The atmosphere in the city was electric, the staging theatrical, the energy vibrant. Yes, Art Basel Paris shifted gears, adapting seamlessly to its new, majestic home in the Grand Palais in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
The grandeur of the fair's novel setting, an art spectacle in its own right, along with city-wide events, affirmed the French capital’s prominent place on the Art Fair map.
Art Basel Paris, reinvented from its first iteration at the Grand Palais Éphémère in 2022, is an addition to the flagship, long-standing and internationally renowned contemporary art fair Art Basel, in Basel founded in 1970. The Parisian extension of the Art Basel brand convened this year one hundred and ninety-five galleries from forty-two countries and territories, including sixty-five based in France, The event attracted over 65,000 visitors throughout its VIP and public days and featured leading figures and rising stars from Paris’ vibrant creative scene.
The optimistic tone resonated in buoyant sales and prices to match during the first VIP day, before stabilising, as reported in the art media, to more realistic levels by day two. Given the current geo-political and economic dynamics, a sobering in the art market is understandable with media noting that 'mega' galleries and VIP collectors opted for the safest bets when choosing what to bring or what to buy and invest in.
None-the-less, sales were made across all market segments, with galleries placing outstanding works by some of the world's leading contemporary artists, 20th-century masters, and emerging voices—including Louise Bourgeois, Julie Mehretu, Willem de Kooning, Lee Ufan, Olga de Amaral, Paulina Olowska, Camille Henrot, Lungiswa Gqunta, Juliette Roche, and Mimosa Echard—in esteemed public and private collections.
My impression is that Art Basel Paris has a less edgy feel than neighbouring major contemporary art fair, Frieze London, which took place in the preceding week (although I did not attend). However, the showcase of artistic talent in the Grand Palais speaks for itself and certainly deserves celebrating.
Here are some of the pieces that I particularly enjoyed: Mohamed Melehi (Loft Art Gallery), Yan Pei-Ming (Thaddaeus Ropac), (Perrotin), Pablo Picasso (Van De Weghe), Frèdèrique Loutz (Galerie Papillon), Ida Ekblad (Galerie Max Hetzler), Glenn Brown (Galerie Max Hetzler), Xie Lei (Semiose), (High Art), Libasse Ka (Carlos/Ishikawa), Achraf Touloub, Rirkrit Tiravanija (Gladstone) Vladimir Baranoff-Rossiné, Yuan Fang (Skarstedt).
Sources:
The Art Newspaper16-18 October (Edition Française)
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