ARTISTIC DIRECTION
BREDIN PRAT FOUNDATION _
“ Since its creation in 2017, the partners of Bredin Prat have entrusted me with the artistic direction and the development of their eponymous foundation, expanding on Jean-François Prat’s foundational passion for contemporary art.
I work in a collegial way to drive the collection’s acquisitions, manage the Jean-François Prat Prize, design the cultural programs, define the visitors’ policy, handle the budget and organization of the acquisition and selection committees.”
COLLECTION
Starting from a blank page to build an art collection is a rare opportunity for any curator. The Foundations’ collection has a deliberate international scope, focusing on "what makes a picture": contemporary paintings and photos from both established and emerging French or foreign artists. Its approach is twofold: the innovation in the history of art and the relationship of painting to contemporary society.
Frédéric Brière suggests main directions, scouts artists and selects works for validation by the Foundations’ acquisition committee.
A first milestone in building up the collection will be completed in 2022.
Jean-FranÇois Prat PRIZE
Each year, the Prize acts as a search radar around the world of contemporary painting and recognizes innovative artists who deserve to be discovered and exhibited in Paris for their contribution to the history of painting and to society.
A committee of five experts from the art world seeks, identifies, and selects three artists per year. An exhibition and a catalog are produced.
The jury, chaired by a museum director, a curator, an art historian or a collector, is assembled from a diverse and original membership: the partners of Bredin Prat and personalities of the art world. The jury hears three supporting curators who present the work of the selected artists. An unrestricted grant of 20,000 euros is awarded to the winner and 2,000 euros to the runners-up.
During the past ten year, the Prize has distinguished Farah Atassi, Avery Singer and Toyin Ojih Odutola, among others.
PUBLICATIONs
A bilingual French / English catalogue devoted to the work of the 3 artists nominated by the Selection Committee of the Jean-François Prat Prize is published yearly. It includes a foreword by Frédéric Brière, a text by the jury’s chair and contributed articles by international critics, art historians and curators in support of the work of the selected artists. The catalogues of the Prize are part of the collection of the Kandinsky Library of the Pompidou Center. In 2021, a book on contemporary painting through 10 years of selections by the Jean-François Prat Prize will be published by Flammarion, distributed by Rizzoli / Thames & Hudson and released in bookstores.
EXHIBITIONS, PUBLIC VISITS & SOCIAL MEDIA
The Bredin Prat Foundation is the leading private contemporary art venue in Paris dedicated to "what makes a picture": painting and photography. Located in a historic art deco building along the Quai d´Orsay, near the Grand Palais, house of Bredin Prat law firm, the foundation exhibits its permanent collection throughout the year, alternating with the temporary exhibition, of the Jean-François Prat Prize, two months a year. Public tours can be booked online. The entire collection is permanently accessible online. Regular updates about the Prize and artists are published on social networks.
→ Instagram @fondationbredinprat