kerry Brougher and Chonnam University professor Suk-won Chang -- plus a team of curators. The biennale is divided into four "Sites" and a large theme exhibition called "A Grain of Dust, A Drop of Water," which was organized with the advice of a group of 60 "viewer-participants" from around the world. The "Site" exhibitions, too, invite spectators to take part in such activities as painting "a history-of-culture map." Artists in the show, who hail from 40 different countries, include Soon-shil Baik, Young-nam Cho, Richard Hamilton, Pierre Huyghe, Hon Koh, Marc Quinn, Ed Ruscha and Jennifer Steinkamp.
Architecture Biennale Venice
Sept. 12-Nov. 7, 2004
The ninth international architecture exhibition, entitled "Metamorph," is directed by Kurt W. Forster, founding director of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and currently a professor at the Bauhaus Universitt in Weimar. Some 170 firms are presenting over 200 projects, accompanied by 150 photographs and a number of videos. Held in the historic Corderie building as well as in the Italian Pavilion, the biennale is divided into thematic sections -- "Transformations," "Topography," "Surfaces," "Atmosphere," and "Hyper-Projects" -- and includes special installations by architects Ben van Berkel, Peter Eisenman, Kengo Kuma, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Massimo Scolari, Ron Arad, Wilkinson - Eyre, Sauerbruch + Hutton and others.
20/21 British Art Fair
Sept. 15-19, 2004
Sixty British galleries, most of them members of the esteemed Society of London Art Dealers, set up shop in Londons Royal College of Art for this well-established fair, now in its 17th year. The fair is true to its name, concentrating on British art from 1900 to the present, and including household names such as Bacon, Freud and Auerbach, as well as works by contemporary artists.
Art Forum Berlin
Sept. 18-22, 2004
Now in its ninth year, Art Forum Berlin is struggling to revitalize itself. This years installment presents 119 galleries, up from approximately 95 last year, with more than half from Germany; 20 countries are represented in all. A new section called "Made in Berlin," curated by former Hamburg Deichtorhallen chief Zdenek Felix, features work by 42 local artists. The fairs lecture series includes the panel discussion "Bigger! Faster! Out of Control! -- Does Today's Art Market Devour Artists?" with artist Monica Bonvicini, Brooklyn dealer Joe Amrhein and others.
On view at Berlin museums during the fair are exhibitions of Sophie Calle and Francis Als at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, "Robert Mapplethorpe and the Classical Tradition: Photographs and Mannerist Prints" at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin, and "Shrinking Cities" at Kunst Werke. And you can still catch the much-publicized loan show "MoMA in Berlin" at the Neue Nationalgalerie. The Hamburger Bahnhof also unveils its controversial exhibition of the Friedrich Christian Flick collection on Sept. 22
Liverpool Biennial
Sept. 18-Nov. 28, 2004
The third Liverpool Biennial takes place at venues throughout the city, including Tate Liverpool, the Walker, Bluecoat Arts Centre and FACT (the Foundation for Art & Creative Technology). Forty artworks newly commissioned for the show form "International 04," the biennials main section. Among the invited artists are Cildo Meireles, Takashi Murakami, Yoko Ono, Marjetica Potrc, Martha Rosler and Santiago Sierra. Other attractions include the debut of "Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2004," the popular annual show of work by students and recent graduates of UK art schools, selected by a jury consisting of curator Kate Bush and artists Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean and Brian Griffiths.
Busan Biennale Contemporary Art Exhibition
Sept. 21-Oct. 31, 2004
Directed by Tae-Man Choi, a former curator of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea, this years biennale takes as its theme "Chasm," which refers to postcolonial Korea. Artists include Hwan-Guon Lee, David Evison Byung-Chel Kim, Jin-Ho Pae, Ramon Barrios, Kemal Tufan, Liang Shuo, Novello Finotti, Toru Saito, Ton Kalle and Pintor Sirait. The Biennale is divided into sections such as "Point of Contact," "Hang in there, my dear Keum-Soon," "Moving Picture Desire" and "The Sea Art Festival." The "Sea Art Festival" features environmental art and runs Oct. 9-31 at Haeundae Beach.
