LOWER EAST SIDE — A huge Paris-based art fair focusing on the work of emerging artists is set to jump the Atlantic next year to establish itself in the Big Apple.
Cutlog, which drew 10,000 visitors to the Bourse de Commerce in Paris this year, is planning to host a four-day art fair from May 10-13 in the Clemente Soto Vélez Center, a former public school-turned-cultural center at 107 Suffolk St.
The fair aims to showcase mostly lesser-known artists from around the world, while fostering a deeper connection between international art and the growing Lower East Side gallery scene.
"The mission is really to make it a platform for discovery," said Cutlog's co-director Guy Reziciner. "You will get to see artists you have never seen before."
While other fairs may rely on established galleries and big-name artists, Cutlog will be working with lower-profile artists and their networks, as well curators, Reziciner explained.
"The artists will be represented by galleries and curators, and their work will be for sale, and they will get huge exposure," he said.
Fair organizers will pore over the applications artists and curators, as well their personal recommendations, ultimately selecting 40 to take part in the event.
Application submissions will end in February, with artists from Brazil to Russia to Gotham already secured for the fair, Reziciner noted.
The public will pay a $12 admission fee for a chance to peruse works inside numerous Dutch neo-gothic rooms at the Clemente Soto Vélez Center.
Rather than the stiffer tone of other art fairs held in huge exhibition spaces lined with gallery booths, Reziciner said Cutlog is hoping to bring a more theatrical atmosphere, with creative performances and documentaries focusing on the artists included at the fair.
An outdoor section will also take advantage of New York's warming weather in May, he added.
"We wanted a fair that would really be in the neighborhood," said Reziciner, of choosing the Lower East Side,
"The Lower East side is really the new heart of working galleries in the city."
