Artist selection criteria

Common criteria base for selecting French and international artists

As a general grounding, the selection considers the number of exhibitions in recognized venues over a set period (4 or 7 years).

In order to be included, exhibitions must satisfy the following conditions:

• have taken place during the timeframe covered by the study (1987-2014) update due on 12/31/2026;
• be solo exhibitions*;
• have taken place during the artist's lifetime and less than 25 years after their first solo show, as the study is only concerned with artists who contribute to “the art of the now” and not with artists belonging to The History of Contemporary Art.

* In order for an exhibition to be considered a solo exhibition, it must run for at least three weeks and showcase at least three works or a large-scale installation.

Note: in the case of a travelling solo exhibition, only the first two stages are taken into account.

An artist is only considered part of one or other art scene (i.e. the international or French art scene) if they meet all selection criteria for the scene in question.

Note: as prestigious as they may be, participation in the following events, awards and projects (even when participation results in an award) is not taken into account:

• The Venice Biennial, Documenta Kassel, Münster Skulptur Project, Manifesta, Berlin Biennial, Sao Paulo Biennial, Art Basel Statements, Art Basel Miami-Positions, Art Basel Unlimited;
• The Turner Prize, Van Gogh Biennial Award, Hugo Boss Prize, ARCO Award to Young Artists, projects run by prestigious organizations (Artangel, London; West of Rome, Pasadena, California; etc.).

Criteria for selecting international artists

To be considered part of the international art scene, the artist will have pursued one of the following trajectories:

• either, within a 4-year period:
  • a solo exhibition in an international gallery (see “selection criteria for international galleries”),
  • a solo exhibition in the United States if the gallery exhibition took place elsewhere,
  • a solo exhibition in a venue of international standing* (see “selection criteria for world-class venues” and “main international venues selected”);

  * The venue cannot be located in the same country as the exhibition in an international gallery (nor in a neighboring country), and it cannot be in the artist's home country (country of birth or residency). In the case of multiple countries of residency, the least favorable selection data applies.

• or, within a 4-year period, five solo exhibitions including:
  • a solo exhibition in a world-class venue located in Europe,
  • a solo exhibition in a world-class venue located in the United States,
  • a solo exhibition in a world-class venue located outside the country (and neighboring countries) of the above-mentioned exhibitions and outside the artist's home country (country of birth or residency)*,
  • two solo exhibitions in world-class or national venues;

  * In the case of multiple countries of residency, the least favorable selection data applies.

• or, within a 7-year period, three exhibitions in contemporary art museums with at least one located in Europe and one in the United States (see “international museums”).

Criteria for selecting French artists

In this study, to be considered part of the French art scene an artist must either be of French nationality, or have been born in France, or have lived in France for a period in excess of 15 years.

In addition to this, they will have had one of the following trajectories:

• either, within a 7-year period:
  • a solo exhibition in one of the galleries participating in the FIAC art fair,
  • three solo exhibitions in prestigious French venues (see “selection criteria for French venues”) — two in France and the other either in France or a neighboring country;
• or, within a 7-year period, three solo exhibitions in renowned contemporary art museums — two in France and the other either in France or in a neighboring country;
• or, within a 4-year period, five solo exhibitions with at least three located in renowned French venues (see “selection criteria for French venues”) and the other two located either in France or a neighboring country.