4th Biennale de Montreal
Sept. 24-Oct. 31, 2004
Public spaces, public art and urban planning are the themes of this biennale, which takes place at venues throughout the city and is organized by Claude Gosselin, director of the Centre international d'art contemporain de Montral. Participating artists and architects include Will Alsop, Hal Ingberg, Armand Vaillancourt and Ruedi Baur.
26th Bienal de São Paulo
Sept. 25-Dec. 19, 2004
The title of the 26th installment of the Brazilian biennial is Territrio Livre, or "Image Smugglers in a Free Territory," a phrase that "derives from the idea of the no-mans land, not only geographically, politically and socially speaking, but mainly as an esthetic field, where art defies the boundaries of reality." A total of 140 artists from 60 countries are included in the show, which is organized by Alfons Hug in the 25,000-square-meter, three-story Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion.
Shanghai Biennale
Sept. 29-Nov. 28, 2004
Now in its tenth year, the Biennale is organized around the theme "Techniques of the Visible" and examines the relationship between art, science and technology. The show includes works in a broad range of mediums, including shadow plays, and is organized by China Academy of Art president Xu Jiang, Canada-based independent curator Zheng Shengtian, Sebastian Lopez, director of the Gate Foundation in the Netherlands, and Zhang Qing, director of the Shanghai Biennales office.
Melbourne Art Fair
Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2004
Australias contemporary art fair, which launched in 1988, features over 800 works from approximately 100 galleries, all housed in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Participating galleries come from Australia as well as from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Auckland, Wellington, Amsterdam, Rome and New York. The opening night preview party on Sept. 29 benefits the not-for-profit Melbourne Art Fair Foundation. For more information contact artfair@artfair.com.au.
OCTOBER AFFAIR @ The Jupiter Hotel
Oct. 1-3, 2004
The city of Portland, Ore., is known for wine, coffee and, according to this new hotel fairs website, its many strip clubs. Organized by former New York art dealer and curator Stuart Horodner, the citys first art fair features presentations by 25 galleries and independent curators in an 80-room boutique hotel located about a half-mile from the center of town.
Toronto International Art Fair
Oct. 1-4, 2004
The five-year-old Toronto International Art Fair features approximately 83 galleries from 13 countries at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre; about 65 percent of the dealers are from Canada. Among the special sections are "Fresh Avant-Garde" (emerging artists), "Berlin Constructions" (art since the fall of the Berlin wall) and "Solo Spaces" (one-artist shows). The preview gala on Sept. 30 benefits the Art Gallery of Ontario; for info contact the AGO at (416) 979-6660 x573.
Ldz Biennale
Oct. 2-31, 2004
Janusz Glowacki, art historian and former curator at the Museum Sztuki (Modern Art Museum), is director of the first Ldz Biennale, which takes place in the International Artists' Museum (IAM). The approximately 90 artists were chosen by an international committee that included artists Leon Golub and Lawrence Weiner; critics Robert C. Morgan, Gregory Volk and Lilly Wei; and Zdenka Badovinac, director of the Moderna Galerija in Ljubljana. Participating artists include Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Patty Chang, Tara Donovan, Mona Hatoum, Richard Long, Mariko Mori, Shirin Neshat, Nancy Spero and Fiona Tan. There is also a "Polish Biennale" section of 25 artists, headed up by independent curator Aneta Szylak.
54th Carnegie International
Oct. 9, 2004-March 20, 2005
Established in 1896, the Carnegie is the longest running survey of contemporary art in North America. Its 54th edition is organized by Laura Hoptman, curator of contemporary art at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, where the exhibition is held. Hoptmans advisory committee included Francesco Bonami, curator of last years Venice Biennale; artist Rirkrit Tiravanija; and MoMA drawings curator Gary Garrels. Among the 38 artists in the show are Jim Lambie, Neo Rauch, Ugo Rondinone and R. Crumb, who also designed a collectible poster for the exhibition.
Photo New York
Oct. 14-17, 2004
Photo New York, otherwise known as the First New York International Photographic Art Exposition, features over 40 dealers from the U.S. and Europe. The show is organized by California art dealer Stephen Cohen (who runs Photo San Francisco and Photo L.A.) and is located in the Metropolitan Pavilion building on West 18th Street in Manhattan. The show also includes lectures by photographers Larry Fink and Joel-Peter Witkin, as well as a panel discussion on contemporary photography book publishing. The opening night reception on Oct. 14 is a benefit for the Jewish Museum. For info, call (212) 423-3267.
