Part II, again this is for those of you who couldn’t make it to our Commercial Center Sans Commerce show at the inaugural CHIC Art Fair. We’ve put together more descriptions and photos, but this time we’ve focused on the monumental projects found at the Commercial Center. Enjoy!

Girardo DiCrola’s (Galerie Ma Collection) “ART (1975-2010)” stood at the entrance to the Commercial Center. An extention of his original performance in 1975 in which the artist urinated on the word ART in ice, hence melting it. This monumental version created at this scale for the first time ever especially for this Commercial Center show, captured the temporal and passing quality of the event as is melts away during the duration of the event, slowly falling in chunks until it completely disappeared.  Both “ART (1975-2010)” and “Sphere (1973-2010)” functioned as fountains in our commercial center, showing water in all of its forms – as solid, liquid and gas.

Tom Price’s (Outdoorz Gallery) “Meltdown Bench: PP Blue Rope” was a favorite with children and exhausted art fair goers needing a rest.  The different clothing and styles of the various people occupying the chair brought it to life as a  beautiful functional object showcasing rope in both its knotted and  melted forms.

Over at the Immobilier Mobile (Portable Real Estate Agency) people were milling in and out of the Gilles Ouaki’s enormous camera, which contained a TV, A closet, a sitting area , a shelving unit and drawers: in short, living quarters for the modern photographer.

Cécile LeTalec’s (School Gallery) monumental and immaculate white cube sat at the center of the Portable Real Estate Agency, a small trail of dirt seeping out of one side was the only indication of a door.  Once inside, the darkness is overwhelming as are the Mongolian chants.  Only after adjusting your eyes for a few seconds and climbing the steps to peep your head through the hole in the ceiling did you enjoy the Zen experience comprised of chanting and a bonsai forest.

Edouard Sautai‘s (Exit Art Contemporain) “Pièce Détachée” caravan based on  the architecture of Iwona Buckowska  features an interior with a seating area and video of the artist driving around with the caravan all over Europe to biennales, small towns and schools.  His installation also featured two large scale photographs by the artist of the caravan in different landscapes, showcasing the piece as both an aesthetic object in a static background and an interactive space once can enter.

David Miguel’s (Art Business CD/Christophe Delavault) “Cotton Swab” representing the idea of hygienic relief on a massive scale, was the only thing available at the 24H Pharmacy (24H Pharmacie) located at the entrance to the Commercial Center.

David Miguel’s other piece, “Untitled Shopping Cart”, was the simplest of all commercial property available at the The Portable Real Estate Agency. This sparse habitat was made up of two simple elements: a shopping cart and bed sheet in the form of a makeshift tent.

Dominique Dehais’s (Galerie La Ferronnerie) “Hétérotopia” was the first attraction of the Videoarcade. The beautiful, colorful maze was an enormous labyrinth to the children crawling in and around it.  Inside, a video of flowers and the serene sounds of a field transported viwers to a colorful, innocent place.

Dehais installation led directly into Laurent Fievet’s  (Galerie La Ferronnerie) dizzying installation, “On the Brink,” which jumps back and forth and breaks down a scene from the film The Sound of Music – effectively creating a music box in which the viewer felt almost trapped.

Isabelle Frémin‘s (Galerie W) “Vacances” was the only escape available at the Great Escapes Agence de Voyage.   Her large wooden person stood bent over with his head in a pool of water and a snorkel emmiting the sounds of radio france info: a commentary on the French “vacation”  entitled Vacanxe instead of vacances.  In order to go on the voyage you had to bend over to hear the radio with the wooden figure.

Ghyslain Bertholon‘s (School Gallery)  “Deupatosorus” guarded a wing of the building. The sculpture is a play on the “Deupat” car which many people remember fondly in their childhoods, but today, are seen as dinosaurs.

Benxing Song‘s (School Gallery) monumental “Mao Costume” was the Commercial Center’s answer to a big department store. Here we wanted to remind all shoppers that we were indeed in the Cite de la Mode et du Design.

Now that the Commercial Center Sans Commerce is wrapped, we’re on to finding new projects and inspiration. If you have any ideas you would like to make real, let us know, we’d love to hear about it!