End of January. Palexpo underwent one of its first transformations of the year. For this 12th edition of artgenève, the venue is criss-crossed by dozens of small boxes, each offering an immersion into one of the 80 galleries presenting contemporary and modern art. Aficionados of the event will find the same codes as in previous editions. But this year, artgenève also decided to surprise, and successfully so. Héloïse Decrocq-Mosnier, Fine Art expert at PSPI, explains.
You’re a regular at artgenève. Why is it important to “be there” in the first place?
In fact, this is the 4th edition I’ve attended as a spectator, and PSPI has even more history, because Fanny – PSPI founder – used to go before I arrived, before the Fine Art department within PSPI became so important. Artgenève is undoubtedly one of those major events where we meet up with some of our collector customers, as well as partners and prospects.
As a Fine Art specialist, wandering among hundreds of works of contemporary and modern art keeps me abreast of new influences and the works that Geneva’s gallery owners are currently offering. In this way, I’m able to advise our collector clients, find out what certain artists are selling for and advise on trends.
What do you remember about this year’s show?
Apart from the works presented, I found the OSR’s hologram performance absolutely incredible! It was extremely ambitious, as it was the first time that an entire orchestra had been transcribed in this form. It’s totally in keeping with the times, because not only does it make culture more accessible, but it’s also a way of avoiding having to move an entire orchestra, and can therefore reduce the carbon footprint of certain performances.
We really had the impression that the musicians were there, in the flesh, but in reality they were just apparitions, images. Imagine a harp with a sound as if the musician were in front of you, but which had actually been recorded beforehand and transcribed into virtual form, offering exactly the same performance. It was breathtaking.
Culture as an art form, then?
I think this OSR performance shows just that! And in this case, technology makes it possible to open up culture and democratize it. That seems essential to me.
(Photo by MF Evelyn )