Frieze Art Fair
Oct. 15-18, 2004
Approximately 150 of the worlds top contemporary galleries are on hand for the second installment of Londons new international art fair, housed in architect David Adjayes custom-designed structure in Regents Park. Among the special projects is a dance club on the fair grounds designed by the Los Angeles-based collective Los Super Elegantes in collaboration with New York artist Assume Vivid Astro Focus (aka Eli Sudbrack). See Frieze Preview PageZoo
Oct. 15-18, 2004
Riding into London on Friezes coattails, the Zoo fair features 22 London galleries, many from the East End, that have been in operation for three years or less. The show is organized by London dealer David Risley and independent curator Soraya Rodriguez, and takes place in a pavilion at the London Zoo. Atypically, the fair itself is nonprofit, designed to raise money for Risleys new Museums Fund, which supports museum acquisitions of works by emerging artists. As a result, it has acquired some powerful sponsors, including Gagosian Gallery, Sadie Coles HG, White Cube and supercollector Charles Saatchi. See Zoo Preview PageScope London
Oct. 15-18, 2004
The third entry in Londons de facto contemporary art-fair week features approximately 35 galleries in the Meli White House hotel in Regents Park. U.S. participants include 31 Grand, Caren Golden Fine Art, Catharine Clark Gallery, Conner Contemporary Art, Curcioprojects, Finesilver Gallery, Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Rare and SlingShot Project.
Los Angeles Art Show
Oct. 15-17, 2004
Now in its tenth year, this fairs wares range from Old Masters to contemporary, presented by over 50 galleries at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Air Center. The Oct. 14 gala benefits the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; for info, call (323) 857-6149.
FIAC
Oct. 21-25, 2004
The 31st Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain presents 214 modern and contemporary galleries, about half of them from outside France, at the Paris Expo at Porte de Versailles. For the past several years, FIAC has been spiffing up its image, and this year is overseen by a new artistic director, former Paris dealer Jennifer Flay. Among its features are a "Perspectives" section of 33 cutting-edge galleries; special sections devoted to design and prints; a new "Future Quake" category with 20 galleries that have been in business for a mere three years or less; and a juried exhibition of 60 to 80 20th-century works entitled "Musée Imaginaire."
Art Paris 2004
Oct. 22-25, 2004
Installed at the Carrousel du Louvre, Art Paris presents approximately 90 contemporary and modern exhibitors, largely hailing from France, though the fair also boasts 35 participants from abroad. For its sixth edition, the fair also features an exhibition of emerging Polish artists organized with the Polish Institute and a show of works from the collection of the Société Générale.
On view in Paris at the same time as both Paris fairs are "Turner, Whistler and Monet" and "Images of the Floating World: Japanese Prints from Ukiyo-e" at the Grand-Palais, exhibitions of Xavier Veilhan and Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Centre Pompidou and Thomas Hirshhorn at the Palais de Tokyo, "Nan Goldin: Sisters, Saints and Oracles" at the Chapelle de la Salpetrière.
Taipei Biennial
Oct. 23, 2004-Jan. 23, 2005
"Do you believe in reality?" is the title of this biennial, which was launched in 1998 and is held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan. Brussels-based independent curator Barbara Vanderlinden and Taiwanese writer and art critic Amy Huei-Hua Cheng have chosen 40 artists whose works are "grounded in contemporary human experiences and reflections on everyday life, with Asia as a crucial paradigm for a radical changing society."
AAF Contemporary Art Fair
Oct. 28-31, 2004
The New York version of this bargain-hunter's fair, which was launched two years ago as the "Affordable Art Fair," sets up shop with over 130 galleries on Pier 92 at 12th Avenue and 52nd Street. It follows fast on the heels of the Affordable Art Fair, London, Oct. 21-24, 2004, at Battersea Park. The opening night preview on Oct. 27 benefits the Columbia University School of the Arts; for info, call (212) 255-2003.
