The third Parisian edition of the world's most important contemporary and modern art fair showcased the richness and diversity of French and international creation in the heart of the newly renovated Grand Palais.

Since 2022, Art Basel Paris, formerly Paris+ by Art Basel, has carved out a prominent place for itself in the contemporary art scene, gradually joining the ranks of its parent fair in Basel and its counterparts in Miami and Hong Kong. This third iteration, directed and reimagined by Clément Delépine, reinforces this impression with the participation of 195 galleries from 42 countries and territories, including 53 first-time exhibitors. This number represents an increase of 40 galleries compared to the previous year, as announced by its director. This is hardly surprising given the rich program, brimming with exhibitions, installations, monumental sculptures, and curatorial projects. The three-year renovation of the Grand Palais has increased its capacity, notably with the reopening of the walkways for an improved and new balcony experience.

PREMISE, A NEW SECTOR

Clément Delépine divided this new edition into three main sections. The first, "Galleries," brought together 170 exhibitors from France and various other countries, showcasing masterpieces of the 20th century. The Vedovi Gallery, for example, presented a 1965 painting by René Magritte.
The Devil's Smile, alongside a work by Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale (1960), which was part of the collection of director Claude Berri. The Richard Nagy Ltd. booth highlighted, among other things, the artistic evolution of Egon Schiele through different periods of his career, as well as works by the German painter and photographer Christian Schad. Landau Fine Art, for its part, focused on the movements of Surrealism, Pop Art, Cubism, and Art Brut, showcasing several major figures such as Miró, Picasso, Dubuffet, and Lichtenstein.

The second section, “Emergence,” showcased emerging artists, supported by the Galeries Lafayette group as an official partner. Exhibitors set up their booths on the renovated balconies surrounding the central nave of the Grand Palais, which had been inaccessible for nearly twenty years. The Christian Andersen gallery presented the fictional project “Black Masters” by Zimbabwean artist Shaun Motsi, which explores the construction of Black identity. His cinematic installation, including his film Masters (2023), examines “how the traditional production and distribution of knowledge perpetuate racial hierarchies.”

The third section, "Premise," is a delightful new addition to the fair, tracing art history with selected works created before 1900. Sies + Höke explored the intertwined evolution of the photographic work of Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. Parker Gallery highlighted canvases by Wally Hedrick, a figure of San Francisco's Beat Generation, who covered them in black oil paint to protest the escalating Vietnam War. Bombon exhibited erotic drawings by the Spanish underground artist Nazario, from his Anarcoma series, considered one of the most revolutionary and provocative homoerotic comics. The Pill, for its part, presented a work by Nil Yalter. This artist of Turkish origin, based in Paris, received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Her installation The AmbassaDRESS (1978) explores the semi-fictional story of an ambassador's wife and her collaboration with the Nazis during World War II.

AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE ARTS

Another new feature of Art Basel Paris was "Oh La La!" This initiative brought together 31 booths to display rarely seen works on themes such as love, eroticism, the legacy of Surrealism, queer identity, and history. The Anne Barrault Gallery notably unveiled a drawing of the same name, created by the iconic director and illustrator Roland Topor, the mastermind behind the animated masterpiece Fantastic Planet. The work, Oh la la (1973), depicts three women at different stages of awakening consciousness in a mysterious natural setting. Meanwhile, the Konrad Fischer Gallery showcased key figures in 20th-century art history, such as the Belgian artist and poet Marcel Broodthaers and his post-Surrealist work, and the Swedish-American sculptor Claes Oldenburg, known for his monumental Pop Art pieces.
The centenary of Surrealism was, of course, also celebrated, alongside several major exhibitions in the capital, such as the one at the Centre Pompidou. Other booths were devoted to the Italian Arte Povera movement, which emerged in the late 1960s. Elsewhere, some sixty exhibitors highlighted the dynamism and vitality of France, while others explored mythology and folklore. The Pace Gallery's exhibition, "Mystic Sugar," brought together works by Louise Nevelson and Kiki Smith, among others, to examine the figure of the witch and the theme of witchcraft. The Anne Barrault Gallery shed more light on the work of artists such as Marie Losier, Jagdeep Raina, and Liv Schulman, who have seized upon the subversive power of appearances. Throughout the journey, notable talents have also brought renown to the contemporary art scene, such as Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei (Galleria Continua), Barbara Kruger (Sprüth Magers), or Frank Bowling and Barbara Chase-Riboud (Hauser & Wirth).

ART IN INTERACTION WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC

This new iteration showcases the multifaceted nature and capacity of the Parisian fair to reinvent itself. Art Basel Paris has opened itself to a wider audience, extending its reach to ten major heritage sites, with Miu Miu as an official partner. The fashion world made a triumphant entrance. Miuccia Prada's luxury house inaugurated the "Tales & Tellers" art project at the Palais d'Iéna, conceived by interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga and curated by Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). Several female directors and actresses bring their characters to life in individual stories.

As part of this public program, the fair added five new venues. The Petit Palais presented a reinterpretation of Jesse Darling's installation C'mon England, for which he won the 2023 Turner Prize. Winston Churchill Avenue was transformed into a pedestrian zone, adorned with works by John Chamberlain, Yayoi Kusama, and Jean Prouvé. The Domaine National du Palais-Royal hosted the Franco-Egyptian artist Ghada Amer with Paravent Girls (2021-2022), a series of three monumental bronze sculptures shaped like folding screens and adorned with women's faces. And finally, the Hôtel de Sully split the exhibition focusing on the career of British sculptor Lynn Chadwick across two sites. Among the usual monuments, the forecourt of the Institut de France celebrated Niki de Saint Phalle's L'Arbre-Serpents (1988), a sculpture representing a dozen intertwined snakes, covered with mirrors and glass mosaics.

To bring this rich edition full circle, the fair inaugurated The Art Basel Shop. This concept store, curated by Sarah Andelman, co-founder and former creative director of the Colette boutique, who launched her agency Just An Idea, offered lifestyle products to extend the Art Basel experience. New products from the duo Claire Fontaine, founded by Fulvia Carnevale and James Thornhill, were also presented for the second iteration of AB by Artist. This collection is drawn from their series Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, which was the theme of the 60th Venice Biennale.

ART BASEL PARIS GRAND PALAIS
AVENUE WINSTON-CHURCHILL, PARIS 8E
FROM 18 TO 20 OCTOBER 2024
ARTBASEL.COM/PARIS