Contemporary Art in Occitania – The Mediterranean Contemporary Arts Fair

ART Montpellier 2020 pending the 5th edition in November 2021.

After the covid and the health crisis, Culture was at half mast. This fourth edition of Art Montpellier has come to breathe a little joy, a breath of hope, a renewed happiness, an open window on Art, Creation, in October 2020.

SPL Occitanie Events, organizer of Art Montpellier and Didier Vesse, artistic manager of the event, have done everything to guarantee the safety of everyone, gallery owners, artists, partners and the large public.

This Contemporary Art Fair is now established in the long term. It is the major artistic event of the end of the year in Hérault. In 2020, Art Montpellier presented around sixty galleries and exhibitors. Most of the galleries came from the South of France and one from Spain. The organizers and Didier Vesse want Art Montpellier to become a Contemporary Arts Fair on the Mediterranean rim.

Each edition has a theme, Art Montpellier 2020 offered « Photo-painting / painting-photo » as well as plastic photography with the exhibition of the « Transfiguring » movement. 13 artists belonging to this movement exhibited at this fair. Lectures and screenings took place.

Art galleries (13) from Lille and its region were present in a dedicated space « Galeries du Nord ».

Visitors were also able to admire the works of 11 artists on the Japan stand such as Yasuhiro Mano.

Michel Soubeyrand was honored at the Médi’Art stand (the magazine Art Vues). Michel Soubeyrand, known internationally for his painted sculptures « Killer dog » or « Dog Vador » from Pop Culture and Art Toys and his paintings.

Many artists were present and they offered sublime paintings, sculptures, works such as Isabelle Malmezat from the Nicolet Gallery, Hugues Hamblard with his painting representing 3 dressed gorillas, The King Duck by MixarToys from the Prestaart gallery in Uzès, the artist Diseye Tantua, the artist David Nicolas DJORDJEVIC and his paintings, a sculpture entitled « Natura », a tribute to femininity, this one represents « The Woman » by the artist Alberto Gedeon Soto Delgado « , the metal statue of Shen Jingdong representing a communist statue, the Cortade Art gallery, paintings exhibited from the Musée d’Art Brut, Jorge Colomina, painter known internationally, came to exhibit his paintings with his characteristic style, a giant sculpture of Dino- Green and black Lego by Angelo Lembo MixarToys from the Prestaart gallery, wooden sculptures by Yann Eric Eichenberger, the painted Pop Art sculpture by Philippe Shangti and the glass sculptures by Francois Bel and many others…

The adapted company GEDEAS, OETH, DOETH, RQTH, AGEFIPH, had launched a call for project « ART & Handicap » and had appealed to SCIC Arts & Cie to constitute a collection of works of art and thus attempt to remove prejudices in order to take a new look at disability. The public was able to discover works such as « Gorill’Art » by Franck Celaire and « Viktoria Modesta », a disabled dancer, (Crasy Horse magazine leader), a metal sculpture of a woman by Patrick Granier. Gedeas had received around 30 projects and the company selected 8 artists and 9 works.
This 4th edition of Art Montpellier, Contemporary Art Fair in Occitanie was a great success.

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Veronique PHITOUSSI

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