Art Cologne 2004
Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2004
Founded in 1967, the Cologne International Art Fair presents 250 modern and contemporary galleries from Germany (55 percent) and approximately 20 other countries in the city's spacious Rhineside Halls. Among the initiatives this year -- like many of the older fairs, Art Cologne is striving to enliven its program to compete with the new London and Miami Beach fairs -- are new video rooms, which will be set up beside gallery stands, and "New Museums," a show of architectural projects for new museum buildings, including Tadao Ando's project for the Langen Foundation in Neuss and Frank Gehry's MARTa in Herford. On view in Cologne at the same time is a major Edward Hopper retrospective at the Museum Ludwig.
NOVEMBER ARTissima 2004
Nov. 4-7, 2004
One of the Italian art worlds best local fairs, the 11-year-old Internazionale d'Arte Contemporanea a Torino features 150 galleries from 20 countries in architect Renzo Piano's Lingotto exhibition center in Turin. Special sections include "Present Future" (young artists), "New Entries" (new galleries) and "Constellations" (large art works).
14th Annual Print Fair
Nov. 4-7, 2004
Sponsored by the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA), the print fair brings 88 exhibitors (including 23 from the New York area and 18 from Europe) and over 100,000 prints to the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City. The gala opening on Nov. 3 benefits the Museum of Modern Art; for info, email specialevents@moma.org.
Editions and Artists Book Fair
Nov. 4-7, 2004
For its seventh year running, this fair, devoted to contemporary artists prints, multiples and books, coincides with the IFPDA print fair. The fair is now in its third year in Chelsea and takes place on the 14th floor of the Starett Lehigh Building at 601 West 26 Street. Among this years participating dealers are Peter Blum (New York); Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York); Conner Contemporary Art (Washington, D.C.); Christophe Daviet-Thery (Paris); Har-El Printers & Publishers, (Jaffa); and Yvon Lambert (Paris/New York). The fair is organized by Barbara Baruch of Brooke Alexander Editions, Susan Inglett of I.C. Editions, and David Platzker of Printed Matter, the worlds largest distributor of artists' books, magazines, audio and video works. DJ Spooky will spin artists recordings at the opening gala on Nov. 4, which benefits Printed Matter. General admission for the evening is $40; the $150 admission price gets you a print by Kiki Smith.
SOFA Chicago
Nov. 5-7, 2004
The 11th Annual International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art includes 91 galleries from around the world at the spacious Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. A series of accompanying lectures and special exhibitions are presented by the British Crafts Council, Danish Crafts and the Danish Trade Council, and the Association of Israels Decorative Arts (AIDA) in cooperation with Eretz Israel Museum.
Paris Photo
Nov. 11-14, 2004
The premier Paris photo fair, founded by Rik Gadella in 1997, brings 105 dealers from 16 countries to the Carrousel du Louvre. This year the fair is more international than it has ever been, with over 70 percent of the galleries from outside France. The special "Statement" exhibition focuses on emerging Swiss photographers. The fair also features the new Paris Photo-BMW First Prize for Photography, to be awarded to a living photographer by a jury of experts and collectors.
Art of the 20th Century
Nov. 19-22, 2004
Organizer Sanford Smiths ART 20 returns to Manhattans Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue for its third year, featuring over 60 international galleries, 70 percent of which are from the U.S. The fairs title is slightly misleading, as its purview is 1900 to contemporary. The preview gala on Nov. 18 benefits the Childrens Museum of Manhattan; for info contact megan@sandfordsmith.com.
DECEMBER Art Basel Miami Beach
Dec. 2-5, 2004
The most exciting new art fair in the U.S., now in its third year, features 180 galleries at Miami Beachs modern convention center. The line-up is evenly split between North America and Europe, plus about a dozen dealers from Latin America and a handful from Asia and Africa. Special presentations include "Art Statements" (one-person shows by young artists) and "Art Nova" (recently established galleries presenting new work that has been created during the current or the last two years).
Fans of antiques, Old Masters, the decorative arts and design should refer to the new edition of Paul Shanleys International Guide to Art Fairs and Antiques Shows, a handy booklet that includes everything from the 22nd Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, Sept. 15-28, 2004, to the Monte-Carlo International Fine Art & Antiques Fair, Dec. 31, 2004-Jan. 6, 2005. For info, contact artmediaco@aol.com
 for the Esprit House.jpg)
