Silvia Ammon

SILVIA AMMON :

I grew up in Nuremberg, Germany, in a family passionate about history and culture but very far from the art market. I settled in Paris in 2007 to study history of art at the Sorbonne and then I started working in galleries for around 10 years, mainly at Praz-Delavallade. Knowing galleries from the inside is indispensable for being able to direct a project like Paris Internationale.

SILVIA AMMON :

Our aims were multiple: creating a platform for galleries of our generation, shaking up the art fair landscape, bringing our international colleagues to Paris and putting Paris back on the map as a strong artistic centre. We’re part of a generation of actors who were working to transform the city which needed to be awakened and energised. Our love of Paris is expressed very directly through the nomadic nature of the fair.

SILVIA AMMON :

We always look for authentically Parisian buildings with a soul and history allowing visitors to discover a rich architectural heritage. What really matters is finding buildings that are exciting for the artists and that inspire them to create projects that incite the curiosity of our visitors.

SILVIA AMMON :

Its centrally located, has generous interior volumes that let in lots of light and the brickwork previously concealed under plaster lends an atypical softness. It’s a former telephone exchange, built at the end of the 19th century, where women connected calls connected calls during the first part of the 20th century. It’s amusing to think that we’ve turned it into a place to meet and connect again.

SILVIA AMMON :

It’s a source of pride for any cultural project to last ten years. Surviving this long with a non-profit economic model like ours requires true convictions and a little romanticism.

SILVIA AMMON :

It’s a fair created by galleries for galleries and that puts the artist at the centre; a fair in which people want to make discoveries and spend time; not only a commercial event but a place for encounters and exchanges. Paris Internationale carries a strong message, that a good collection is built from the heart, with a lot of time and passion, that collecting is not just about investing or decorating but supporting artists, a scene and an entire creative ecosystem.

 SILVIA AMMON : 

We’ve always worked hand in hand with Art Basel. In 2015, Marc Spiegler [the former director of Art Basel] was among the very first visitors of our first edition. Clément managed the fair with me for five editions [2016-2020] and we remain good friends. We all work for the same cause, that Paris becomes increasingly stronger. Art Basel’s arrival of Art Basel has strengthened this “art week” and the vast array on offer should inspire a generation of collectors. For me, there’s a broader issue at stake; what needs to change is the place that contemporary creation occupies in the lives of Parisians throughout the year.

SILVIA AMMON :

What has changed is that a project has become multi-generational. The generation of the founding galleries that were here ten years ago – Crèvecoeur, Ciaccia Levi, Gregor Staiger, Derosia, Stereo – are still here. We’ve been joined by more established galleries, like Greengrassi, Gaga and Tomio Koyama, as well as very young ones. But it’s not a question of growing at all costs but remaining attentive to the needs of galleries, which is how we manage to attract the best representatives of this international ecosystem.

I’m very pleased with the selection of Asian galleries. Tomio Koyama from Tokyo is participating for the first time, showing ceramics by Keiji Ito and paintings by Hiroshi Sugito. Magician Space from Beijing is exhibiting passionate work by [multimedia artist]  Liu Yefu. There are American galleries presenting artists from different generations. Company is showing works from the Women’s History Museum, Troy Montes Michie and Sixten Sandra Österberg. At Theta, one can discover paintings by the Ukrainian artist Alexandra Kadzevich while Ulrik is exhibiting an historical project by Bettina who was active on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1960s. We also have four fantastic galleries from Warsaw. Stereo is showing lovely paintings by  Barbara Wesolowska; Dawid Radziszewski is showing photographic work by Tatjana Danneberg who recently exhibited at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie; Gunia Nowik is presenting paintings by Agata Bogacka, and at Turnus one can discover sculptures by Piotr Kowalski.

SILVIA AMMON :

There are lovely works at Lovay Fine Arts [Geneva] by Suzanne Santoro, an artist [aged 78] who made watercolours of nude women in movement. There are a lot of historic artists to discover, from Beatrice Bonino at Ermes Ermes [Rome], photographs by George Tourkovasilis at Records [Athens] and [sculptures] by Erwin Thorn at Lombardi-Kargl [Vienna].

SILVIA AMMON :

The return to figure painting seems obvious. That said, it appears to me that we’re living in an era in which different styles, visions and ways of making art can live together more easily than in the past.

SILVIA AMMON :

I like artists that are anchored in their time, who change my view of the world, open new horizons and allow us to change our point of view by navigating between complexity and simplicity. Artists who bring back to us the beauty of the small things in life and imbue our lives with poetry.