PARIS.- Marking its very first edition from May 19—22, 2022, the Paris Print Fair, organized by the Chambre Syndicale de l’Estampe, du Dessin et du Tableau, will bring together 19 exhibitors from across Europe in the historical Réfectoire du Couvent des Cordeliers in Paris. With its distinct intimate format, the fair will present great masters of printmaking such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Picasso and Goya, alongside current creatives among which Bernar Venet, Barbara Rae and Kathy Prendergast, inviting amateurs and professionals alike to immerse themselves in the countless facets of this storied discipline, at once historical and contemporary.

A highlight of the annual Drawing Week, the Paris Print Fair will unfold as a highly specialized event, reflecting its engaged educational approach.

“As specialists and professionals, we are consistently faced with the question: what is printmaking?” explains Christian Collin, President of the CSEDT and founder of the fair. Stressing the historical roots of an increasingly artistic practice, he continues: “From intaglio to relief, from lithography to silkscreen, the Paris Print Fair and its exhibitors act as both vectors of knowledge and interpreters of a longstanding history. Printmaking is the enduring memory of civilizations, witness to a thirst for visual representation that still resonates to this day.”

Joining from France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain, among others, the
participating members of the CSEDT will convey the diversity of the discipline with a shared expertise and finesse. The first event dedicated exclusively to printmaking, the Paris Print Fair follows on the former Salon de l’Estampe et du Dessin, held for the last time in 2016. The CSEDT had already ignited a new interest by launching in 2018 the Semaine des Galeries Parisiennes de l’Estampe et du Dessin, making the Paris Print Fair the new annual rendezvous for specialists and wider audiences devoted entirely to the practice.

“As a meeting point for dealers, collectors and institutions, the fair is an opportunity for professionals of the field to consolidate their knowledge and expand their respective horizons. We strive to erect bridges between the many forms of printmaking today, a practice at once centennial and widely contemporary, and as it unfolds across the continents – and ultimately, to welcome new audiences and cultivate a new dynamism around the discipline.” – Christian Collin

A digital iteration of the fair will also be held online. The complete program and practical details of the event will be released in the coming weeks.